CHAPTER VIToC

Estimate of the sums necessary to pay the salaries of the Governor and Civil Officers in the Island of Newfoundland from April 1st, 1787, to April 1st, 1788:£s.d.Salary of the Governor50000The Governor's Secretary182100The Judge of the Admiralty20000The Naval Officer10000The Agent10000On Account, for Fees on Receipt and Audit10000£1,182100

It will be of interest to give here a few figures as to the growth of the English population in order to show that colonial developments were proceeding in the right direction. "Residents grew apace, as the increase of women and children from 612 in 1710 to 1,356 in 1738, and to 2,508 in 1754 attested. Heads of families accounted for a third more, so that in round numbers permanent residents were 800 in 1710, 1,800 in 1738, and 3,400 in 1754. The ship's crews of English ships, for whose sake the older theorists taught that the fisheries primarily existed, numbered 3,600 in 1738 and 4,500 in 1754, so that they outnumbered residents, in the strictest sense of the word residents. But if residents included all those who wintered on the island, they outnumbered ship's crews during this half-century. On the other hand, if passengers were added to ships' crews, the visitors outnumbered the settlers, except when there were war scares....[32]Between 1764 and 1774 residents for the first time continuously outnumbered visitors. During these years the winter residents, including male hangers-on as well as settlers, averaged 12,340; and visitors, including 'passengers' as well as ships' crews, averaged 11,876; or excluding male hangers-on from the one side and passengers from the other side, residents averaged 5,660 and visitors 5,435. Figures no longer yielded an uncertain sound. The Rubicon was only justcrossed, but was indisputably and irrevocably crossed. Thenceforth the living-rooms were larger than the corridors, and political arithmetic pointed at the permanent occupants as the men of destiny. In 1764 the new tilt of the balance struck the law officers of the Crown, who wrote that it was 'disgraceful to suffer' the Act of 1699 'to remain in the Statute Book' as circumstances had so much changed. This disproportion increased; and the 12,000 inhabitants of 1764-74 swelled to 17,000 in 1792, 20,000 in 1804, and 52,000 in 1822, without any corresponding increase on the part of those who appeared every spring and faded away every autumn, like leaves or flowers."[33]

[30]Quoted in Egerton's "History of British Colonial Policy."

[30]Quoted in Egerton's "History of British Colonial Policy."

[31]But see the end of the present chapter in regard to the character and fluctuations of the population.

[31]But see the end of the present chapter in regard to the character and fluctuations of the population.

[32]For example, in 1745, 1746, 1757.

[32]For example, in 1745, 1746, 1757.

[33]Rogers,op. cit., pp. 122-123, 137-138.

[33]Rogers,op. cit., pp. 122-123, 137-138.

The War of American Independence forms a convenient point at which to examine for a moment in passing the English colonial system, of which Newfoundland was in some sense a victim. It may then at once be stated that in the English view, as in the Spanish view, a "plantation" was expected, directly or indirectly, to contribute to the wealth of the Mother Country. If it contributed much, it was a good colony; if little, its consequence was less. Hence the English legislation throttling colonial manufacturers in the supposed interests of English merchants, and confining colonial trade to English channels. Hence the disregard, persistent and unashamed, of Adam Smith's immortal saying: "To prohibit a great people from making all that they can of every part of their own produce, or from employing their stock and industry in the way that they judge most advantageous to themselves, is a manifest violation of the most sacred rights of mankind." Long before Smith, the wisest ofEnglishmen had sounded a clear note of warning far in advance of his age. Bacon wrote in his essay on plantations: "Let there be freedom from custom, till the plantation be of strength: and not only freedom from custom, but freedom to carry their commodities where they make their best of them, except there be some special cause of caution."

Any stick has been thought good enough to beat those who lost America, but we must not suppress the little that may be urged on their behalf. Here again may be cited the dispassionate opinion of Adam Smith: "Though the policy of Great Britain with regard to the trade of her colonies has been dictated by the same mercantile spirit as that of other nations, it has, upon the whole, been less illiberal and oppressive than that of any of them." To the same effect Mr Lecky: "It is a gross ... misrepresentation to describe the commercial policy of England as exceptionally tyrannical." In fact, the expense of protecting Newfoundland and America against French attacks was serious and constant. That the colonies owed contribution to that defence is clear, for it would be involved in any other view that an American enjoyed a natural right to be protected against France at the charges of a Londoner. In the face of all this the colonies were conspicuously and notoriously unable to agree upon any principle of allocating grants. In this respect Newfoundland was no better than the American colonies. "We shouldbe extremely concerned," wrote a merchant officially consulted on the point, "to see any species of taxes introduced into this island which would inevitably be burdensome and inconvenient to the trade and fishing in general, and we trust that in the wisdom of His Majesty's Ministers no such innovation will take place."

