DOCSLIB.ORG

Proquest Dissertations

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Proquest Dissertations NEWFOUNDLAND AND CONFEDERATION 1864 - 1870 by FRANCIS J. SMITH Thesis presented to the Department of History of the University of Ottawa as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts ^DEi, ^ LibRAKicS «. Ottawa, Canada, 1970 UMI Number: EC55676 INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI® UMI Microform EC55676 Copyright 2011 by ProQuest LLC All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 CURRICULUM STUDIDRUM Francis J. Smith was born on July 22, 1937, at Cupids, Newfoundland. He graduated from Memorial University of IMewfoundland with a B.A. (Ed.) degree in 1961 and from the University of Dttaua with a B.A. in 19G*t. PREFACE In a national referendum held on July 22, 1948, the people of Newfoundland voted by a small majority to enter into a Confederation with the Dominion of Canada. Union was completed on March 31, 1949, when Newfoundland became Canada's youngest and tenth province. Just eighty years prior to this in the general election of 18G9, the voters of Newfoundland had rejected the idea of Confederation with Canada. The story of that rejection has not yet been adequately told. The topic has been the subject of several articles, notably one by H.B. Mayo, "Newfoundland and Confederation in the Eighteen- Sixties" in the Canadian Historical Review for 1948, and another by the late A.M. Fraser, "The Nineteenth-Century Negotiations for Confederation of Newfoundland with Canada" in the Canadian Historical Association Report for 1949. A political history of the decade in which the Confederation question was being debated has been written by Edward Moulton in his Master of Arts thesis, "The Political Histoid of Newfoundland, 1861-1869". In the articles the treR+ement of the subject has been far too brief, and the political history does not focus its attention exclusively on the problem of Confederation. Published works dealing with the Confederation issue at the national level have usually passed over the Newfoundland problem. There have, however, been two works that have dealt with it tD some degree. U.L. Morton's The Critical Years; The Union of British North America, 1857-1673 shows Newfoundland's role in the Quebec iv Conference, but only in as much as the presence of her delegates there upset some of the arrangements agreed to at Charlottetown. The best published treatement was done by P.B. Uaite in his The Life and Times of Confederation, 186^-1867, yet here, too, after giving a fairly adequate analysis of the situation to the end of April, 1865, the author summarizes the rest of the events to 1869. Nowhere, then, do we find a study on the subject comparable to that done for Prince Edward Island by Father Francis Bolger in Prince Edward Island and Confederation, 1863-1873, or for Nova Scotia by K.G. Pryke in his Nova Scotia and Confederation, 186*4-1870. In view of this, I have thought it important to attempt the same for Newfoundland. In this study the Confederation question is isolated therefore from the other issues that do not have a direct bearing on it. For example, the French Shore problem touched slightly on the matter, and will be dealt with only in its aspects that directly concern Confederation. In looking at the role played by the St. John's merchants only their political connections with Confederation will be discussed. Likewise, the Quebec Conference will be described only in as much as it affects Newfoundland. Why did the Confederation scheme not meet with success in Newfoundland in the 1860's? It is not enough to say that her people rejected it in a democratic election. Any answer to the question must include a detailed examination of the roles played V by the various political groups - both in the colony and outside of it - in contributing to the defeat of Confederation. The thesis, therefore, examines the parts played by the following political groups: the Canadian government as seen in its Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald; the Newfoundland people themselves with a special consideration of their religious and economic groupings; the Colonial Office and its governors; and finally, the position of the government of Newfoundland and its premiers between 1864 and 1870, Hugh William Hoyles and Frederick B.T. Carter. The principal sources for the thesis will be the various despatches exchanged between the Colonial Office and its governors in Newfoundland. The daily newspapers of St. John's have provided the records of the Assembly debates and much editorial comment. Personal papers of the political figures involved have not been so abundant. Only in the case of Sir John A. Macdonald was it possible to get even a few of his personal papers on the subject. ACKNOUILEGEMENTS The idea for the thesis originated during the summer of 1967 at the University of Ottawa when I did a term paper for Doctor Joseph Levitt on a similar topic. I would like to express my appreciation to him for his interest and advice at that time and since. In gathering the research material I was greatly assisted by the staffs of the National Archives in Ottawa, the Arts and Culture Library in St. John's, and the Newfoundland Provincial Archives. To all of them I am very thankful. I would