1878 Newfoundland general election

1878 Newfoundland general election

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31 seats of the Newfoundland House of Assembly 16 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party   Leader William Whiteway James Conroy and Robert Pinsent Party Conservative Opposition Leader since 1878 1878 / 1878 Leader's seat Trinity Bay Ferryland / Ran in Burin (lost) Last election 18 13 [a] Seats won 21 10 Seat change 3 3 Popular vote 7,813 [b] 6,174 [b] Percentage 55.86% 44.14% Swing 0.72% 0.14%
Premier before election William Whiteway Conservative Premier after election William Whiteway Conservative

The 1878 Newfoundland general election was held on November 9, 1878 to elect the members of the 13th General Assembly of Newfoundland in the Newfoundland Colony. The Conservative Party led by William Whiteway formed the government. Whiteway, who had succeeded Frederick Carter earlier in the year, ran on a platform promoting the development of a trans-insular railway. As Anti-Confederate leader Charles Fox Bennett had retired, the opposition to the government became disorganized, and it was loosely led by James Conroy and Robert Pinsent.

Results

	Party	Leader(s)	1874	Candidates	Seats won	Seat change	% of seats (% change)	Popular vote [b]	% of vote (% change)
	Conservative	William Whiteway	18	26	21	3	67.74% (9.68%)	7,813	55.86% (0.72%)
	Opposition	James Conroy and Robert Pinsent	13 [a]	15	10	3	32.26% (9.68%)	6,174	44.14% (0.14%)
Totals			31	41	31		100%	13,987 [c]	100%

Results by district

• Names in boldface type represent party leaders.
• † indicates that the incumbent did not run again.
• ‡ indicates that the incumbent ran in a different district.

St. John's

Electoral district	Candidates				Incumbent
	Conservative (historical)		Liberal (historical)
St. John's East		Robert Parsons Jr. [1] 1,014 24.36%		Michael O'Mara 1,114 26.77%		Robert Kent
				Robert Kent 1,109 26.65%		Robert Parsons Sr.†
				John Dearin 925 22.22%		John Dearin
St. John's West				Lewis Tessier Won by acclamation		Lewis Tessier
				Patrick Scott Won by acclamation		Maurice Fenelon
				Maurice Fenelon Won by acclamation		Patrick Scott

Conception Bay

Electoral district	Candidates				Incumbent
	Conservative (historical)		Liberal (historical)
Bay de Verde		Alfred Penney Won by acclamation				James Rogerson‡ (ran in Burin)
Carbonear		John Rorke Majority of over 200 votes [2]		Francis Taylor		John Rorke
Harbour Grace		Ambrose Shea 777 33.40%		Charles Dawe [3] 823 35.38%		Ambrose Shea
		Joseph Godden 726 31.21%				Joseph Godden
Harbour Main [d]		Charles Furey [4]		Joseph Little		Joseph Little
				Patrick Nowlan		Patrick Nowlan
Port de Grave		Nathan Norman Majority of 153 votes				Nathaniel Rabbitts
		Nathaniel Rabbitts

Avalon Peninsula

Electoral district	Candidates				Incumbent
	Conservative (historical)		Liberal (historical)
Ferryland		Richard Raftus [5] 336 21.98%		James Conroy 602 39.37%		Richard Raftus
				Daniel Greene 591 38.65%		James Conroy
Placentia and St. Mary's		William Donnelly Won by acclamation				Charles Bennett†
		James Collins Won by acclamation				James Collins
		Michael Dwyer Won by acclamation				Michael Dwyer

Eastern and Central Newfoundland

Electoral district	Candidates				Incumbent
	Conservative (historical)		Other
Bonavista Bay		Francis Winton 1,129 33.06%		James Saint (Wesleyan Conservative) [e] 629 18.42%		John Warren
		George Skelton 1,071 31.36%				Charles Bowring†
		John Warren 586 17.16%				A. J. W. McNeilly‡ (ran in Twillingate and Fogo)
Trinity Bay		William Whiteway Won by acclamation				William Whiteway
		James Watson Won by acclamation				John Steer†
		John Rendell Won by acclamation				James Watson
Twillingate and Fogo		A. J. W. McNeilly Won by acclamation				Frederick Carter†
		Stanley Carter Won by acclamation				Charles Duder†
		Richard Rice Won by acclamation				William Kelligrew†

Southern Newfoundland

Electoral district	Candidates				Incumbent
	Conservative (historical)		Liberal (historical)
Burgeo and LaPoile		Alexander Mackay Won by acclamation				Prescott Emerson†
Burin [7]		James Winter 497 26.79%		Robert Pinsent 438 23.61%		Charles Ayre†
		James Rogerson 488 26.31%		George Bishop 432 23.29%		James Winter
Fortune Bay [8]		James Fraser ~ 560 ~ 80.00%		William Wood ~ 140 ~ 20.00%		Robert Alexander†

Notes

1. As the Anti-Confederation Party
2. Note that this does not include the vote totals for the districts of Carbonear, Harbour Main, and Port de Grave, as the full results of those contests are not available.
3. Given that the majorities are known for the districts of Carbonear and Port de Grave, it is evident that at least 14,340 votes were cast in this election.
4. Returns are not available for this district.
5. Although Saint was a supporter of Whiteway, the election for the district of Bonavista was fought on denominational lines, and he was referred to as a "Wesleyan" opponent of the Whiteway candidates in contemporary sources. ^[6]

References

1. "To the Free and Independent Electors of the Eastern Division of the District of St. John's". The Times and General Commercial Gazette. October 26, 1878. Retrieved June 4, 2025.
2. "The Elections". Morning Chronicle. November 12, 1878. Retrieved June 4, 2025.
3. "From the Courier of Saturday". Morning Courier. October 30, 1878. Retrieved June 4, 2025.
4. "Nomination Day". Harbour Grace Standard. November 9, 1878. Retrieved June 4, 2025.
5. "From the Newfoundlander, Nov. 1". Morning Chronicle. November 2, 1878. Retrieved June 4, 2025.
6. "Nomination Day". Public Ledger. November 5, 1878. Retrieved June 4, 2025.
7. "Burin Election". Morning Courier. November 16, 1878. Retrieved June 4, 2025.
8. "Local and Other Items". Harbour Grace Standard. November 30, 1878. Retrieved June 4, 2025.

Further reading

• Mackintosh, Charles H (1879). "The Canadian parliamentary companion and annual register, 1879". pp. 399–400. Retrieved October 28, 2009.
• Riggs, Bert (1981). "General Election #13: November 4, 1878 (sic)". Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador, volume 1. St. John's: Harry Cuff Publications Ltd. Retrieved June 4, 2025.