The attempt, then, to tax from home was defensible, and Chatham was clearly wrong in denying its legality. On the other hand, to persevere in the attempt was the folly of weakness, mistaking obstinacy for strength.

It must be remembered, as a partial extenuation of English selfishness in Newfoundland, that the long arm of England was ever extended for the colony's protection, and that the charges therefor were defrayed by the English taxpayer. Hence the view followed, naturally but unfortunately, that the island was an asset to be exploited commercially in the interests of the home country.

In 1783 the Treaty of Versailles revised the French rights conferred by the Treaty of Utrecht. The French boundary was contracted from Cape Bonavista to Cape St. John on the east coast, and was extended from Point Riche to Cape Ray on the west. The whole subject of the French claims will be examined in a separate chapter,[34]but a very important undertaking set forth in the Treaty of Versailles must not be omitted:

"His Britannic Majesty ... that the fishermen of the two nations may not give cause for daily quarrels, was pleased to engage that he would take the most positive measures for preventing his subjects from interrupting in any measure by their competition, the fishing of the French during the temporary exercise thereof which is granted to them upon the coasts of the island of Newfoundland, and that he would for that purpose cause the permanent settlements which should be formed there to be removed, and that he would give orders that the French fishermen should not be incommoded in the cutting of wood, necessary for the repair of their scaffolds, huts, and fishing boats."

In the time of Governor Milbanke, in 1791, an Act of Parliament tardily created "the Court of Civil Jurisdiction of our Lord the King at St. John's in the island of Newfoundland," which Court was empowered to try all civil cases except those relating to land, and which usually began actions by the peremptory procedure of arresting the defendant and attaching his goods. The following year a supreme Court of Civil and Criminal Judicature was instituted which superseded the Court erected the previous year, put an end to the authority of the "fishing-admirals," of the Courts held in summer by surrogates (naval commanders visiting the island) and of the Courts of Session held in winter by local justices of the peace,and was empowered to try all persons charged with criminal offences and determine civil suits, including those relating to land, and to make arrest and attachment in civil suits discretionary and alternative. The jurisdiction of the Court was renewed annually, then triennially; and John Reeves, to whose history all writers on Newfoundland owe so much, was appointed the first Chief Justice; but he remained in the island only till 1792, when he was succeeded by ex-surgeons, collectors of customs, and merchants. In 1809 a perpetual Act was passed, which purported to abolish definitely the diverse and sporadic jurisdictions; but such is the force of old customs and practices that it was not till 1824 that the old Session Courts, Courts of Surrogates and of fishing-admirals were finally extinguished, and at the same time two assistant judges were appointed to aid the Chief Justice, and all three judges were to be English or Irish barristers. A Court of Civil Jurisdiction was also created for Labrador. We may recall here the observations of Chief Justice Reeves on the fishing-admirals: "They are ever the servants of the merchants. Justice was not to be expected from them; and a poor planter or inhabitant, who was considered little better than a law-breaker in being such, had but a small chance of justice in opposition to any great west-country merchant. They considered that Newfoundland was theirs, and that all theplanters were to be spoiled and devoured at their pleasure." It must be recorded that this most just and necessary reform in judicial administration was vainly but bitterly opposed by the merchants at home.