also like to thank my wife, Kathleen, for her typing and for her encouragement. A special word of thanks is due to Professor Jacques Monet, S.J., of the University of Ottawa under whose direction this thesis was written. I am deeply indebted to him for his kind assistance and advice. TABLE DF CONTENTS Chapter Page Preface iii Acknowledgements ui I Introduction 1 II Charlottetown, Quebec, and Newfoundland, 1864 13 III A Debate And An Election, 1865 48 IV Neufoundland Hesitates, 1866-1867 90 V The Search For Better Terms, 3867-69 110 VI Newfoundland Rejects Confederation, 1869-70 146 VII Conclusion 169 Appendix 1 Biographical Notes on Political Figures of Newfoundland 178 Bibliography 182 Abstract 190 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION The colony of IMeujfoundland in 1864 was "the most isolated and the most particular" of the British North American Provinces. 1 It was the closest in proximity to the Old World, and was the oldest of the British possessions. It lay to the east of the St. Lawrence River, separated in the north from the mainland by the nine mile Straits of Belle Isle. To the south-west, the Cabot Strait separated it from Nova Scotia by sixty miles of particularly turbulent ocean. It lies between the latitudes of 46° 38' and 51° 39' north - which places St. John's in the extreme east in a more southerly latitude than that of Victoria, B.C. Newfoundland's climate, however, is somewhat colder being tempered by the cold and fog-producing waters of the Labrador Current. In 1864, only the long and amply indented coastline was settled, while the interior of the island, covered with vast forests of spruce and birch, was virtually unknown and unsettled. The economy of Newfoundland was based almost exclusively on the island's famed fisheries, the produce of which was sold to the Mediterranean and the West Indian countries. The fisheries were still financed and managed by English merchants. Newfoundland's merchant class, concentrated on the south side of Water Street, the principal road in St. John's, maintained strong financial and family ties with the West Country of England whence the vast majority of them had originatec 1 W.L. Morton, The Critical Years; The Union of British North America, 1857-1873. (Toronto, 1964), pp. 41-42. 2 and this fact, in addition to the island's geographical position, 2 tended to give Newfoundland a special trans-Atlantic outlook. The "merchant princes" were far from popular with the fishermen and were often accused Df dominating Newfoundland by imposing a monopoly over her trade. During the period of representative government from 1832 to 1855, they had dominated the membership of the Executive Council, but with the establishment of responsible government, they found their influence there considerably weakened. Yet, through their organization, the St. John's Chamber of Commerce, they were still a power to be reckoned with at election time. Anything that might be expected to disrupt their normal trading system - a fisherman would call it their monopoly - would immediately be suspect. Besides the fisheries, Newfoundland had little else to support its economy. Mineral explorations were being started, but only in the Tilt Cove area to the north was there any real mining activity. Agriculture was scarcely developed. Only 65 of the island's 42,000 square miles had come under cultivation. Even the common commodity of hay had to be imported from Canada to feed the small herds of cattle during the winter months. Although Newfoundland had been claimed for England's Henry Ull in 1497, and reclaimed by Sir Humphrey Gilbert for 2 Ibid. , p. 52. 3 P.B. Ulaite, The Life and Times of Confederation, 1864-1867 (Toronto, 1962), p. 161. 3 Queen Elizabeth in 1583, its development as a settled colony was retarded by the rule of the admiral governors in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Click Here to Download
    The Project Gutenberg EBook of South Africa and the Boer-British War, Volume I, by J. Castell Hopkins and Murat Halstead This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org Title: South Africa and the Boer-British War, Volume I Comprising a History of South Africa and its people, including the war of 1899 and 1900 Author: J. Castell Hopkins Murat Halstead Release Date: December 1, 2012 [EBook #41521] Language: English *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SOUTH AFRICA AND BOER-BRITISH WAR *** Produced by Al Haines JOSEPH CHAMBERLAIN, Colonial Secretary of England. PAUL KRUGER, President of the South African Republic. (Photo from Duffus Bros.) South Africa AND The Boer-British War COMPRISING A HISTORY OF SOUTH AFRICA AND ITS PEOPLE, INCLUDING THE WAR OF 1899 AND 1900 BY J. CASTELL HOPKINS, F.S.S. Author of The Life and Works of Mr. Gladstone; Queen Victoria, Her Life and Reign; The Sword of Islam, or Annals of Turkish Power; Life and Work of Sir John Thompson. Editor of "Canada; An Encyclopedia," in six volumes. AND MURAT HALSTEAD Formerly Editor of the Cincinnati "Commercial Gazette," and the Brooklyn "Standard-Union." Author of The Story of Cuba; Life of William McKinley; The Story of the Philippines; The History of American Expansion; The History of the Spanish-American War; Our New Possessions, and The Life and Achievements of Admiral Dewey, etc., etc.
