 In April 1687, he ordered the fellows of Magdalen College, Oxford to elect Anthony Farmer as president.His right to do so was not challenged, but Farmer was ineligible under the college statutes, and John Hough was elected instead.Farmer withdrew, and Hough was replaced by the Bishop of Oxford, but James also demanded that the fellows apologise for 'defying' him; when they refused, they were replaced by Catholics.