Franklin's son William, the last royal governor of New Jersey, lived in exile in Britain.
As a postscript to my recent blog, it just occurred to me that Chris Christie was not the first public official to have brought disgrace upon himself, his family, and his constituents.
My own son William, who was the last royal Governor of the colony of New Jersey, was one such example. Although I do have to confess, it was through my political influence with the British Prime Minister that William actually obtained his position... so the fact that he held a royal post was my doing, I admit.
But when things in the colonies took a very different turn, and relations with England deteriorated, I realized that my role was to become one of the patriots calling for revolution -- while William held the opposite view, and remained a loyalist.
I never forgave him for that. I thought that he would have joined us in the revolution, but he must have treasured his royal position more, and remained loyal to the crown.
Eventually, in 1776, William was placed under house arrest, and then sent to prison in Connecticut. While imprisoned, he kept working for the loyalist cause, and later went to England, where he lived out the rest of his life in exile.
Comparing William to the present governor, Chris Christie, however, I note one difference: my son did have the courage of his convictions in carrying out his deeds, even though they were performed for the wrong side. We have yet to see whether Gov. Christie will confess to complicity in this very embarrassing incident.
Your humble servant,
B.Franklin
As a postscript to my recent blog, it just occurred to me that Chris Christie was not the first public official to have brought disgrace upon himself, his family, and his constituents.
My own son William, who was the last royal Governor of the colony of New Jersey, was one such example. Although I do have to confess, it was through my political influence with the British Prime Minister that William actually obtained his position... so the fact that he held a royal post was my doing, I admit.
But when things in the colonies took a very different turn, and relations with England deteriorated, I realized that my role was to become one of the patriots calling for revolution -- while William held the opposite view, and remained a loyalist.
I never forgave him for that. I thought that he would have joined us in the revolution, but he must have treasured his royal position more, and remained loyal to the crown.
Eventually, in 1776, William was placed under house arrest, and then sent to prison in Connecticut. While imprisoned, he kept working for the loyalist cause, and later went to England, where he lived out the rest of his life in exile.
Comparing William to the present governor, Chris Christie, however, I note one difference: my son did have the courage of his convictions in carrying out his deeds, even though they were performed for the wrong side. We have yet to see whether Gov. Christie will confess to complicity in this very embarrassing incident.
Your humble servant,
B.Franklin