    [Show full text]
  • The Cochran-Inglis Family of Halifax
    ITOIBUoRA*r| j|orooiio»BH| iwAWMOTOIII THE COCHRAN-INGLIS FAMILY Gift Author MAY 22 mo To the Memory OF SIR JOHN EARDLEY WILMOT INGLIS, K.C. B. HERO OF LUCKNOW A Distinguished Nova Scotian WHO ARDENTLY LOVED HIS Native Land Press or J. R. Finduy, 111 Brunswick St., Halifax, n.6. THE COCHRAN-INGLIS FAMILY OF HALIFAX BY EATON, REV. ARTHUR WENTWORTH HAMILTON «« B. A. AUTHOB 07 •' THE CHUBCH OF ENGLAND IN NOVA SCOTIA AND THE TOET CLEBGT OF THE REVOLUTION." "THE NOVA SCOTIA BATONS,'" 1 "THE OLIVEBTOB HAHILTONS," "THE EI.MWOOD BATONS." THE HON. LT.-COL. OTHO HAMILTON OF 01XVE8T0B. HIS 80NS CAFT. JOHN" AND LT.-COL. OTHO 2ND, AND BIS GBANDSON SIB EALPH," THE HAMILTONB OF DOVSB AND BEHWICK," '"WILLIAM THOBNE AND SOME OF HIS DESCENDANTS." "THE FAMILIES OF EATON-SUTHEBLAND, LATTON-HILL," AC., AC. HALIFAX, N. S. C. H. Ruggi.es & Co. 1899 c^v GS <\o to fj» <@ifi Aatkair unkj «¦' >IJ COCHRAN -IMJLIS Among Nova Scotia families that have risen to a more than local prominence it willhardly be questioned that the Halifax Cochran "family withits connections, on the whole stands first. In The Church of England inNova Scotia and the Tory Clergy of the Revolution", and in a more recent family monograph entitled "Eaton —Sutherland; I,ayton-Hill," the Cochrans have received passing notice, but in the following pages for the first time a connected account of this important family willbe found. The facts here given are drawn chiefly from parish registers, biographical dictionaries, the British Army Lists, tombstones, and other recognized sources of authority for family history, though some, as for example the record of the family of the late Sir John Inglis, given the author by Hon.
