many years before the spring
election of 1619 by Alderman Johnson. Some of the more serious charges
brought against Smith's administration related to the management of
the magazine, as the stock of supplies periodically forwarded to the
colony was generally described. Johnson had managed the successive
magazines, each separately financed by its own joint-stock, until in
1619 he was replaced by John Ferrar.

The council, still described as His Majesty's Council for Virginia, had
become a large and unwieldy body, with many of its members inactive.
Its influence on the conduct of Virginia's affairs was now decidedly
less important than in the earlier years. According to the Orders and
Constitutions, no one "under the degree of a Lord or principall
magistrate" was thereafter to be elected to the council except "such as
by diligent attendance at the courts and service of Virginia for one
year at least before, have approved their sufficiency and worth to the
Companie." As this statement strongly suggests, a place on the council
was for many members an honorary post through which one might lend the
prestige of a great name to a worthy undertaking without assuming much
real responsibility. Nevertheless, the legal powers of the council
under the Virginia charters made its services indispensable, and made
it desirable that at least a few of its members should be intimately
acquainted with the business. The treasurer was supposed to consult
with the council on important occasions, and especially on matters
pertaining to the government of the colony. All formal instructions to
officers in the colony had to be sent in the name of the council and
over its seal. In any case of removal from office, in London or at
Jamestown, the cause had to be considered in council before it could be
taken before the adventurers. But any seven members made a quorum
giving full power to actions taken in council, and the treasurer, who
was always a member of the council, had the custody of its seal.

Two of the seven auditors now required for annual review of
disbursements and receipts had to be members of the council. The
auditors' office had grown out of the disputes over the accounts of Sir
Thomas Smith, and in addition to the annual auditing of the
treasurer's report, which had to be submitted to the Easter court, they
were charged with responsibility for a close review of all earlier
records of the company. The primary purpose was to establish a