In 1793 came the war with revolutionary France, and Newfoundland was once again in a bustle of defensive preparation. The Governor, Vice-Admiral King, took possession of St. Pierre. The French, under Admiral Richery, threatened St. John's, but desisted in face of the vigour of the new Governor, Admiral Sir Richard Wallace (1796), who raised volunteers, strengthened the forts, and prepared new batteries. In 1797 the mutiny at the Nore broke out, provoked by real grievances. As far off as Newfoundland the spirit of disaffection spread, and an outbreak occurred on H.M.S.Latona, then lying in the harbour of St. John's. It was quelled by the resolution of Captain Sothern; and Governor Waldegrave (1797-1800), afterwards Lord Radstock, summoned the mutineers before him and addressed them in the presence of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, whom they had tried to affect with sedition. "I may venture to say," the Governor writes home, "my speech was of much service." It was certainly of much vigour. "If I am to judge from your conduct," he said, "I must think that the majority of you are either villains or cowards. If the greater number of you are against your officers,... I have a right to say that you are traitors.... If there are only a few bad men among you, which you pretend to be the case, I maintain that you are a set of dastardly cowards, for suffering yourselves to be bullied by a few villains, who wish for nothing better than to see us become the slaves of France.... You were all eager for news and newspapers to see how your great delegate, Parker"—the ringleader at the Nore—"was going on. I thank God I have the satisfaction to inform you that he is hanged.... You looked up to him as an example whilst he was in his glory. I recommend you to look to his end as an example also.... I have now to tell you that I have given orders to all your officers, that in case any further signs of mutiny should appear among you, they are not to think of confining the ringleaders, but to put them to death instantly; and, what is still more, I have given orders to the officers commanding the batteries, to burn theLatonawith red-hot shot, in case you drive me ... to that extremity. I know in this case the officers must perish with you; but there is not one of them but is ready to sacrifice himself for the good of his country.... And now go to church, and pray God to inspire you with such sentiments as may acquire you the respect and love of your countrymen in this world and eternal happiness in the next."

This speech, which was rescued from oblivion by the industry of Mr Pedley, came clearly from aman of energy and resolution. In fact, Governor Waldegrave proved himself to possess unusual resource and vigour. He was the creator of the Newfoundland system of poor relief, and he busied himself actively in the interests of religion. On the latter subject it is pleasant to note a spirit of growing breadth in the island. In particular, the loyal labours of the Roman Catholic Bishop O'Donnell opened up a new era of tolerance for his followers. To this Bishop was due the discovery, in 1802, of a plot among the locally enlisted Royal Newfoundland Regiment, to loot St. John's and then fly to the United States. The ringleaders were executed, and the mutinous regiment was replaced by one from Halifax.

The war with France was for the time being terminated by the Peace of Amiens (1802), whereby the conquered territory was to be restored—so that St. Pierre and Miguelon were returned to France; and her fishing rights were renewed on the same basis as was laid down in the Treaty of Utrecht.

In 1802, by which time the population of the island amounted to about twenty thousand persons, Governor Gambier (1802-1803), who was in advance of his age in his views on government, as well as on the education of the settlers, and the civilization of the Beothics, proposed to Lord Hobart the establishment of a legislative power in Newfoundland, similar to that which has been foundnecessary to the prosperity and good government of other parts of the British dominions. The suggestion was treated as premature, and probably was so in fact. That it should have been made at all shows how far we have travelled from the swaddling clothes of monopoly. However this may be, two important civilizing agencies were introduced in 1805 and 1806—a regular post office, and a newspaper (theRoyal Gazette).

In 1810 began Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Duckworth's period of office, which soon revealed a Governor of energy and intelligence. He journeyed to the northern settlements and Labrador to learn the condition and needs of the population; he tried to secure friendly relations with the Red Indians of the country, and set up a hospital in St. John's. Amongst other reforms he procured the passing of a statute in 1811 (51 George III.) authorizing him to grant leases of certain ships' rooms at St. John's then in public occupation. Following up in this way the useful work of Governor Gower (1804-1807), he used his leasing power to promote the building of warehouses and wharves. The idea that the inhabitants of St. John's had a right to make it habitable was slowly gaining ground. Duckworth was an able and far-seeing man, and his report on the condition of the island, furnished to the home authorities at the end of his governorship, was a lucid and memorable document. His condemnation of thebuilding restrictions paved the way for the fearless agitation of Dr. William Carson. A distinguished medical graduate of Edinburgh, Carson incurred the dislike of Governor Duckworth, and his successor, Governor Keats, by his outspoken pamphlets. Indeed, there was nothing equivocal in Carson's views:

"The only remedy against the evils flowing from the present system will be found in giving to the people, what they most ardently wish, a civil Government, consisting of a resident Governor, a Senate House, and House of Assembly."

Hitherto the population had possessed no voice in the administration of their own affairs. The Governors exercised an absolute power, which to progressive minds appeared to be an indifferent and unnecessary despotism. So far as Newfoundland affairs were concerned they almost invariably adopted an ultra-conservative attitude, and were hostile to proposals for amelioration called for in the changing circumstances of the colony. Thus the demand for self-government became more and more general.