    [Show full text]
  • Historical Records of the 79Th Cameron Highlanders
    %. Z-. W ^ 1 "V X*"* t-' HISTORICAL RECORDS OF THE 79-m QUEEN'S OWN CAMERON HIGHLANDERS antr (Kiritsft 1m CAPTAIN T. A. MACKENZIE, LIEUTENANT AND ADJUTANT J. S. EWART, AND LIEUTENANT C. FINDLAY, FROM THE ORDERLY ROOM RECORDS. HAMILTON, ADAMS & Co., 32 PATERNOSTER Row. JDebonport \ A. H. 111 112 FOUE ,STRSET. SWISS, & ; 1887. Ms PRINTED AT THE " " BREMNER PRINTING WORKS, DEVOXPORT. HENRY MORSE STETHEMS ILLUSTRATIONS. THE PHOTOGRAVURES are by the London Typographic Etching Company, from Photographs and Engravings kindly lent by the Officers' and Sergeants' Messes and various Officers of the Regiment. The Photogravure of the Uniform Levee Dress, 1835, is from a Photograph of Lieutenant Lumsden, dressed in the uniform belonging to the late Major W. A. Riach. CONTENTS. PAGK PREFACE vii 1793 RAISING THE REGIMENT 1 1801 EGYPTIAN CAMPAIGN 16 1808 PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN .. 27 1815 WATERLOO CAMPAIGN .. 54 1840 GIBRALTAR 96 1848 CANADA 98 1854 CRIMEAN CAMPAIGN 103 1857 INDIAN MUTINY 128 1872 HOME 150 1879 GIBRALTAR ... ... .. ... 161 1882 EGYPTIAN CAMPAIGN 166 1884 NILE EXPEDITION ... .'. ... 181 1885 SOUDAN CAMPAIGN 183 SERVICES OF THE OFFICERS 203 SERVICES OF THE WARRANT OFFICERS ETC. .... 291 APPENDIX 307 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS, SIR JOHN DOUGLAS Frontispiece REGIMENTAL COLOUR To face SIR NEIL DOUGLAS To face 56 LA BELLE ALLIANCE : WHERE THE REGIMENT BIVOUACKED AFTER THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO .. ,, 58 SIR RONALD FERGUSON ,, 86 ILLUSTRATION OF LEVEE DRESS ,, 94 SIR RICHARD TAYLOR ,, 130 COLOURS PRESENTED BY THE QUEEN ,, 152 GENERAL MILLER ,, 154 COLONEL CUMING ,, 160 COLONEL LEITH , 172 KOSHEH FORT ,, 186 REPRESENTATIVE GROUP OF CAMERON HIGHLANDERS 196 PREFACE. WANT has long been felt in the Regiment for some complete history of the 79th Cameron Highlanders down to the present time, and, at the request of Lieutenant-Colonel Everett, D-S.O., and the officers of the Regiment a committee, con- Lieutenant and sisting of Captain T.
    [Show full text]
  • The Hitch-Hiker Is Intended to Provide Information Which Beginning Adult Readers Can Read and Understand
    CONTENTS: Foreword Acknowledgements Chapter 1: The Southwestern Corner Chapter 2: The Great Northern Peninsula Chapter 3: Labrador Chapter 4: Deer Lake to Bishop's Falls Chapter 5: Botwood to Twillingate Chapter 6: Glenwood to Gambo Chapter 7: Glovertown to Bonavista Chapter 8: The South Coast Chapter 9: Goobies to Cape St. Mary's to Whitbourne Chapter 10: Trinity-Conception Chapter 11: St. John's and the Eastern Avalon FOREWORD This book was written to give students a closer look at Newfoundland and Labrador. Learning about our own part of the earth can help us get a better understanding of the world at large. Much of the information now available about our province is aimed at young readers and people with at least a high school education. The Hitch-Hiker is intended to provide information which beginning adult readers can read and understand. This work has a special feature we hope readers will appreciate and enjoy. Many of the places written about in this book are seen through the eyes of an adult learner and other fictional characters. These characters were created to help add a touch of reality to the printed page. We hope the characters and the things they learn and talk about also give the reader a better understanding of our province. Above all, we hope this book challenges your curiosity and encourages you to search for more information about our land. Don McDonald Director of Programs and Services Newfoundland and Labrador Literacy Development Council ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to thank the many people who so kindly and eagerly helped me during the production of this book.
    [Show full text]
  • Is Monetary Financing Inflationary? a Case Study of the Canadian Economy, 1935–75
    Working Paper No. 848 Is Monetary Financing Inflationary? A Case Study of the Canadian Economy, 1935–75 by Josh Ryan-Collins* Associate Director Economy and Finance Program The New Economics Foundation October 2015 * Visiting Fellow, University of Southampton, Centre for Banking, Finance and Sustainable Development, Southampton Business School, Building 2, Southampton SO17 1TR, [email protected]; Associate Director, Economy and Finance Programme, The New Economics Foundation (NEF), 10 Salamanca Place, London SE1 7HB, [email protected]. The Levy Economics Institute Working Paper Collection presents research in progress by Levy Institute scholars and conference participants. The purpose of the series is to disseminate ideas to and elicit comments from academics and professionals. Levy Economics Institute of Bard College, founded in 1986, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, independently funded research organization devoted to public service. Through scholarship and economic research it generates viable, effective public policy responses to important economic problems that profoundly affect the quality of life in the United States and abroad. Levy Economics Institute P.O. Box 5000 Annandale-on-Hudson, NY 12504-5000 http://www.levyinstitute.org Copyright © Levy Economics Institute 2015 All rights reserved ISSN 1547-366X ABSTRACT Historically high levels of private and public debt coupled with already very low short-term interest rates appear to limit the options for stimulative monetary policy in many advanced economies today. One option that has not yet been considered is monetary financing by central banks to boost demand and/or relieve debt burdens. We find little empirical evidence to support the standard objection to such policies: that they will lead to uncontrollable inflation.
