William Shirley - Public Criticism

Public Criticism

Governor Shirley had become very unpopular. Samuel Adams edited and Gamaliel Rogers and Daniel Fowle published The Independent Advertiser, which regularly criticised the British government and Shirley's administration. The paper published several of Shirley's letters to officials in Britain that were critical of Americans, and regularly called for Shirley's removal from office. William Douglass, a prominent physician in Boston, wrote a series of pamphlets (published by Rogers and Fowle) attacking Governor Shirley, Commodore Knowles and the whole conduct of the campaign against and occupation of Louisbourg. Both Shirley and Knowles sued Douglass for libel, but lost their cases in court.