Hugh Palliser - Governor of Newfoundland and Subsequent Service

Governor of Newfoundland and Subsequent Service

In 1764 Palliser was named Governor and Commander-in-Chief at Newfoundland. He had under his command the 50-gun HMS Guernsey, and several frigates. His forces encountered a similar French force which was ostensibly regulating their remaining fishing grounds in the area, but Palliser perceived that they had altered their maps to show they controlled more area than had been agreed upon in the negotiations which ended the conflict in this area. The French minister in London used this clash to complain to the British government against Palliser, but he was able to produce sufficient maps and supporting material to convince his superiors of his correct actions.

Palliser actively supported the fisheries as a source of trained seamen for the Royal Navy. As such he took active steps to enforce the provisions of Treaty of Paris (1763) restricting French access to their specific fishing rights. He also sought to restrict further settlement of Newfoundland, so to encourage the British based industry.

Palliser remained Governor of Newfoundland until 1768. In 1770 Commodore Palliser was appointed Comptroller of the Navy, and in that same year was elected an elder brother of the Trinity House, which oversees British lighthouses and provides general expertise to the government on naval matters.

In 1773 Palliser was made Baronet. In 1774 he was elected to Parliament for the Borough of Scarborough. In 1775 he achieved flag rank when promoted to rear-admiral. Under the Earl of Sandwich he became one of the Lords of the Admiralty and received the sinecure of Lieutenant-General of Marines. In 1775 he initiated legislation to encourage ship fisheries, known as Palliser’s Act but titled "The Act for the Encouragement of the Ship Fishery".

Historian Sean Cadigan, author of Hope and Deception in Conception Bay (1995), has since linked Palliser's Act with the high-valuation of women's labour in 18th Century Newfoundland. Given that Palliser's Act required producers to pre-pay their labourers for the fishing season, producers developed little incentive to hire outside of their families: hired labour was high risk because pre-paid wages reduced producers' margin for gain (or loss). As such, Palliser's Act inspired the merger of household labour with the market, making women's work essential to the economic success of the colony.

In 1778 Palliser was promoted again to Vice-Admiral of the Blue.