    [Show full text]
  • VE:Rbatl,M REPORT
    ,.. PROVINCE OF NEWFOUNDLAND THIRTY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEM.BLY OF NEWFOUND.LAND Volume 3 3rd. Session Number 38 VE:RBATl,M REPORT MONDAY, APRIL 1, 1974 SPEAKER : THE HONOURABLE JAMES M. RUSSELL APRIL l, 1974 ~BCIAL SESSION TO MARK THE TWENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF NEtn"OtJN])LANl)' S ENTRY INTO CONFEDERATION WITH CANADA Held at the House of Assembly, Colonial Building, Military Road St • .Jo}?.a's, Newfoundland The House met at 3:00 P.M., at the House of Assembly, Colonial Building. Mr. Speaker in the Chair. MR. SPEAKER: Order, please? HON. W.W. MARSHALL (MINIS';l'ER VITHOUT PORTFOLIO): Mr. Speaker, I move that the Orders of the Day be not read. Motion, that the Orders of the Day be not read, carried: MR. MARSHALL: Motion III, Mr. Speaker: On motion of the lion. the Minister of Touriem 1 a bill, "An Act Respecting The Colonial Building, "read a first time, ordered read a second ti.me now, by leave. MR. SPEAKER: The Hon. Minister of Tourism. HON. T. M, DOYLE (MINISTER OF TOURISM): Mr. Spealter, I have much pleasure in moving the second reading of this bill. It is deemed that the Colonial Building, of such historic significance, be declared a Provincial Historic Site for purposes in the future of restoring it to its period condition. It is our• hope that this will be done within three or four years time when hopefully the province will have a new Museum-Archives Complex. At that time, as I have said, this building will be restored further to its original condition and will be used as an historic site in the same manner as the Cable Station at Heart's Content will be used following this yearlll\d the Commissariat House on King's Bridge Road, as a tourist attraction.
    [Show full text]
  • Mcmurdo of the Schooner 'Stanley'
    McMurdo of the Schooner 'Stanley' PART II by WILFRED FOWLER [In the previous issue of Queensland Heritage (vol. I, no. 8, pp. 3-15) been making a friendly visit to the Stanley were seized to be held as the first part of Mr Fowler's article was published. The article recounts hostages. though through the carelessness of the guards these prisoners the voyage of the lIS-ton Pacific Island Labour vessel Stanley, which escaped. Ultimately, after threats of personal violence were made by left Maryborough, Queensland, on 31 March 1883 with Captain Davies McMurdo against the natives, twelve of the thirteen original recruits in command. His first voyage in the labour trade, he had been licensed were handed over. The thirteenth man was considered medically unfit. to recruit 98 labourers. The crew consisted of William Connell, the The Stanley then set sail for New Britain and New Ireland and late first mate; Sydney Gerrans, the second mate; Daniel Moussue, cook and in April was brought to anchor at Mioko in St. Georges Channel, which steward; four A.Bs., Adams, Austin, Rowan and Chaillon; and eight separates New Britain from New Ireland. natives. William Anastasias McMurdo had been appointed as Government Davies went off in search of interpreters while McMurdo went to see Agent to accompany them to see that the provisions of the Pacific Islands Hernsheim, a German trader at Matupi near Rabaul on the New Britain Labourers Act of 1880 were complied with. On 10 April they anchored mainland to report the trouble they had encountered with German Charley.
