12 The Story of the New England Whalers 



a lieutenant of militia. He was now chosen to 

 represent the community in the General Assem- 

 bly. It was hoped that he would there be able 

 effectually to oppose the governor's schemes. 

 Apparently Governor Hunter feared the influence 

 of the whaler in the legislature, for he promptly 

 got out an anchor to windward, so to speak, by 

 creating new assembly districts in territory wherein 

 he was able to control the elections, and he was 

 thus able to secure a working majority. 



Mulford was thus balked of his hopes of relief 

 through legislation, but he took the legislator's 

 privilege and freed his mind by a speech before 

 the assembly, in which he not only set forth the 

 rights of the whalers, but exposed a number of 

 the other grasping schemes of the governor in 

 merciless fashion. He who had hauled in along- 

 side a whale was not to be frightened by any 

 kind of a man, however great in power and 

 station. 



Of course the governor struck back. The 

 obedient assembly expelled the bold whaler. 

 Then a creature of the governor who held the 

 office of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, 