The Anglo-American War which began in 1812 ushered in a period of great prosperity to Newfoundland. Fish were plentiful, prices good beyond precedent, and wages high in proportion.

The Great European War was terminated by the Battle of Waterloo on 1815, and peace was restored by the Treaty of Paris. Under the latterthe French regained the right of fishing on the banks and shores of Newfoundland. The privileges of Americans to fish in British waters were also enlarged. In favour of their own fishermen, both the French and American governments then established a system of bounties, and by imposing high duties prevented the importation of Newfoundland fish into their own markets. Thus the Newfoundland fishermen were obliged to compete with their rivals on very unequal terms.

Governor Pickmore, who succeeded Governor Keats in 1816, was confronted with a very difficult state of things. The high prices which had ruled from 1812 to 1815 had attracted emigrants in large and undesirable numbers. The commercial reaction and foreign competition, aided by the bounties, hit the merchants hard, and in 1815 bankruptcy trod fast on the heels of bankruptcy. In the following winter actual starvation menaced the residents, and many owed their lives to the generosity and energy of Captain David Buchan, commander of H.M.S.Pike, who put his men on short rations for the relief of the inhabitants. In an address of thanks, which was presented to him when the crisis was past, his services were gratefully recorded:

"At this distressing crisis you afforded us from His Majesty's store a supply in aid of our then alarming and terrible wants. You then, with patriotic feeling, placed the company of theship which you command on reduced allowance, and yielded to the public distress every alleviation which such means afforded."

The lean years were still further saddened by the terrible fire of 1817, which left more than a thousand persons houseless, in the full severity of winter. The wooden houses and narrow streets of St. John's made resistance hopeless, when the flames had once gained a hold. It was estimated that the fire caused a loss of £125,000. The wealthier inhabitants and the home Government gave what relief was possible, and in 1818 the crisis yielded before brighter prospects.

Pickmore was the first Governor to reside continuously in the island (where he also died), for his predecessors had sailed away with the fishermen in October to reappear with the beginning of summer. In 1817 a Select Committee of the House of Commons was specially appointed to consider the situation of Newfoundland. The merchants, full as ever of vicious political economy, had two remedies to propose for the admitted distresses. One was the concession of bounties to place them on a level with French and American competition; the other was the removal of the population (then numbering 17,000) to Nova Scotia or Canada. Determined to omit nothing which might make them the derision of history, they added an emphatic opinion that agriculture could never thrive on the island.

On the appointment of Governor Pickmore, Lord Bathurst had given him the following instructions:

"As the colony has of late years, from the rapid increase of the population, assumed a character totally different from that under which it had been usual previously to consider it, I am most desirious of receiving from you your opinion as to the propriety of introducing any and what change into the system of government which has heretofore prevailed."

The seeds sown by Carson were beginning to bear fruit, and from 1821 onwards the desire for local government in the island grew continuously stronger. As against the arguments of the opposition, it was urged that all the British colonies, even the small Bermuda, had a local government; that Nova Scotia was granted it as far back as the middle of the eighteenth century; that the older American colonies had always enjoyed self-government; and that the time had now come for the extension of the same privilege to Newfoundland. The authority of Governor Cochrane, who was appointed in 1825, and whose term of office lasted till 1834, was limited by the appointment of a Council, consisting of the Chief Justice, the two assistant Judges, and the Military Commander at St. John's. Under this Governor roads were for the first time laid out in the island. The irritation of the merchants at home was intense,and the name of Peter Ougier, a west country merchant, ought to go down to posterity. In his evidence before the committee, he protested with real emotion: "They are making roads in Newfoundland: next thing they will be having carriages and driving about." Sir Thomas Cochrane was regarded as the best Governor ever sent to Newfoundland. He was "the first real administrator and ruler of the colony. An eminently practical man, he not only organized improvements, he personally superintended their execution. His activity was unbounded; in the early mornings he was out on horseback inspecting the roads, directing his workmen, laying out the grounds at Virginia, having interviews with the farmers, giving them practical hints about agriculture; everywhere he impressed his strong personality on colonial affairs. He was very sociable, and his hospitality was unstinted." Indeed, the historian of the island can point to only one mistake committed by the Governor, the bad taste shown in the erection of Government House, which "looks more like a prison than the Vice-regal residence ... it is a huge pile of unredeemed ugliness."[35]