    [Show full text]
  • The Orange Order in Ontario, Newfoundland, Scotland and Northern Ireland: a Macro-Social Analysis
    The Orange Order in Ontario, Newfoundland, Scotland and Northern Ireland: A Macro-Social Analysis This paper will attempt to sketch the outlines of the 'big picture' of Orangeism, with a special focus on the largest Orange jurisdictions: Ontario, Newfoundland, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Of the major centres of Orange activity, Liverpool in England, New Brunswick and some of the southern Irish border counties are excluded though we will touch on these cases - as well as the rest of Canada - where appropriate. This paper will also focus on the relatively neglected twentieth century, which is when the Orange Order, like most other fraternal societies, reached its organizational zenith and strongest membership levels. Once again, however, the broad sweep of this paper will, where appropriate, encompass the latter half of the nineteenth century. This article is deliberately cavalier in its approach to disciplinary boundaries and the restrictions imposed by them. Historians insist upon a narrowly delimited time period while political scientists fetishize the Order's political impact while ignoring its social and geographical aspects. The anthropologist insists that unstructured interviews and participant observation are vital, the historian prefers the archive and the political scientist plumps for statistical accuracy. This paper will address - and transcend - all of these perspectives. This interdisciplinary approach also suffuses my attitude to sources. I use geographical, archival, interview and quantitative methods as well as participant observation. In theoretical terms, I am as interested in what happens over space (ie geography) as over time (history). I seek to explain the sociology of Orangeism, why its membership rises and falls over time and place, and what this says about modernity.
    [Show full text]
  • Absentee Landlordism and Municipal Government in Nineteenth Century St. John's Melvin Baker
    Document généré le 26 sept. 2021 20:27 Urban History Review Revue d'histoire urbaine Absentee Landlordism and Municipal Government in Nineteenth Century St. John's Melvin Baker Volume 15, numéro 2, october 1986 Résumé de l'article Cet article examine l’influence du système des baux relatif à la tenure des URI : https://id.erudit.org/iderudit/1018621ar terres sur la structure du gouvernement municipal St-Jean au 19e siècle. Cette DOI : https://doi.org/10.7202/1018621ar influence est visible dans la silhouette de St-Jean, dans ses rues et sa croissance physique, dans les bâtiments administratifs, dans la taxation municipale Aller au sommaire du numéro servant à défrayer les services locaux et aussi dans la formation des institutions municipales elles-mêmes. Elle explique également les échecs du Parlement terre-neuvien et du Conseil municipal de St-Jean dans leurs Éditeur(s) tentatives visant à taxer annuellement les revenus que les propriétaires absents, majoritairement britanniques, obtiennent de la location de leurs Urban History Review / Revue d'histoire urbaine propriétés situées à St-Jean. Ces efforts sont stimulés par les locataires qui souhaitent que les propriétaires ISSN absents assument leur part de la taxation municipale. Il existe un ressentiment naturel à St-Jean à l’égard des propriétaires absents et de leurs agents. Les 0703-0428 (imprimé) locataires sont également irrités par la hausse constante de la valeur du terrain 1918-5138 (numérique) urbain et ce, sans que les absents ne soient mis à contribution. Cette situation a une importance considérable sur le développement de St-Jean, pour qui le Découvrir la revue système de tenure des terres, non seulement décourage l’imposition de taxes foncières, mais travaille également contre l’établissement d’un gouvernement municipal.
    [Show full text]
  • 00 Toc-Contributors.Qxd
    00131-05 Lambert Article_Layout 2012-10-30 8:17 PM Page 89 No Choice But to Look Elsewhere: Attracting Immigrants to Newfoundland, 1840-1890 CAROLYN LAMBERT Au 19 e siècle, Terre-Neuve était entraînée dans la marche de l’Amérique du Nord vers le progrès. À compter des années 1840, le désir de mettre en valeur l’intérieur du territoire était présent dans le discours de ses politiciens, selon qui la diversification économique – en particulier le développement de l’agriculture – libérerait la population de sa dépendance envers les ressources côtières. Incapables d’amener les pêcheurs à se tourner vers l’agriculture, les autorités publiques en vinrent à croire qu’elles devraient trouver ailleurs les individus qui permettraient à Terre-Neuve d’aller de l’avant. Conscients qu’une immigration à grande échelle était impossible à cause des contraintes géographiques, les contemporains fondaient leurs espoirs sur la venue d’un petit nombre d’agronomes qualifiés des îles Britanniques. Cependant, aucun gouvernement ne formula une politique officielle d’immigration, et les stratégies d’immigration proposées demeuraient prudentes. Nineteenth-century Newfoundland was caught up in North America’s drive towards progress. The desire for landward development was present within political discourse from the 1840s onwards, politicians arguing that economic diversification – particularly agricultural development – would free the population from coastal resource dependency. Failure to entice fishermen to farm led officials to believe that individuals to push Newfoundland forward would have to be found elsewhere. Contemporaries were aware of the geographic limitations preventing large-scale immigration, and hoped for a small number of skilled agriculturalists from the British Isles.
