1848 Newfoundland general election

1848 Newfoundland general election

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15 seats of the Newfoundland House of Assembly 8 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party   Party Liberal Conservative Last election 8 7 Seats won 9 6 Seat change 1 1 Popular vote 11,066 [a] 1,975 [a] Percentage 84.86% 15.14% Swing 24.95% [b] 24.95% [b]

The 1848 Newfoundland general election was held on November 20, 1848 to elect members of the 4th General Assembly of Newfoundland in the Newfoundland Colony. The House of Assembly and the Legislative Council were restored as separate bodies following an experiment by Governor John Harvey which had amalgamated the two legislatures. ^[1] The Liberal Party continued to maintain a majority of seats with a Conservative opposition.

Results

	Party	1842	Candidates	Seats won	Seat change	% of seats (% change)	Popular vote [a]	% of vote (% change)
	Liberal	8	17	9	1	60.00% ( 6.67%)	11,066	84.86% ( 24.95%)
	Conservative	7	13	6	1	40.00% ( 6.67%)	1,975	15.14% ( 24.95%)
Totals		15	30	15		100%	13,041	100%

Results by district

• † indicates that the incumbent did not run again.

St. John's

Electoral district	Candidates				Incumbent
	Liberal (historical)		Other
St. John's		Laurence O'Brien 1,901 23.43%		James Douglas (Independent Liberal) [2] 1,666 20.53%		Robert Parsons
		John Kent [3] 1,895 23.35%		John Nugent (Independent Liberal) 875 10.78%		Laurence O'Brien
		Robert John Parsons 1,777 21.90%				John Nugent

Avalon Peninsula

Electoral district	Candidates						Incumbent
	Liberal (historical)		Conservative (historical)		Other
Conception Bay 40.06% turnout [4]		James Prendergast 702 21.12%		Richard Rankin 493 14.83%				Thomas Ridley†
		Edmund Hanrahan 687 20.67%		Thomas Newell [5] 472 14.20%				John Munn†
		Nicholas Molloy 510 15.34%		Robert Ayles [5] 460 13.84%				James Prendergast
								Edmund Hanrahan
Ferryland [c]		Peter Winser		Thomas Glen [6]				Thomas Glen
Placentia and St. Mary's [7]		Ambrose Shea 224 23.88%				John Delaney (Independent Liberal) 287 30.60%		John Dillon†
		Simon Morris 28 2.99%				? Furlong (Independent Liberal) 189 20.15%		Simon Morris
						? Murphy (Independent Liberal) 168 17.91%
						? McGill (Independent Liberal) 42 4.48%

Eastern and Southern Newfoundland

Electoral district	Candidates						Incumbent
	Liberal (historical)		Conservative (historical)		Other
Bonavista Bay [c]				Robert Carter		Hugh Emerson (Independent Conservative) [6]		Robert Carter
Burin [6] [c]		Clement Benning		Joshua Falle		Henry Winton (Independent Conservative)		Clement Benning
						? Douglas (Independent Conservative)
						? Perchard (Independent Conservative)
Fortune Bay				Hugh Hoyles Won by acclamation				Bryan Robinson†
Trinity Bay [8]		George Brooking 402 42.23%		Thomas Job 550 57.77%				Thomas Job
Twillingate and Fogo				George Emerson Won by acclamation				Vacant [d]

Notes

1. Note that this does not include the vote totals for the districts of Bonavista Bay, Burin, and Ferryland, as the full results of those contests are not available.
2. Based on incomplete figures from the previous election
3. Returns are not available for this district.
4. John Slade had been elected in 1842, but he died while in office on January 9, 1847.

References

1. "Representative Government, 1832-1855". Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage. Memorial University. Retrieved October 23, 2009.
2. "To the Independent Electors of the District of St. John's". Courier. November 16, 1848. Retrieved June 28, 2025.
3. Kent, John (October 7, 1848). "To the Electors of the District of St. John's". Times and General Commercial Gazette. Retrieved June 25, 2025.
4. "The Elections". Courier. November 25, 1848. Retrieved June 25, 2025.
5. "From the Harbour Grace Herald, Nov. 15". Times and General Commercial Gazette. November 18, 1848. Retrieved June 25, 2025.
6. "The Elections". Times and General Commercial Gazette. September 30, 1848. Retrieved June 25, 2025.
7. "Placentia and St. Mary". Courier. November 25, 1848. Retrieved June 25, 2025.
8. "Trinity Bay Election". Courier. November 25, 1848. Retrieved June 25, 2025.

Further reading

• Riggs, Bert (1981). "General Election #4: November 1848". Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador, volume 1. St. John's: Harry Cuff Publications Ltd. Retrieved June 28, 2025.