17th General Assembly of Newfoundland

The members of the 17th General Assembly of Newfoundland were elected in the Newfoundland general election held in November 1893. The general assembly sat from 1894 to 1897.

17th General Assembly of Newfoundland
Colonial Building seat of the Newfoundland government and the House of Assembly from January 28, 1850, to July 28, 1959.
History
Founded1894
Disbanded1897
Preceded by16th General Assembly of Newfoundland
Succeeded by18th General Assembly of Newfoundland
Leadership
Premier
Premier
Premier
Premier
Elections
Last election
1893 Newfoundland general election

The Liberal Party led by William Whiteway formed the government. The Tory Party filed petitions against 15 Liberals including Whiteway and James Murray, an independent, alleging corrupt practices during the election; the results of those elections were set aside. The Tory Party temporarily held the majority and formed a government led by Augustus F. Goodridge in 1894. Following the by-elections, the Liberals regained the majority and formed a government led by Daniel J. Greene. After Whiteway won re-election in a by-election, he became Premier again.[1]

George Emerson was chosen as speaker.[2]

Sir Terence O'Brien served as colonial governor of Newfoundland until 1895,[3] when he was replaced by Sir Herbert Harley Murray.[4]

On December 8, 1894, London banks suspended credit to the Commercial Bank of Newfoundland and requested payment on some of its loans. The bank was unable to meet these obligations and requested its merchant customers to repay their loans; the merchants, themselves financially strapped, were unable to comply. On October 10, known as Black Monday, the Commercial Bank closed. This caused a run by customers on the two remaining banks, the Union Bank of Newfoundland and the Savings Bank of Newfoundland. The Savings Bank was able to cash a large cheque at the Union Bank, but the Union Bank was subsequently forced to close. Neither of the two closed banks would ever reopen. This resulted in the devaluation of Newfoundland's currency, the shutdown of many businesses and widespread unemployment in the colony. Early in 1895, banks from Canada opened branches in Newfoundland to fill the void. The value of the Newfoundland dollar was set to the same value as the Canadian dollar.[5]

Members of the Assembly

The following members were elected to the assembly in 1893:[6]

Member Electoral district Affiliation
Henry J. B. Woods Bay de Verde Liberal
George E. Moores
Donald Morison Bonavista Tory
Alfred B. Morine
Samuel Blandford
James Murray Burgeo-La Poile Independent
Dr. James S. Tait Burin Liberal
William B. Payne
William Duff Carbonear Liberal
Michael P. Cashin Ferryland Liberal
Daniel J. Greene
Thomas C. Duder Fogo Tory
James O. Fraser, Jr. Fortune Bay Tory
Henry Dawe Harbour Grace Tory
Robert S. Munn
Eli Dawe Liberal
Frank J. Morris Harbour Main Liberal
William Woodford
James McGrath Placentia and St. Mary's Liberal
George Emerson
William J. S. Donnelly Tory
Charles Dawe Port de Grave Tory
Alexander A. Parsons St. Barbe Liberal
James W. Keating St. George's Liberal
James Patrick Fox St. John's East Liberal
Thomas J. Murphy
Lawrence O'Brien Furlong Tory
Edward Morris St. John's West Liberal
James C. Tessier
Maurice W. Furley
William Whiteway Trinity Liberal
Robert Bond
James H. Watson
Jabez P. Thompson Twillingate Liberal
Augustus F. Goodridge Tory
Michael T. Knight

Notes:

    By-elections

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

    Electoral district Member elected Affiliation Election date Reason
    Bay de Verde Sydney Woods Liberal May 22, 1894 Results of 1893 election set aside[6]
    John B. Ayre Tory
    Burgeo-La Poile Henry Y. Mott Tory September 10, 1894 Results of 1893 election set aside[6]
    Bonavista Donald Morison Tory October 2, 1894 D Morrison named to cabinet; required to run for reelection[6]
    Alfred B. Morine A B Morine named to cabinet; required to run for reelection[6]
    Fogo Thomas C. Duder Tory T C Duder named to cabinet; required to run for reelection[6]
    Trinity William H. Horwood Liberal October 16, 1894 Results of 1893 election set aside[6]
    George W. Gushue
    George M. Johnson
    Twillingate Gilles Foote Liberal M T Knight named to cabinet; required to run for reelection[6]
    Burin James J. Pitman Liberal November 10, 1894 Results of 1893 election set aside[6]
    Henry Gear
    Placentia and St. Mary's Richard T. McGrath Liberal Results of 1893 election set aside[6]
    Michael Tobin
    John T. Dunphy WJS Donnelly named to cabinet; required to run for reelection[6]
    St. John's East John P. Fox Liberal Results of 1893 election set aside[6]
    Charles Hutton
    St. John's West Patrick J. Scott Liberal Results of 1893 election set aside[6]
    G. J. Tessier
    Thomas P. Jackman
    St. George's Michael H. Carty Liberal November 12, 1894 Results of 1893 election set aside[6]
    Bay de Verde Henry J. B. Woods Liberal February 27, 1895 S Woods resigned seat[6]
    Harbour Grace William Whiteway[6] Liberal R S Munn died December 17, 1894[7]
    Eli Dawe E Dawe named to cabinet; required to run for reelection[6]
    St. John's West Patrick J. Scott Liberal P J Scott named to cabinet; required to run for reelection[6]
    Edward Patrick Morris G J Tessier resigned seat[6]
    Twillingate Robert Bond Liberal September 16, 1895 JP Thompson resigned seat[6]

    Notes:

      References
      1. Hiller, J.K. (1994). "Whiteway, Sir William Vallance". In Cook, Ramsay; Hamelin, Jean (eds.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. XIII (1901–1910) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.
      2. "The Speaker of the House of Assembly". House of Assembly.
      3. "O'Brien, Sir John Terence Nicholls". Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage. Memorial University.
      4. "Murray, Sir Herbert Harley". Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage. Memorial University.
      5. "1894 Bank Crash". Memorial University.
      6. "Elections". Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador. pp. 698–700.
      7. Cuff, Robert H.; Kenney, Paul F. (1990). "Munn, Robert Steward". In Halpenny, Francess G (ed.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. XII (1891–1900) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.
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