    [Show full text]
  • The Governor of Queensland
    Factsheet 2.2 The Governor of Queensland Role of the Governor • recommending by a message to the Legislative Assembly, the passing of the Appropriation Queensland’s system of Government is a Bill(s) prior to their introduction in the House; constitutional monarchy. The Queensland Constitution Acts specifically recognise • having the discretionary powers concerning that the Parliament of Queensland consists the dissolution of the Legislative Assembly and of the Sovereign (expressed as the Crown) the appointment and dismissal of Ministers in and the Legislative Assembly. The Governor the event of a change of Government; is the personal representative of the • swearing-in the new Ministry at Government Sovereign in the State. House; The Governor is appointed by the • presiding over meetings of, and taking the Sovereign, by Commission, on the advice advice of, the Executive Council, which is tendered by the Premier. The appointment comprised of all members of the Ministry. In is for an unlimited term, but the accepted this role the Governor is titled Governor in convention is a term of five years. Council; The powers of the Governor are derived • issuing writs for the election of Queensland from his/her Commission, the Australia Senate representatives in Canberra; Acts, the Constitution (Office of Governor) Act 1987, the Constitution Act 1867 and • on the advice of the Government, issuing also by Acts which provide for approval writs for State elections; and by the Governor in Council. The Governor • granting a pardon, commuting a sentence, or in Council is a title used when the reprieving the execution of a sentence. Governor is acting by and with the advice of the Executive Council.
    [Show full text]
  • Has the Canadian Public Debt Been Too High? a Quantitative Assessment
    Department Discussion Paper DDP1901 ISSN 1914-2838 HAS THE CANADIAN PUBLIC DEBT BEEN TOO HIGH? A QUANTITATIVE ASSESSMENT Marco Cozzi Department of Economics, University of Victoria Victoria, B.C., Canada V8W 2Y2 April, 2019 (First Draft: March, 2019) Abstract This paper provides a quantitative analysis on whether the historically sizable public debt that the Canadian governments have accumulated might be close to its welfare maximizing level. As the public provision of liquidity to borrowing constrained individuals coupled with an increased supply of safe assets can be welfare improving, I consider a two-region model with an integrated asset market and incomplete insurance markets. The home country features a rich life-cycle setup, where the income dynamics rely on state of the art estimates obtained from previous studies using income tax returns. The main features are ex-ante labor earnings heterogeneity, both in levels and in growth rates, together with persistent and permanent shocks. When the public expenditure is assumed to be wasteful, I find that the optimal quantity of public debt for Canada is negative, meaning that the government should be a net saver. When the government, with a portion of its expenditure and consistent with the Canadian experience, finances valuable public goods, the long-run public debt is still found to be inefficiently large, but closer to the welfare maximizing level. Keywords: Public debt, Incomplete markets, Welfare. JEL Classifications : D52, E21, E62, H63. Author Contact: Marco Cozzi, Dept. of Economics, University of Victoria, P.O. Box 1700, STN CSC, Victoria, B.C., Canada V8W 2Y2; E-mail: [email protected]; Tel: (250) 721-6535 Has the Canadian Public Debt Been Too High? A Quantitative Assessment Marco Cozzi, University of Victoria April 2019 Abstract This paper provides a quantitative analysis on whether the historically sizable public debt that the Canadian governments have accumulated might be close to its welfare maximizing level.
    [Show full text]