of Belcher's political difficulties, that he could more effectively raise troops than the governor could. Shirley consequently engaged in recruiting, principally outside Massachusetts (where Belcher had refused his offers of assistance, understanding what was going on), and deluged Newcastle with documentation of his successes while Belcher was preoccupied with the banking crisis. Newcastle handed the issue off to Martin Bladen, secretary to the Board of Trade and a known Belcher opponent. The Board of Trade then apparently decided, based on the weight of the evidence, that Belcher needed to be replaced. In April 1741 the Privy Council approved William Shirley's commission as governor of Massachusetts, and Benning Wentworth's commission as governor of New Hampshire was issued the following June. Governor of New Jersey The fact that he had been supplanted by Shirley came as a surprise to Belcher. He had expected to lose the New Hampshire governorship, but was shocked when news of Shirley's commissioning arrived. Following Shirley's inauguration Belcher retired to his Milton estate. Seemingly restless and in some financial need, he expressed weak interest in the possibility of holding another colonial appointment, and in 1743 traveled to England, stopping in Dublin to visit his son Jonathan Jr. When he arrived in London he joined the social circles of the Congregationalist and Quaker communities (the latter including among its influential members his brother-in-law Richard Partridge), and called on colonial administrators in the hopes of acquiring a new posting. There he remained for three years, until in 1746 word arrived that the governor of New Jersey, Lewis Morris, had died. Since New Jersey had a strong Quaker political establishment, Belcher immediately began mobilizing supporters in the London Quaker community to assist in securing the post. Due to this alacrity he was able to get the posting before agents for Morris' son Robert Hunter Morris had time to organize their effort. He served as governor of New Jersey from 1747 until his death in 1757. About a year after his arrival in Burlington (then the provincial capital), he married (for the second time) Louise Teale, a widow he met in London, in September 1748. The political situation he arrive in was highly acrimonious, and there had been riots in the previous year over widespread disagreements on land titles between land owners, who controlled the provincial council, and farmers and tenants, who controlled the assembly. Most legislation had been stalled since 1744