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Franklin, Benjamin

"The Autobiography Of Benjamin Franklin"


Somebody wrote an account of this to the proprietor, and it gave him
great offense. No such honor had been paid him when in the province,
nor to any of his governors; and he said it was only proper to
princes of the blood royal, which may be true for aught I know,
who was, and still am, ignorant of the etiquette in such cases.
This silly affair, however, greatly increased his rancour against me,
which was before not a little, on account of my conduct in the
Assembly respecting the exemption of his estate from taxation,
which I had always oppos'd very warmly, and not without severe
reflections on his meanness and injustice of contending for it.
He accused me to the ministry as being the great obstacle to
the king's service, preventing, by my influence in the House,
the proper form of the bills for raising money, and he instanced
this parade with my officers as a proof of my having an intention
to take the government of the province out of his hands by force.
He also applied to Sir Everard Fawkener, the postmaster-general,
to deprive me of my office; but it had no other effect than to procure
from Sir Everard a gentle admonition.
Notwithstanding the continual wrangle between the governor
and the House, in which I, as a member, had so large a share,
there still subsisted a civil intercourse between that gentleman
and myself, and we never had any personal difference.


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