n in Drake's invaluable _History of Boston_, [_p. 728_] it appears
that the Deputy-governor, Stoughton, by the appointment of the Governor,
attended by the Secretary, administered the oaths to the members of the
House of Representatives, convened on the eighth of June, 1692; that, as
Deputy-governor, he sat in Council, generally, during that year, and
was, besides, annually elected to the Council, until his death, in 1701.
All that time, he was sitting, in the double capacity of an _ex-officio_
and an elected member; and for much the greater part of it, in the
absence of Phips, as acting Governor. The Records show that he sat in
Council when Sir William Phips was present, and presided over it, when
he was not present, and ever after Phips's decease, until a new Governor
came over in 1699. His annual election, by the House of Representatives,
as one of the twenty-eight Councillors, while, as Deputy or acting
Governor, he was entitled to a seat, is quite remarkable. It gave him a
distinct legislative character, and a right, as an elected member of the
body, to vote and act, directly, in all cases, without restraint or
embarrassment, in debate and on Committees, in the making, as well as
administering, the law.

In the letter now under consideration, Governor Phips says: "I was
almost the whole time of the proceeding abroad, in the Service of their
Majesties in the Eastern part of the country."

The whole tenor of the letter leaves an impression that, being so much
away from the scene, in frequent and long absences, he was not cognizant
of what was going on. He depended "upon the judgment of the Court," as
to its methods of proceeding; and was surprised when those methods were
brought to his attention. Feeling his own incapacity to handle such a
business, he was willing to leave it to those who ought to have been
more competent. Indeed, he passed the whole matter over to the
Deputy-governor. In a letter, for which I am indebted to Mr. Goodell,
dated the twentieth of February, 1693, to the Earl of Nottingham,
transmitting copies of laws passed by the General Court, Governor Phips
says: "Not being versed in law, I have depended upon the Lieu^t Gov^r,
who is appointed Judge of the Courts, to see that they be exactly
agreeable to the laws of England, and not repugnant in any part. If
there be any error, I know it will not escape your observation, and
desire a check may be given for what may be amiss."

The closing sentence l