In 1853, James Douglas was appointed
Blanshard‘s successor while retaining his
position as chief factor for the Hudson’s Bay
Company on the northwest coast. This dual
role caused political conflict, although it
provided financial backing for the government
to develop the colony. Douglas subsequently
nominated Roderick Finlayson, another
company officer, to replace him on council.

Law and order was necessary to maintain
economic and social development. A municipal
police force—the Victoria Voltigeurs—was set
up for Vancouver Island by Governor Douglas.
The governor, who became the force’s
commander-in-chief of Vancouver Island,
obtained substantial funding for the force from
the Hudson’s Bay Company. Visiting naval
vessels protected settlers from the Indians and
the Royal Navy was on call to protect the
colony from outside invaders.

British law was in force in the colony, although
laws were passed to suit local circumstances,
provided they did not contravene principles of
British law. For example, one of the first laws
passed was a licence law to raise revenues for
colonial government expenses. In justice
matters, Governor Douglas continued the
practices established by Blanshard.

An example of how justice was executed under
Douglas’s regime happened in early 1853, at the
beginning of the colonial period. The case
involved the murder of a shepherd, Peter
Brown, by two Cowichan Indians on an
outlying company farm. Douglas received
information that one of the natives was in
Saanich and the other had fled to Nanaimo.

Douglas mounted an expedition. Captain
Kuper of H.M.S. Thetis was in Esquimalt
Harbour and offered his assistance. One
hundred and thirty seamen and marines were
made available. The governor “added ten
Victoria Voltigeurs, resplendent in their
tasselled caps, sky-blue capotes, buckskin
trousers, and broad scarlet sashes from which
hung the powder-horns for their guns.’ The
Beaver and the Recovery, both vessels of the
Hudson’s Bay Company, joined the expedition,
and the entire force soon arrived at Cowichan.

Douglas described the events at Cowichan (or
Camegin):

Arrived at Camegin this morning—great
excitement among the Indians who shunned
the vessels. By a canoe, which at length
ventured alongside, I despatched (a)
messenger to the Camegin chiefs inviting
them to a conference, in which I hope to be
able to prevail upon them to surrender the
murderer quietly and without recourse to
coercive measures, which I consider
justifiable only as a last recourse: indeed
every motive of sound policy and humanity
dictates a quiet settlement of this
difference.

The messengers returned in the evening
with the intelligence that the chiefs of the
Camegins agreed to hold a conference near
the mouth of the river, where they will
meet us tomorrow morning, instead of
coming on board the boat, which they fear
to do. We have accordingly made
arrangements to leave the ship at 8 o'clock
tomorrow to meet them, with our whole
force.

6 Smith, Dorothy Blakey, James Douglas, Father of British Columbia (Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1971).

Corrections in British Columbia