the governorships. Disputes with Massachusetts assembly Shute engaged in a wide array of disputes with the Massachusetts General Court (the provincial assembly) concerning the royal prerogative and other issues. During his administration the assembly successfully expanded its authority at the expense of the governor's, which permanently affected relations between later governors and the assembly until independence. Currency was a major issue which divided the province politically: a large populist faction supported the inflationary issuance of paper currency, while two economically powerful groups supported competing proposals for dealing with the currency problem. The faction that had secured Burges' appointment supported a private land bank proposal that would issue bills secured by private property, while the Dudleys and their supporters, who backed Shute, favored the idea of paper that was backed by gold. A major opponent representing the popular factions in the province was Elisha Cooke Jr., a politician and major landowner in Maine, which was then part of Massachusetts. Cooke's opposition was rooted in disagreements on the currency, and the matter of logging in the Maine territory. During the Dudley administration logging interests had widely flouted the 1711 White Pine Act, British Parliamentary legislation that reserved large trees on ungranted public lands for the government's use as ship masts. Shute sought to crack down on this behavior, earning the enmity of Cooke and others. Cooke's early challenges to the law were legal in nature, but rapidly became political. In 1718 Cooke was nominated to serve on the Governor's Council by the assembly, but Shute vetoed the choice. The assembly then appointed Cooke to be its speaker in 1720. This began a constitutional argument about the governor's powers, for Shute refused to accept Cooke's appointment, claiming it was within his authority to veto it. The assembly, for its part, refused to appoint anyone else, and the following year seated a different speaker before Shute was given notice of his election. Shute's disagreements with the assembly also extended to its ability to adjourn for short periods of time. The assembly could only formally be called into session and adjourned by the governor, and provided one means by which the governor could control the assembly; Shute took issue with a temporary adjournment of six days. This dispute combined with his refusal to approve Cooke's appointment prompted the assembly to become strongly opposed to Shute on virtually all actions. This recalcitrance extended to a denial