This is an essay about an incident that took place in the Province of Massachusetts Bay during the period 1772–1774, an incident that I will call the Affair of the Royal Salary. Close relative of the Stamp Act Crisis, The Boston Tea Party, even the Boston Massacre, the Affair of the Royal Salary similarly involved a clash between the forces of popular government and those of imperial government; like its better known cousins it is part of the story of the coming of the American Revolution in Massachusetts. In addition, since the Salary around which the Affair developed was intended for judges, the Affair of the Royal Salary is part of the history of judicial independence in Massachusetts.