In England, in the early thirties, reform was in the air. The blow was struck at the right time, and in 1832—the year of the great Reform Bill—Parliament passed a measure creating inNewfoundland a representative assembly. The island was divided into nine electoral divisions, each of which was to have one or more representatives, according to population. There were, in fact, fifteen members. The first election passed off quietly in the autumn of the same year. Dr. Carson, the father of Home Rule, stood for St. John's, and Mr Justice Prowse has usefully noted that he was defeated. The fickleness and ingratitude of the people were never more dramatically illustrated. "He had been the pioneer of the new movement, had suffered in the people's cause, and yet the public, 'that many-headed monster thing—the mob,' were the first to cast aside their leader in the fight for Home Rule, and to give their votes and support to a new and untried man." It was said, however, that the defeat was due to an electioneering trick, whereby a false report was spread as to the attitude of the veteran in the liberal cause.[36]"The House of Assembly of 1833 was the youngest constituent body in America, but it was not one whit behind any of them in stately parliamentary pageant and grandiloquent language. H.B. (Doyle) in London caricatured it as the 'Bow-wow Parliament' with a big Newfoundland dog in wig and bands as Speaker putting the motion: 'As many as are of that opinion say—bow; of the contrary—wow; the bows have it.'"[37]

A nominated Legislative Council had been provided by the Constitution of the Colony. The relations of the Chambers have always been delicate in the British colonies, and in Newfoundland friction soon arose. The Legislative Council, under Chief Justice Boulton—who improperly called himself the Speaker instead of the President—set itself to thwart and discredit the popular Chamber. On both sides the controversies were petty, and were conducted in a petty spirit. The popular assembly described itself as "the Commons House of Assembly in Parliament assembled"; whereupon it was ordered forthwith to strike out the word "Parliament." The Legislative Council appears to have been the more cantankerous, and the less prone to compromise. At last matters reached animpasse, for the Council began to throw out Supply and Revenue Bills. In the first year of the Queen's reign, when Canada was already full of trouble, delegates from the Newfoundland House of Assembly arrived in London. Their mission was in the main successful. The Council was recommended to adopt the Appropriation Bill, and Chief Justice Boulton was summarily dismissed. "Boulton," says Mr Justice Prowse, "had undoubted ability, but he was the worst possible selection for both the Council and the Bench. His views, both of law and legislation, were most illiberal; as a technical lawyer he was mostly right and sublimely independent, but hisharsh sentences, his indecent party spirit, and his personal manners caused him to be hated as no one else was ever hated in this colony."[38]

In 1838 occurred the Kielly affair, which has added a leading case to English constitutional law. Dr. Kielly assaulted, or was said to have assaulted, Mr John Kent, who was a member of the Assembly. Mr Kent brought the matter before the Assembly as a breach of privilege. The House refused to hear witnesses on Kielly's behalf, treated the charge as proved, and demanded that he should apologize at the bar of the House. Kielly refused, adding that Kent was a liar and a coward. Then followed an interlude of comic opera. Kielly was committed, whereupon Mr Justice Lilly granted a writ ofhabeas corpus. This was not to be borne by the imperious Assembly, and the Speaker promptly issued his warrant for the re-arrest of Kielly, the arrest of the High Sheriff, and of Judge Lilly. Nothing like it had been seen since the heyday of the Wilkes litigation in England, when the House of Commons committed the Sheriff of Middlesex to prison for carrying out the orders of the Court of King's Bench.

In the unruffled atmosphere of the Privy Council the legal question found its decision.[39]It was laid down that the Crown, by its prerogative, cancreate a Legislative Assembly in a settled colony, with the government of its inhabitants: but that it is highly doubtful whether the Crown could, if it wished, bestow upon such an Assembly an authority, such as that of committing for contempt, not incidental to it by law. "The House of Assembly of Newfoundland," said Chief Baron Parke, "have not, what they erroneously supposed themselves to possess, the same exclusive privileges which the ancient law of England has annexed to the Houses of Parliament."

In 1838 the members of the Assembly were elected for four years, and this term has continued ever since.

