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About Newfoundland and Labrador
Commission of Government for Newfoundland
In the early 1930s the Government of the British Empire Dominion of Newfoundland found itself in desperate straits. Difficult economic conditions caused it to adopt a series of increasingly desperate measures to obtain loans to cover expenses such that by 1932 interest payments ate up 59.7% of public revenue. The government was so desperate that it tried to sell Labrador to Canada but, fortunately, Canada refused.
In June, 1932, the newly elected Prime Minister of Newfoundland found that the country could no longer borrow money on its own credit. The fishery was a miserable failure and the government was finding it increasingly difficult to feed the growing army of poor. A government plan to find some financial relief by reducing interest payments on its debt brought severe reprimands from the British Government and had to be abandoned.
Newfoundland was in a very difficult situation.
In order to obtain a loan secured by Britain and Canada to meet interest payments due at the end of 1932, the Newfoundland Government was forced to accept the appointment of a three member British Commission to “examine into the future of Newfoundland …” .
The British appointed Lord Amulree as Chair of the Commission along with members C.A. Magrath, nominated by Canada, and Sir William Stavert, nominated by Newfoundland. Before getting started with the job at hand the Commission was faced with the payment of interest on loans due mid-1933. Canada refused to help with meeting this financial demand which placed the British Government into a very difficult position. The upshot of this was an offer by Britain to give Newfoundland the support it needed under the condition that it give up self-government in favour of administration by a British appointed commission of Government. Newfoundland accepted the terms and commission of government took effect on February 16, 1934. The Newfoundland Legislature would not be convened for 15 years!
Three Commissioners from Britain were given the senior departments: Natural Resources, Public Utilities, and Finance. Newfoundlanders were appointed as Commissioners for Justice, Public Health and Welfare, and Home Affairs and Education. The governor acted as chairman. Each of the six Commissioners voted upon measures which the governor would sign into law. However, the powers of the commission were restricted. The Dominions Office in Britain had to approve major policy initiatives such as the budget.
Commission of Government proved to be an efficient way to deal with the day to day running of government responsibilities and a number of reforms were implemented in spite of the world-wide depression that prevailed. The more noteworthy of these reforms were the following:
.a network of cottage hospitals was established in larger communities along with a hospital ship for inaccessible communities.
.the Newfoundland Ranger force was established that had detachments throughout the island of Newfoundland and Labrador. In addition to their policing duties the rangers proved effective as game wardens, truant officers, health inspectors, collected customs duties, and dispensed government relief.
.attendance at school was made compulsory for school age children and a teacher training department was established at Memorial College.
However, the commission had its critics. By the late 1930s the commission had become very unpopular but the outbreak of WWII caused everyone to change focus. The economic climate for Newfoundland turned positive and Britain had a war to contend with. The commission was left on its own to run Newfoundland’s affairs in a less critical environment. Because of Newfoundland’s strategic position in the North Atlantic the infusion of money from the war effort resulted in an economic boon. Newfoundland was no longer under the financial pressure it had suffered since the turn of the century and was in a position to lend money to the British Government to help finance the war effort. It became a general understanding that Commission of Government would end with the end of the war.
Patrick O’Flaherty’s book Lost Country: The Rise and Fall of Newfoundland 1843-1943 does a great job of covering the events leading up to the establishment of Commission of Government and the last chapter covers the introduction of the Commission to take over the governing of Newfoundland. As Near to Heaven by Sea: A history of Newfoundland & Labrador is another book that covers Commission of Government to some degree.
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