bly
and the levying of taxes by the fiat of the council. But Andros had no
choice in this matter: he was compelled to govern according to his
instructions. Not only was his treasury usually empty, but he was always
confronted with the heavy expense of fortification and of protecting the
frontier. He does not appear to have been excessive in his demands, and
in case of any unusual levies, as of duties and customs, he referred
the matter to the Crown for its consent. But, as Englishmen, the people
preferred to levy their own taxes and considered any other method of
imposition as contrary to their just rights. Andros consequently had a
great deal of trouble in raising money. Even in the council, tax laws
were passed with difficulty, and the people of Essex County, notably in
town meetings at Topsfield and Ipswich, protested vigorously against the
levying of a rate without the consent of an assembly. John Wise, the
Ipswich minister, and others were arrested and thrown into jail, and on
trial Wise, according to his own report of the matter, was told by
Dudley, the chief-justice, "You have no more privileges left you than to
be sold as slaves." Wise was fined and suspended from the ministry, and
it is possible that his recollection of events was affected by the
punishment imposed.

In the matter of property, land titles, quit-rents, and fees, the
colonists had warrant for their criticism and their displeasure. Many of
those whom Andros associated with himself were New Yorkers who had
served with considerable success in their former positions, but who had
all the characteristics of typical royal officials. To the average
English officeholder of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, office
was considered not merely an opportunity for service but also an
opportunity for profit. Hitherto Massachusetts had been free from men of
this class, common enough elsewhere and destined to become more common
as the royal colonies increased in number. Palmer, the judge, Graham,
the attorney-general, and West, the secretary, hardly deserve the stigma
of placemen, for they possessed ability and did their duty as they saw
it, but their standards of duty were different from those held in
Massachusetts. People in England did not at this time view public office
as a public trust, which is a modern idea. Appointments under the Crown
went by purchase or favor, and, once obtained, were a source of income,
a form of investment. Massachusetts and ot