2nd General Assembly of Newfoundland

2nd General Assembly of Newfoundland
History
Founded 1837
Disbanded 1841
Preceded by 1st General Assembly of Newfoundland
Succeeded by 3rd General Assembly of Newfoundland
Leadership
Thomas Bennett (until 1837)
William Carson (1838-1841)
Elections
Last election
 Newfoundland general election, 1837
Next election
 Newfoundland general election, 1842

The The members of the 2nd General Assembly of Newfoundland were elected in the Newfoundland general election held in May 1837. The general assembly sat from July 3, 1837[1] to 1841.

The assembly continue to meet at the Old Court House.[2]

William Carson was chosen as speaker.[3]

An Education Act passed in 1836 established a public education system in the province.[4]

In 1838, Edward Kielley was alleged to have threatened and insulted John Kent, a member of the assembly, regarding remarks made by Kent in the assembly. The assembly considered these actions to violate the parliamentary privilege of the Newfoundland legislature and ordered Kielley arrested. The Supreme Court of Newfoundland upheld the actions of the assembly but in 1842 the ruling was overturned by the Judicial committee of the British Privy Council which ruled that the privileges of the British House of Commons were not transferred to colonial legislatures.[5]

Sir Henry Prescott served as civil governor of Newfoundland.[6]

Members of the Assembly

The following members were elected to the assembly in 1837:[1]

Member Electoral district Affiliation[nb 1][7]
Hugh A. Emerson Bonavista Bay Conservative
Henry G. Butler Burin Liberal
Peter Brown Conception Bay Liberal
John McCarthy Liberal
Anthony Godfrey Liberal
James Power Liberal
Peter Winser Ferryland Liberal
Edward James Dwyer Fogo Conservative
William Bickford Row Fortune Bay Conservative
Patrick Doyle Placentia and St. Mary's Liberal
John Valentine Nugent Liberal
William Carson St. John's Liberal
John Kent Liberal
Patrick Morris Liberal
Thomas Fitzgibbon Moore Trinity Bay Conservative

Notes:

  1. ↑ Indicates political orientation rather than party membership

By-elections

By-elections were held to replace members for various reasons:

Electoral district Member elected Affiliation Election date Reason
Conception Bay none[nb 1] n/a 1840 A Godfrey died[7]
St. John's Laurence O'Brien liberal 1840 P Morris named to Executive Council[7]

Notes:

  1. ↑ No return due to riots

References

  1. 1 2 Prowse, D W (1971). A History of Newfoundland from the English, Colonial, and foreign records. Merdian Publishing. pp. 438, 657.
  2. ↑ "The Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly". Canadian Parliamentary Review. Vol 34 (3). 2011.
  3. ↑ "The Speaker of the House of Assembly". House of Assembly.
  4. ↑ "Education". Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage. Memorial University.
  5. ↑ Courage, John (1981). "Parliamentary Privilege in Newfoundland: The Strange Case of Kielly vs Carson". Canadian Parliamentary Review. Vol 4 (3).
  6. ↑ Hayne, David, ed. (1972). "Prescott, Sir Henry". Dictionary of Canadian Biography. X (1871–1880) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.
  7. 1 2 3 "Elections". Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador. pp. 682–83.
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