Captain Henry Osborne

Osborne visited Placentia in the summer of 1729, he appointed justices of the peace to carry out the laws, and to bring a system of civil government to that part of the Island. It is interesting to note that up to this time all disputes in Placentia had been settled according to French law.

Bringing justice and obedience to law in Placentia was a little easier than in the rest of Newfoundland, because it had civil government of some sort for most of its history.

Osborne could appoint Justices of the peace, could build stocks, and set out guidelines for his new justices. He could not however oversee the fishing admirals. In 1730, these gentlemen refused to obey the new governor, took the power of the judiciary system into their own hands, and imprisoned one man in the fort for disobeying their regulations. Incidents such as this helped lower the power of the new justice and made it difficult to carry out the new civil regulations.

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Source:
McCarthy, Michael, "A History of Plaissance and Placentia 1501-1970," page 78