2604:3D09:27A:620:AC8F:7565:FC4F:3FAE: /* Governance by the Commission */Wasn’t a “dominion” if ruled by commission.

2023-11-07T12:45:18Z

Governance by the Commission: Wasn’t a “dominion” if ruled by commission.

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{{Short description|1934–1949 government of the Dominion of Newfoundland}}
{{more footnotes needed|date=February 2011}}
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 [[Provinces and territories of Canada|province]] of [[Canada]] on March 31, 1949. It was composed of civil servants who were directly subordinate to the [[British Government]] in [[London]].

==Background==
Newfoundland's economic difficulties were exacerbated by [[debt]] incurred during the [[First World War]] and the collapse of fish prices during the Depression.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Commission of Government {{!}} The Canadian Encyclopedia |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/commission-of-government |access-date=2023-10-21 |website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca}}</ref> In 1933, following a prolonged period of [[economic crisis]] and severe [[budgetary deficit]], and civil unrest culminating in a [[1932 Colonial Building riot|riot which brought down the previous government]], the government of [[Prime Minister of Newfoundland|Prime Minister]] [[Frederick C. Alderdice]] asked the [[Her Majesty's Government|British]] and [[Government of Canada|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 [[William Warrender Mackenzie, 1st Baron Amulree|Lord Amulree]], appointed by the British government, and also included [[Charles Alexander Magrath]], appointed by the Canadian government, and [[William Ewen Stavert|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 of Newfoundland|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 [[28th General Assembly of Newfoundland|House of Assembly]], which duly approved the proposals and thus voted itself out of existence.

== Governance by the Commission ==
The Commission of Government was sworn in on 16 February 1934,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/politics/commission-government.php|title=The Commission of Government, 1934-1949|website=www.heritage.nf.ca|access-date=2019-12-09}}</ref> 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.

[[United States of America|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 [[1948 Newfoundland referendums|two referendums]] in 1948. By a slender majority, Newfoundlanders chose to become a [[Provinces and territories of Canada|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.

==Chairmen of Commission of Government==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left;"
! Term || Chairman
|-
| 1934–1935 || [[David Murray Anderson|Sir David Murray Anderson]]
|-
| 1936–1946 || [[Humphrey T. Walwyn|Sir Humphrey T. Walwyn]]
|-
| 1946–1949 || [[Gordon Macdonald, 1st Baron Macdonald of Gwaenysgor|Sir Gordon MacDonald]]
|}

==Members of the Commission of Government==

{| class="wikitable"
!Name
!From
!To
!Role
|-
|[[Frederick C. Alderdice|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 (civil servant)|Thomas Lodge]]
|16 February 1934
|1937
|Commissioner of Public Utilities
|-
|[[John Charles Puddester]] ''([[knighthood|knight]]ed 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 Walsh|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
|}

==See also==
* [[List of Newfoundland Prime Ministers]]
* [[Newfoundland Royal Commission]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===

Details as per notices in ''[[The London Gazette]]'':
*Notice dated January 31, 1934, issue no. 34021 of February 6, 1934, p. 834
*Notice dated April 21, 1936, issue no. 34280 of May 1, 1936, p. 2800
*Notice dated July 29, 1936, issue no. 34312 of August 7, 1936, p. 5184
*Notice dated January 18, 1937, issue no. 34363 of January 26, 1937, p. 554
*Notice dated May 10, 1937, issue no. 34400 of May 21, 1937, p. 3297
*Notice dated September 15, 1937, issue no. 34439 of September 28, 1937, p. 6016
*Notice dated May 31, 1939, issue no. 34634 of June 9, 1939, p. 3883
*Notice dated March 6, 1941, issue no. 35102 of March 11, 1941, p. 1447
*Notice dated June 3, 1941, issue no. 35183 of June 6, 1941, p. 3223
*Notice dated July 3, 1941, issue no. 35208 of July 4, 1941, p. 3821
*Notice dated September 14, 1944, issue no. 36709 of September 19, 1944, p. 4343
*Notice dated September 29, 1944, issue no. 36724 of September 29, 1944, p. 4491
*Notices dated September 28, 1945, issue no. 37305 of October 12, 1945, p. 5026
*Notice dated September 12, 1946, issue no. 37747 of October 4, 1946, p. 4945
*Notice dated January 25, 1947, issue no. 37868 of January 31, 1947, p. 559

== Further reading ==

* [https://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/politics/amulree-report-introduction.php Report of the Newfoundland Royal Commission]

==External links==
*[http://www.heritage.nf.ca/law/commission_gov.html Commission of Government 1934-1949]
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Political history of Newfoundland and Labrador]]
[[Category:Dominion of Newfoundland]]
[[Category:Government agencies established in 1933]]
[[Category:Government agencies disestablished in 1949]]
[[Category:Defunct advisory councils in Canada]]

Newfoundland Commission of Government - Revision history

2604:3D09:27A:620:AC8F:7565:FC4F:3FAE: /* Governance by the Commission */Wasn’t a “dominion” if ruled by commission.