The colony was destined to pass now through bitter trials. Having secured freedom, after much suffering and oppression, it soon learnt that freedom without common sense and moderation degenerates into licence, and becomes a menace and a terror. The election of representatives was accompanied by scenes of turbulence and disorder: the sense of toleration and compromise was absent. Half of the population were Roman Catholics of Irish descent, in whom rankled memories of ancient wrongs; the other half were Protestants of English descent, long used to ascendency, who were headed by a wealthy commercial class. With the introduction of the new régime old distrusts and hostilities were rekindled, and an unscrupulous press fanned the flames. Religion became mixedup with the political contention; and the evil passions that were aroused, and the outrages that were committed held back for some time the progress of the community and the political development of the colony.

[34]Seeinfra, chap. x.

[34]Seeinfra, chap. x.

[35]D.W. Prowse, "History of Newfoundland," second edition (London, 1896), pp. 424, 425, 426.

[35]D.W. Prowse, "History of Newfoundland," second edition (London, 1896), pp. 424, 425, 426.

[36]Prowse,op. cit., pp. 429, 430.

[36]Prowse,op. cit., pp. 429, 430.

[37]Ibid., p. 431.

[37]Ibid., p. 431.

[38]Prowse,op. cit., p. 434.

[38]Prowse,op. cit., p. 434.

[39]Kiellyv.Carson (1842), Moore's Privy Council Cases, vol. iv., pp. 63, 88.

[39]Kiellyv.Carson (1842), Moore's Privy Council Cases, vol. iv., pp. 63, 88.

The political faculty in Newfoundland was so rudimentary at this period that from 1841 to 1843 it became necessary to suspend the Constitution. In the autumn of 1840 an election riot at Carbonear occurred, which was of such a serious character that the sympathies of the British ministry with Newfoundland affairs were alienated, and the Governor was ordered to dissolve the Legislature. He did this on April 26th, 1841, and in his speech pointed out the reason for such drastic action: "As a Committee of the House of Commons has been appointed to enquire into the state of Newfoundland, before which Committee I shall have to appear, I will on the present occasion confine myself to the expression of my regret that such a proceeding should have become indispensably necessary to the tranquillity and welfare of the colony." Until 1849 the government was carried on by a General Assembly—a makeshift Assembly—in which members of the House of Assembly sat side by side with members of the Council, the latter losing their distinctive functions.

Under Governor Prescott (1834) and Governor Harvey (1841) began organized attempts to foster the agricultural interest. Liberal grants of land were made to poor settlers, and considerable sums voted for the construction of roads. This was indeed a period of healthy activity, for the development of the seal fishery added in a variety of ways to the prosperity of the island, and the invention of steam, together with the establishment of a regular mail service, brought Newfoundland very much nearer to the home country.

On June 9th, 1846, came the last great fire but one which has ravaged the colony. By great misfortune it broke out when a high wind was blowing, and spread with fatal rapidity all over the town. Buildings, public and private, wooden and stone, were involved in a common destruction, and the last touch of horror came when the large oil vats fringing the harbour caught fire. The Custom House, the Church of St. John's, the Courts and Gaol, the Theatre, the Bank of British North America, the Colonial Treasurer's Office, and the Savings Bank, were all destroyed. It was estimated that the aggregate amount of damage done was £1,000,000, and that upwards of 12,000 persons lost their homes. In this crushing affliction the spirit shown by all classes, from Governor Harvey downwards, was admirable. At a representative meeting of the citizens convened by the Governor it was resolved:

"That this meeting is aware that the well-established credit and stability of the trade of St. John's, coupled with the natural and inexhaustible resources of its fisheries, will speedily enable it to recover its usual current, but that in the meantime it is necessary that publicity should be given to the demand for provisions and building materials which at present exists in this market."

Help from Canada was quickly forthcoming and a grant of £30,000 from the home country combined with private efforts to meet the most pressing needs of the moment. The building of wider streets, the proscription of wooden houses, and the provision of an ampler water supply, showed that the lessons of the past had not been thrown away.

That year, 1846, was to be anannus mirabilis, for a storm, fiercer than the wildest within living memory, wrought havoc among the shipping in St. John's Harbour, and overwhelmed many substantial buildings inland. It seemed as if the malice of destiny had sent the gale to destroy the little that had escaped the fire; for Natives' Hall, which was being used to shelter the houseless, was blown to the ground.

