Conceived in Liberty Volume 2 - Ludwig von Mises Institute

Liberalism in Massachusetts
The first half of the eighteenth century was a relatively stable period for
the colonies in many ways, especially in internal political institutions. As was
true for most of the other colonies, Massachusetts politics became a tug of war
between the royal governor and the popularly elected Assembly. A key to the
power of the lower house was its control over the purse strings of government,
and it steadfastly refused to vote a permanent salary for the governor.
Not only was the voted sum generally far smaller than the governor wished,
but the salary was granted at the end of the year, after the legislature had had
a chance to appraise his actions. In short, the governor's salary was always
based on good behavior. By 1731, the British government had authorized the
governor to accept annual grants of salary, a final victory for the prerogative
of the lower house.
The lower house was not as successful in the controversy over selection of
its Speaker. The Assembly contended, quite properly, that it had a right to
choose its officers, but it was finally overruled in 1725, in favor of the governor's
assertion of the right of veto over the post of Speaker. Leadership of the
house opposition to the executive was directed by Elisha Cooke, who at his
death in 1715 was succeeded by the equally popular Elisha Cooke, Jr.
One highly significant development in Massachusetts was the disintegration
of the attempt to impose comprehensive wage-and-price controls. Having
lapsed by the mid-seventeenth century after repeated failures, a bill for comprehensive
maximum-wage controls, attempting to compel wage rates lower
than the market, was introduced in 1670 and in 1672. The more oligarchic
Council of Magistrates twice approved the bill, but the more popular lower
house twice defeated the plan. The Committee of Nine of the Massachusetts
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