2nd General Assembly of Newfoundland

2nd General Assembly of Newfoundland
History
Founded1837
Disbanded1841
Preceded by1st General Assembly of Newfoundland
Succeeded by3rd General Assembly of Newfoundland
Leadership
Thomas Bennett (until 1837)
William Carson (1838-1841)
Elections
Last election
1837 Newfoundland general election
Next election
1842 Newfoundland general election

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

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

Member Electoral district Affiliation[nb 1][7] First elected
Hugh A. Emerson Bonavista Bay Conservative 1837
Henry G. Butler Burin Liberal 1837
Peter Brown Conception Bay Liberal 1832
John McCarthy Liberal 1837
Anthony Godfrey Liberal 1837
James Power Liberal 1832
Peter Winser Ferryland Liberal 1837
Edward James Dwyer Fogo Conservative 1837
William Bickford Row Fortune Bay Conservative 1837
Patrick Doyle Placentia and St. Mary's Liberal 1837
John Valentine Nugent Liberal 1837
William Carson St. John's Liberal 1833
John Kent Liberal 1832
Patrick Morris Liberal 1837
Laurence O'Brien Liberal 1840
Thomas Fitzgibbon Moore Trinity Bay Conservative 1837

Notes:

  1. ^ Indicates political orientation rather than party membership

By-elections

[edit]

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

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  1. ^ a b Prowse, D W (1971). A History of Newfoundland from the English, Colonial, and foreign records. Merdian Publishing. pp. 438, 657. Archived from the original on 2014-07-27. Retrieved 2014-07-22.
  2. ^ "The Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly". Canadian Parliamentary Review. 34 (3). 2011.
  3. ^ "The Speaker of the House of Assembly". House of Assembly. Archived from the original on 2009-10-13.
  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. 4 (3).
  6. ^ Hayne, David, ed. (1972). "Prescott, Sir Henry". Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. X (1871–1880) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.
  7. ^ a b c "Elections". Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador. pp. 682–83.
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