About this time—thanks to the currents of excitement spread everywhere by the European revolutionary movements of 1848—began a fresh agitation for responsible government, which had already been granted to the other North Americancolonies, and which involved a larger measure of self-government than had been conceded in the constitution of 1832. The inhabitants became more and more anxious that appointments within the colony should depend upon popular approval—or, rather, on the choice of the party commanding a majority in the Legislature—and not upon the Crown's nomination. The official view at home on this demand was stated both by the Whig, Earl Grey, and the Conservative, Sir John Pakington. The former wrote:

"Until the wealth and population of the colony shall have increased considerably beyond their present amount, the introduction of what is called responsible government will by no means prove to its advantage.... The institutions of Newfoundland have been of late in various ways modified and altered, and some time must unavoidably elapse before they can acquire that amount of fixity and adaptation to the colonial wants of society which seems an indispensable preliminary to the future extension of popular government."

Similarly, Sir John Pakington, in a despatch of April 3rd, 1852, observed:

"Her Majesty's Government see no reason for differing from the conclusions at which their predecessors had arrived in the question of the establishment of responsible government, and which were conveyed to you by Lord Grey in thedespatch already mentioned. I consider, on the contrary, that the wisdom and justice of these conclusions are confirmed by the accounts since received from Newfoundland."

The change came in 1855, a year after the Secretary of State for the Colonies had informed the Governor that "Her Majesty's Government has come to the conclusion that they ought not to withhold from Newfoundland those institutions and that civil administration which, under the popular name of responsible government, have been adopted in all Her Majesty's neighbouring possessions in North America, and they are prepared to concede the immediate application of the system as soon as certain preliminary conditions have been acceded to on the part of the Legislature." At the same time the numbers of members in the Representative Assembly was, at the instance of the Imperial Government, increased to thirty.

It was not long before the Empire had an instructive lesson in the influence with which responsible government arms a colony. A naturalrapprochementbetween France and England followed the Crimean War, and a Convention was drafted dealing with the Newfoundland fisheries. Against the proposed adjustment, involving a surrender by Great Britain of Newfoundland fishing rights, local feeling was strong and unanimous. Petition followed petition, and delegation delegation. "The excitement in the colony overthe Convention of 1857 was most intense and widespread; the British flag was hoisted half-mast; other excited citizens flew American flags; everywhere there was burning indignation over this proposal to sell our birthright for a mess of pottage.[40]The resolute attitude of those interested elicited from Mr H. Labouchere, then Colonial Secretary, the welcome expression of a great constitutional principle:

"The proposals contained in the Convention having been now unequivocally refused by the colony, they will of course fall to the ground; and you are authorized to give such assurance as you may think proper, that the consent of the community of Newfoundland is regarded by Her Majesty's Government as the essential preliminary to any modification of their territorial or maritime rights."

So vital is the appreciation of this principle to an Empire constituted like our own, that it is worth while to set out the resolution of the Newfoundland Legislature which killed the Convention:

"We deem it our duty most respectfully to protest in the most solemn way against any attempt to alienate any portion of our fisheries or our soil to any foreign power without the consent of the local Legislature. As our fishery and territorial rights constitute the basis of our commerce andof our social and political existence, as they are our birthright and the legal inheritance of our children, we cannot under any circumstances assent to the terms of the Convention; we therefore earnestly entreat that the Imperial Government will take no steps to bring this treaty into operation, but will permit the trifling privileges that remain to us to continue unimpaired."

In 1858 took place a real advance in the relations between different parts of the Empire, for in that year the east coast of Newfoundland (Trinity Bay) was connected with Ireland by a submarine cable. The messages then exchanged through Newfoundland between the Queen and the President of the United States mark the most decisive point in what has been called the shrinkage of the world. Eight years later a second Atlantic cable was successfully landed at Heart's Content.

A constitutional crisis arose in 1860, which was followed by serious political disturbances. The Government, in which Mr Kent was Premier, introduced a measure to determine the colonial equivalent of imperial sterling in the payment of officials. The judges forwarded to the Governor, Sir Alexander Bannerman, a representation against the proposal; Mr Kent thereupon in the Assembly accused the Governor of having entered into a conspiracy with the judges and the minority in the House against the executive. The Governor demanded an explanation which Mr Kent declinedto give, adding that in his judgment he was not called upon to explain his utterances as a member of the Legislature to the Governor. Sir Alexander Bannerman immediately dismissed the Ministry, and invited the Opposition leader, Mr Hoyles, to form an Administration. The election took place in April, 1861. Political passions ran high, and the old feud between Romanists and Protestants was most unhappily revived. At the Protestant Harbour Grace the election could not be held at all, while at the Catholic Harbour Main a riot took place in which life was lost.

