5th General Assembly of Newfoundland explained

5th General Assembly of Newfoundland
Coa Pic:Colonialbuilding.jpg
Coa Caption:Colonial Building seat of the Newfoundland government and the House of Assembly from January 28, 1850 to July 28, 1959.
Foundation:1853
Disbanded:1855
Leader1 Type:Speaker
Leader1:John Kent
Election2:1852
Last Election1:1852 Newfoundland general election

The members of the 5th General Assembly of Newfoundland were elected in the Newfoundland general election held in 1852. The general assembly sat from 1853 to 1855.

John Kent was chosen as speaker.[1]

Ker Baillie-Hamilton served as civil governor of Newfoundland.[2]

Although Baillie-Hamilton was opposed to any change in the colony's system of government, in March 1854, Philip Francis Little and Robert John Parsons, with the support of Joseph Hume, were able to persuade the secretary of state for the colonies, the Duke of Newcastle, to grant responsible government to the colony.[2]

Later in 1854, the assembly passed a Representation Act to double the number of seats in the assembly; this satisfied one of the conditions set by Newcastle for implementation of responsible government.[3]

Baillie-Hamilton delayed the upcoming general election until May 1855 because he felt that a winter election would be unfair to Protestant voters living in remote areas of the colony.[2]

Members of the Assembly

The following members were elected to the assembly in 1852:[4]

MemberElectoral districtAffiliationFirst elected / previously elected
John Henry WarrenBonavista BayConservative1852
Clement BenningBurinLiberal1852
John BemisterConception BayConservative1852
Edmund HanrahanLiberal1848
John HaywardConservative1852
William TalbotLiberal1852
Peter WinserFerrylandLiberal1848
George Henry Emerson[5] FogoConservative1848
Hugh William HoylesFortune BayConservative1848
George James HogsettPlacentia and St. Mary'sLiberal1852
Ambrose SheaLiberal1848
John KentSt. John'sLiberal1832, 1848
Philip Francis LittleLiberal1850
Robert John ParsonsLiberal1843
Stephen MarchTrinity BayConservative1852

Notes:

  1. Web site: The Speaker of the House of Assembly . House of Assembly . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20091013233930/http://www.assembly.nl.ca/members/speaker.htm . 2009-10-13 .
  2. Baillie Hamilton, Ker . 5355 . Jones . Frederick . 11.
  3. Web site: Shift Towards Responsible Government . Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage . Memorial University.
  4. Encyclopedia: Elections. . 684 .
  5. By 1854, Emerson had aligned himself with the Liberals, bringing their number to ten.

By-elections

None