Although the districts were created such that Roman Catholics and Protestants would be equally represented, the majority of those who were elected were Anglican merchants. Despite their vigorous advocacy for representative government, Morris chose not to run and Carson was defeated in his bid for the multi-member district of St. John's. The Anglicans eventually coalesced into the Conservative Party, and the reformers, who primarily consisted of Roman Catholics and dissident Protestants, formed the Liberal Party.
Structure of the new assembly
The eastern half of the colony was divided into nine electoral districts with fifteen members. They were divided in such a manner that Roman Catholics and Protestants would have a roughly equal degree of representation. As it was determined that all residents lived on or near the coast, the electoral boundaries did not give any consideration to areas further inland. The districts were drawn up as follows:
Conception Bay (4 members): Extending from Topsail to the head of Bay de Verde. There were approximately equal numbers of Roman Catholics and Protestants.
St. John's (3 members): Extending from Petty Harbour to Topsail and including Bell Island. The district was heavily Roman Catholic.
Placentia and St. Mary's (2 members): Extending from Cape Race to Rushoon. This district was also predominantly Roman Catholic.
Bonavista Bay (1 member): Extending from Cape Bonavista to Cape Freels. The majority of residents in this district were Protestant.
Burin (1 member): Extending from Rushoon to Garnish. This district's population leaned Protestant, but there was a substantial Roman Catholic minority.
Ferryland (1 member): Extending from Petty Harbour to Cape Race. This district was heavily Roman Catholic.
Fortune Bay (1 member): Extending from Garnish to Bonne Bay (today known as McCallum). This district was heavily Protestant.
Trinity Bay (1 member): Extending from the head of Bay de Verde to Cape Bonavista. This district was primarily Protestant.
Twillingate and Fogo (1 member): Extending from Cape Freels to Cape St. John. This district was heavily Protestant.
The west coast of Newfoundland did not receive any representation as it fell within the jurisdiction of the French Shore established by the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht. Labrador was also not included due to the remoteness of the area and the transient nature of the European settlers there.
Suffrage
Each candidate for the House of Assembly had to be male, twenty-one years or older, of sound understanding, either natural-born to the island or a lawfully naturalizedBritish citizen, and a resident of two years standing who had occupied a dwelling as either tenant or owner. Also, no candidate could have a criminal record for any infamous or heinous crime.[1] Voters were held to much the same restrictions as candidates except the residency requirement was reduced from two years to one.
The election was conducted over a period of two months from the day of proclamation to the last polling date of December 8, 1832. There were forty-seven polling booths located at strategic locations and not all communities had one. Except for the districts of St. John's, Conception Bay, and Bonavista, the candidates were elected by acclamation.
District of Conception Bay
The nomination for Conception Bay was held on October 31, 1832, with the following candidates nominated for the four available seats:
After the election results of November 3, 1832, Robert Pinsent withdrew and the remaining four were declared representatives for the district.
District of St. John's
Seven candidates offered themselves for election after the reading of the Proclamation and the Writ. Two more offered after the first polling day, which was met with some skepticism. Nominated were:
Dr. William Carson, nominated by Newman W. Hoyles and Dr. Shea
(a) No voting took place on Sunday, November 11. (b) dropped out of the race after results of November 6. (c) nob - not on ballot. (d) not one of the original nominees.
After the results of voting on November 12, 1832, Dr. William Carson withdrew and the remaining three were declared as representatives of the District of St. John's.
At the opening of the House of Assembly on January 2, 1833, Dr. Carson petitioned the House for Patrick Kough's removal, claiming he was a government employee and ineligible. The petition was denied.
District of Bonavista
There were two candidates for the district of Bonavista, Hugh Alexander Emerson and William Brown. After three polling stations had voted, William Brown withdrew. The returning officer, Peter LeMessurier, refused to recognize his withdrawal from the race and continued to the next polling station at Greenspond, a Brown stronghold. After those results, William Brown was declared the winner, and no voting took place at the remaining polling station at Cape Freels.
At the opening of the House of Assembly on January 2, 1833, Hugh Alexander Emerson petitioned the House for William Brown's removal due to Peter LeMessurier's actions. The petition was denied.
Aftermath
John Bingley Garland was appointed the first Speaker of the House. Both John Bingley Garland and William Thomas were appointed to the Executive Council and resigned their seats in the House of Assembly. William Row, who ran for a seat in St. John’s, was given the seat for Trinity Bay and Dr. William Carson was given a seat for the District of St. John's.
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