The Commission of Government was a non-elected body that governed the Dominion of Newfoundland from 1934 to 1949. Established following the collapse of Newfoundland's economy during the Great Depression, it was dissolved when the dominion became the tenth province of Canada on March 31, 1949. It was composed of civil servants who were directly subordinate to the British Government in London.
Newfoundland's economic difficulties were exacerbated by debt incurred during the First World War and the collapse of fish prices during the Depression.[1] In 1933, following a prolonged period of economic crisis and severe budgetary deficit, and civil unrest culminating in a riot which brought down the previous government, the government of Prime Minister Frederick C. Alderdice asked the British and Canadian governments to establish a royal commission (the Newfoundland Royal Commission) to investigate the dominion's continuing crisis and to suggest a solution to its problems.
The commission (commonly known as the "Amulree Commission") was chaired by Lord Amulree, appointed by the British government, and also included Charles Alexander Magrath, appointed by the Canadian government, and Sir William Ewen Stavert, who represented the Newfoundland government.
The commission recommended the temporary suspension of responsible government in Newfoundland, and replacing it with a Commission of Government made up of the British-appointed Governor and six commissioners appointed by the Crown made up of three British officials and three Newfoundland-born appointees.
Alderdice was in favour of this recommendation and accordingly put it to the House of Assembly, which duly approved the proposals and thus voted itself out of existence.
The Commission of Government was sworn in on 16 February 1934,[2] with Alderdice as vice-chairman, and immediately set about reforming the administration of the country in hopes of balancing the government's budget. With the help of grants in aid from the United Kingdom, the Commission attempted to encourage agriculture and reorganize the fishing industry. While it did much to expand government health services to rural areas, for example, it could not solve the basic economic problems of a small export-oriented country during a time of worldwide economic stagnation.
American and Canadian military spending in Newfoundland during the 1940s caused an economic boom and allowed the Commission of Government to consider how to reintroduce a system of democratic government. However, the British government believed that wartime prosperity would be short-lived. So it established the Newfoundland National Convention in 1946 to debate constitutional options, which were submitted to the people in two referendums in 1948. By a slender majority, Newfoundlanders chose to become a province of Canada, rather than return to the status of a self-governing dominion. The Commission of Government continued to govern Newfoundland until March 31, 1949, when Newfoundland joined Canada.
| Term | Chairman | |
|---|---|---|
| 1934–1935 | Sir David Murray Anderson | |
| 1936–1946 | Sir Humphrey T. Walwyn | |
| 1946–1949 | Sir Gordon MacDonald |
| Name | From | To | Role | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frederick Charles Alderdice | 16 February 1934 | 1936 | Commissioner for Home Affairs and Education, Vice Chairman 1934-1936 | |
| Sir John Hope Simpson | 16 February 1934 | 1936 | Commissioner of Natural Resources and Acting-Commissioner of Justice | |
| William Richard Howley | 16 February 1934 | 1937 | Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General 1934-1937; Vice-Chairman 1936-1937 | |
| Thomas Lodge | 16 February 1934 | 1937 | Commissioner of Public Utilities | |
| John Charles Puddester (knighted in 1939) | 16 February 1934 | 1947 | Commissioner of Public Health and Welfare; Vice-Chairman 1938-1947 | |
| Everard Noel Rye Trentham | 16 February 1934 | 1937 | Commissioner of Finance | |
| James Alexander Winter | 20 April 1936 | 1941 | Commissioner of Home Affairs and Education | |
| Robert Benson Ewbank | 28 July 1936 | 1939 | Commissioner of Natural Resources | |
| Sir Wilfrid Wentworth Woods | 15 January 1937 | 1944 | Commissioner of Public Utilities | |
| John Hubert Penson | 10 May 1937 | 1941 | Commissioner of Finance | |
| Lewis Edward Emerson (knighted in 1944) | 15 September 1937 | 1944 | Commissioner of Justice and Attorney General 1937-1940, Commissioner of Defence 1940-1944 | |
| John Henry Gorvin | 31 May 1939 | 1941 | Commissioner of Natural Resources | |
| Ira Wild | 16 February 1941 | 1946 | Commissioner of Finance | |
| Peter Douglas Hay Dunn | 30 June 1941 | 1945 | Commissioner of Natural Resources | |
| Harry Anderson Winter | 20 May 1941 | 1947 | Commissioner of Home Affairs and Education 1941-1944, Commissioner of Justice and Commissioner of Defence 1944-1947 | |
| Sir George Ernest London | 5 September 1944 | 1945 | Commissioner of Public Utilities | |
| Albert Joseph Walsh (knighted in 1949) | 5 September 1944 | 1949 | Commissioner of Home Affairs and Education 1944-1949, Commissioner of Defence 1947-1949 | |
| James Scott Neill | 28 September 1945 | 1949 | Commissioner for Public Utilities and Supply | |
| William Henry Flinn | 28 September 1945 | 1949 | Commissioner of Natural Resources | |
| Richard Lewis Malcolm James | 12 September 1946 | 1949 | Commissioner of Finance | |
| Herman William Quinton | 1 January 1947 | 1949 | Commissioner of Public Health and Welfare 1947-1949 | |
| Herbert Lench Pottle | 19 September 1947 | 1949 | Commissioner for Public Welfare |
Details as per notices in The London Gazette: