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
Founded| 1894
Disbanded| 1897
Preceded by| 16th General Assembly of Newfoundland
Succeeded by| 18th General Assembly of Newfoundland
Leadership

Premier

William Whiteway (1894), Liberal Party

Premier

Augustus F. Goodridge (1894), Tory Party

Premier

Daniel J. Greene (1894–1895), Liberal Party

Premier

William Whiteway (1895–1897), Liberal Party

Elections

Last election

| 1893 Newfoundland general election

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.

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

[edit]

The following members were elected to the assembly in 1893:[6][7]

| Member  | Electoral district  | Affiliation  | First elected / previously elected

|
|
|
|

| Henry J. B. Woods | Bay de Verde  | Liberal | 1889
| George E. Moores | 1893
| Sydney Woods (1894)  | 1894
| John B. Ayre (1894)  | Tory | 1894
| Donald Morison | Bonavista  | Tory | 1888
| Alfred B. Morine | 1886
| Samuel Blandford | 1889
| James Murray | Burgeo-La Poile | Independent  | 1889
| Henry Y. Mott (1894)  | Tory | 1894
| Dr. James S. Tait | Burin  | Liberal | 1889
| William B. Payne | 1893
| James J. Pitman (1894)  | 1894
| Henry Gear (1894)  | 1894
| William Duff | Carbonear  | Liberal | 1889
| Michael P. Cashin | Ferryland  | Liberal | 1893
| Daniel J. Greene | 1878
| Thomas C. Duder | Fogo  | Tory | 1893
| James O. Fraser, Jr. | Fortune Bay  | Tory | 1893
| Henry Dawe  | Harbour Grace  | Tory | 1893
| Robert S. Munn | 1889
| Eli Dawe | Liberal | 1889
| William Whiteway (1895)  | 1859, 1873, 1889, 1895
| Frank J. Morris | Harbour Main | Liberal | 1889
| William Woodford | 1889
| James McGrath | Placentia and St. Mary's | Liberal | 1889
| George Emerson | 1885
| Richard T. McGrath (1894)  | 1894
| Michael Tobin (1894)  | 1894
| William J. S. Donnelly | Tory | 1893
| John T. Dunphy | Liberal (1894)  | 1894
| Charles Dawe | Port de Grave  | Tory | 1893
| Alexander A. Parsons | St. Barbe | Liberal | 1893
| James W. Keating | St. George's  | Liberal | 1893
| Michael H. Carty (1894)  | 1882, 1894
| James Patrick Fox | St. John's East | Liberal | 1893
| Thomas J. Murphy | 1886
| John P. Fox (1894)  | 1894
| Charles Hutton (1894)  | 1894
| Lawrence O'Brien Furlong | Tory | 1893
| Edward Morris | St. John's West | Liberal | 1885
| James C. Tessier | 1893
| Maurice W. Furley | 1893
| Patrick J. Scott (1894)  | 1894
| G. J. Tessier (1894)  | 1894
| Thomas P. Jackman (1894)  | 1894
| William Whiteway | Trinity  | Liberal | 1859, 1873, 1889
| Robert Bond | 1882
| James H. Watson | 1893
| William H. Horwood (1894)  | 1894
| George W. Gushue (1894)  | 1894
| George M. Johnson (1894)  | 1894
| Jabez P. Thompson | Twillingate  | Liberal | 1889
| Robert Bond | 1882
| Gilles Foote (1894)  | 1894
| Augustus F. Goodridge | Tory | 1882
| Michael T. Knight | 1885, 1893

Notes:

## By-elections

[edit]

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[8]
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

[edit]

1. ^ Hiller, J.K. (1994). "Whiteway, Sir William Vallance". In Cook, Ramsay; Hamelin, Jean (eds.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. 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. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t "Elections". Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador. pp. 698–700.
7. ^ "Roll of Members, 17th General Assembly" (PDF). House of Assembly Newfoundland and Labrador. Retrieved 2025-03-25.
8. ^ Cuff, Robert H.; Kenney, Paul F. (1990). "Munn, Robert Steward". In Halpenny, Francess G (ed.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. XII (1891–1900) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.

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