2nd General Assembly of Newfoundland

History
Founded| 1837
Disbanded| 1841
Preceded by| 1st General Assembly of Newfoundland
Succeeded by| 3rd General Assembly of Newfoundland
Leadership

Speaker

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

[edit]

The following members were elected to the assembly in 1837:[7][8]

| Member  | Electoral district  | Affiliation[nb 1][9] | 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 (1840)  | Liberal | 1840
| Thomas Fitzgibbon Moore | Trinity Bay  | Conservative | 1837

## 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 2] | n/a  | 1840  | A Godfrey died[9]
St. John's  | Laurence O'Brien | liberal  | 1840  | P Morris named to Executive Council[9]

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Indicates political orientation rather than party membership
2. ^ No return due to riots

## References

[edit]

1. ^ 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. ^ name=prowse
8. ^ "Roll of Members, 2nd General Assembly" (PDF). House of Assembly Newfoundland and Labrador. Retrieved 2025-03-21.
9. ^ a b c "Elections". Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador. pp. 682–83.

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Politics of Newfoundland and Labrador

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* King Charles III

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* Joan Marie Aylward
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Premier|

* John Hogan
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* Tony Wakeham
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* Derek Bennett
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Active political parties|

| Political parties that have seats|

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Defunct political parties|

* Newfoundland and Labrador Alliance (2019–2023)
* Labrador Party (1969–1975, 2003–2007)
* Newfoundland and Labrador First Party (1999–2011)
* Newfoundland Reform Liberal Party (1975)
* United Newfoundland Party (1932, 1959)
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* Responsible Government League (1947–1949)
* Confederate Association (1948–1949)
* Party for Economic Union with the United States (1948)
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* Fisherman's Protective Union (1913–1934)
* Newfoundland People's Party (1907–1923)
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