In 1729, the West Country merchants convince King George II that because of the state of lawlessness among its permanent residents, Newfoundland needs a governor. They suggest the appointment to the post of the present commodore of the Newfoundland fishery, Lord Vere Beauclerk.
In response to requests from resident Newfoundlanders for the appointment of a civilian governor, the king compromises and chooses Lord Vere Beauclerk, acknowledging that while he is not a civilian, any Newfoundlander who wishes to think of him as one is free to do so. (Thus begins a tradition, which will last almost one hundred years, of filling the civilian post of governor with non-civilians.)
When it is found that if Beauclerk accepts the position, he will be constitutionally required to resign his seat in the British Parliament — which, out of loyalty to the king, he is loath to do — Beauclerk declines the appointment. Once again the king steps in and saves the day, announcing that navy commander Henry Osborne will be the governor, but that Beauclerk will go with him and tell him what to do.
Neither Osborne nor Beauclerk winter in Newfoundland. Osborne’s first priority is to build a courthouse. No courthouse is built, but two jailhouses are, and stocks proliferate throughout the city of St. John’s.
Osborne appoints justices of the peace, choosing them from among resident Newfoundlanders. They come into conflict with the fishing admirals, who do not recognize their authority, deeming them to be illiterate and uneducated.
Luckily, there are soon a sufficient number of West Country merchants living in Newfoundland that a pool of men whose degree of literacy is such as to satisfy the admirals is established, and from this pool justices are chosen.
In spite of this and many other such advances, the judicial system still has its flaws. But slowly it evolves. The expensive and time-consuming process of transporting suspects to England to be tried is discontinued. No longer do ships packed with suspects and witnesses set sail for England in the fall. No longer do ships packed with witnesses set sail from England in the spring.