LXIV.
LXIV. JOHN BLAIR.
LXIV. President of the Council.
LXIV. March 3, 1768, to October, 1768.
Lord Botetourt was appointed Governor-in-Chief of
Virginia in July, 1768, though he did not arrive in the Colony
until the October following. Governor Fauquier having
died March 3, 1768, until the arrival of Lord Botetourt in the
following October, John Blair, "President of the Council,"
was the acting Governor of the Colony. During the trying
period of the incumbency of President Blair, his ability and
fidelity were conspicuously displayed. Although Parliament
had repealed the obnoxious Stamp Act in 1766, the next year
witnessed their imposing duties to be paid by the Colonists on
paper, glass, painters' colors, and teas imported into the Colonies.
This, with the attempt to enforce the Act to provide
quarters for British soldiers in the Colonies, at the expense of
the Colonies, again excited public indignation and alarm.
Massachusetts guardedly and reluctantly consented, but New
York declined making the provision demanded. For this
offence, Parliament passed an Act for restraining the Assembly
of New York from passing any Act until they should comply
with this requisition. This arbitrary Act fanned the flame
of suspicion and discontent among all the Colonies. "An
Act for suspending the Legislature of that province," said
Richard Henry Lee, "hangs like a flaming sword over our
heads, and requires, by all means, to be removed." Again
Parliament passed an Act for establishing a Custom House in
America in 1767. The discussions occasioned by the Stamp
Act had convinced the Colonists of their exemption from parliamentary
taxation, and so they were on the alert at every
attempt of England in this direction. This new occasion of
dissatisfaction roused afresh the suspicions of the Colonists
and some Essays on Colonial rights under the name of "Letters
from a Farmer in Pennsylvania to the Inhabitants of the
British Colonies" had a rapid and extensive circulation in
America. The souls of men here were being prepared for
the deadly conflict—the conflict for "liberty or death!"
Massachusetts sent a petition to the King against these
recent acts of Parliament and issued a circular letter to the
other Colonies to unite in suitable measures to obtain redress.
Virginia sent a memorial to the House of Lords and a remonstrance
to the House of Commons, complaining of the taxes
imposed, and her action and that of Massachusetts were
fully endorsed by the House of Assembly in Georgia.
During this stormy period Governor Blair held the reins
of government in Virginia from March to October of 1768,
the last patent signed by him bearing date the 24th October,
1768. He had served for several years as Deputy Auditor of
the Colony and had also been a visitor of William and Mary
College. His life was one of varied usefulness in a time that
tried men's souls. He died November 5, 1771, and some of
his descendants have been distinguished in the annals of Virginia.
