Cadwallader Colden was governor of the province of New York and a staunch conservative in the period leading up to the Revolution. A rich man himself, he had decided opinions about having rich men in charge:
Riches are not always acquired by honestest means, nor are they always accompanied by the greatest integrity of mind, with the most knowledge, or with the most generous sentiments and public spirit . . . the middling rank of mankind in all countries and in all ages, have justly obtain'd the character, to be generally the most honest . . . And I am likewise fully persuaded that we may much more safely trust our liberty and property with our neighbors of middling rank than with those of the greatest riches who are thereby tempted to lord it over their neighbors.
From Carl Bridenbaugh, "Cities in Revolt"
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