The new Assembly was opened in May 1861, and showed a majority in favour of Mr Hoyles. It soon became clear that the passions of the mob in St. John's were dangerously excited; Sir Alexander was hooted and stoned on his return from the Assembly, and a little later an organized series of attacks was commenced upon the dwellings of well-known Roman Catholics. The magistrates thereupon called on the military, under the command of Colonel Grant. The soldiers marched out, eighty strong, and confronted the mob, which then numbered many thousands. Encouraged by their commander, the troops submitted with patient gallantry to insults and even to volleys of stones. Finally, it is alleged, a pistol was fired at them from the crowd. Then at last the order was given to fire; several persons were killed and twenty wounded. Among the latter, by greatmisfortune, was the Rev. Jeremiah O'Donnell, who had bravely and patiently tried to calm the mob.

The whole incident was unfortunate, but it is impossible to accept the contention that Sir Alexander Bannerman was guilty of an unconstitutional exercise of the prerogative in dissolving the Assembly. It will not seriously be maintained that the representative of the Queen could have maintained relations with a Minister who publicly insulted him in his public capacity, and then curtly declined to explain or withdraw his charges. As to the sequel, it is sufficient to say that the civil authorities would have been grossly wanting in their duty if they had failed to call out the soldiers, and that the mob were not fired upon until the extreme limits of endurance had been reached. That innocent persons should have been involved in the consequences is matter of great regret; but association with a lawless mob, even when the motive is as admirable as that of Father O'Donnell, necessarily admits this risk.

It cannot be doubted that deep-lying economic causes had much to do with political discontent. From the first the financial position of the colony had been unsound. The short prosperity of the winter months had produced a vicious and widely-spread system of credit. Soon a majority of the fishermen lived during the winter upon the prospective earnings of the coming season, and then when it came addressed themselves without zestto an occupation the fruits of which were already condemned. In this way a single bad season pauperized hundreds of hard-working men. Governor Waldegrave in 1797 had been struck by the failure of the law to provide for the poor, and owing to his exertions a voluntary system of poor relief was set on foot. By the time of Governor Gambier, in 1800, these measures had been discontinued and, indeed, permanence was not to be looked for in a system which depended upon voluntary support. The difficulty was that the Crown officers advised Governor Gambier "that the provision of the Poor Laws cannot be enforced in Newfoundland; and that the Governor has no authority to raise a sum of money by a rate upon the inhabitants."

The evil grew worse rather than better, and by the time of the great Governor Cochrane, in 1825, it had assumed the form of an inveterate social disease. Many able-bodied applicants for relief were provided with work in public employments, and the wholesome warning was added that those who refused such work would under no circumstances be entitled to relief. Governor Cochrane did not shrink from indicating the real cause of the distress. "Those who are upon wages," he wrote, "receive a sum during the summer months, which, if properly husbanded, would, together with the produce of their own exertion after the fishery has ceased, be fullyadequate to the support of themselves and families for the following winter. Yet I am led to believe that a large portion of this is dissipated before many weeks or days have elasped after the fishing season has terminated, and in consequence of such profusion many families are left to want and misery."

The generality of the system destroyed in time that healthy dread of pauperism which, as an economic factor, is of the highest national importance. The receipt of poor relief lost the stigma assigned to it with rough justice by Anglo-Saxon independence, and in 1863, out of a total public expenditure of £90,000, the astounding proportion of £30,000 was expended upon the necessities of the poor.

Far-seeing observers had long before pointed out that the remedy for these disorders must be a radical one. Improvidence among the poorer classes is familiar to economists in more experienced societies than that of Newfoundland, and may be accepted as a permanent element in the difficulty. The real hope lay in opening up, on remunerative lines, industries which would occupy the poor in the lean months. Nor was Newfoundland without such resources, if the capital necessary for their development could have been found. A penetrating railway system, by its indirect effects upon the mining and agricultural interests, would have done much to solve the problem of the unemployed. The difficulty was that the state ofthe public finances was in no condition to undertake costly schemes of betterment. In a later chapter we shall see the Government, after exhausting the resources of loans, looking to a desperate remedy to conquer its powerlessness for enterprise.


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