C HARLOTTETOWN 75

In Newfoundland a similarly unpopular chief justice held sway. Of all the chief justices of Newfoundland there is no more unique figure than that of Thomas Tremlett. He had been a merchant but had been deserted by fortune. Although he was a crusty old bachelor and quite profane in his language, he had a great deal of common sense. He was also blissfully ignorant of law and practice. Governor Duckworth was furnished with complaints against him. Tremlett’s reply is typical of the man:

To the first charge, your Excellency, I answer that it is a lie, to the second charge, I say that it is a damned lie, and to the third charge it is a damned infernal lie, and, your Excellency, I have no more to say. Your Excellency’s obedient servant,

THOMAS TREMLETT.

He was independent and upright, and not even his enemies could accuse him of partiality or corruptness. But he lost no time in getting into trouble with the Legislature. However, he managed to reign for eleven years.

To the eternal credit of the British Colonial Office the solution was easy. The colonies exchanged Chief Justices! “Both these legal luminaries were at the time under a cloud, and it was considered a good arrangement to give each a new sphere, so a man-of- war carried Chief Justice Tremlett to the Island, and on her return voyage in October brought back the illustrious Caesar. ”

It was indeed a happy thought, but the two men met still more inglorious defeats in their new surroundings.