Malcolm Mercer Hollett (December 9, 1891 – September 23, 1985) was a Newfoundland

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

, politician and

Canadian Senator The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The Senate is modelled after the Bri ...

. The son of Henry and Mary Hollett, he was born in Great Burin and received his early education there and at the Methodist College in St. John's. Hollett was awarded a

Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

ship in 1915 after graduating from

Mount Allison University Mount Allison University (also Mount A or MtA) is a Canadian primarily undergraduate liberal arts university located in Sackville, New Brunswick, founded in 1839. Like other liberal arts colleges in North America, Mount Allison does not parti ...

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

but he delayed going to the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

in order to enlist in the

Royal Newfoundland Regiment The Royal Newfoundland Regiment (R NFLD R) is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. It is part of the 5th Canadian Division's 37 Canadian Brigade Group. Predecessor units trace their origins to 1795, and since 1949 Royal N ...

. He enrolled at Oxford after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and graduated with a diploma in economics in 1921."Malcolm Hollett", Canadian Press, September 25, 1985 He returned to Newfoundland after his studies and was appointed

. Hollett led relief efforts after the 1929 Grand Banks earthquake created a

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explo ...

that devastated the communities of the

Burin Peninsula The Burin Peninsula ( ) is a peninsula located on the south coast of the island of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Marystown is the largest population centre on the peninsula.Statistics Canada. 2017. Marystown, T ensus ...

where he lived. Hollett served in the

Newfoundland National Convention The Newfoundland National Convention of 1946 to 1948 was a forum established to decide the constitutional future of Newfoundland. Nominations On 11 December 1945 the British Government announced that there would be an election to a national c ...

and was a member of the colony's 1947 delegation to London. He opposed Newfoundland joining Canadian confederation and supported the reinstitution of

responsible government Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability, the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy. Governments (the equivalent of the executive bran ...

. During the 1948 referendums on Newfoundland's future, Hollett was a leading member of the

Responsible Government League The Responsible Government League was a political movement in the Dominion of Newfoundland. The Responsible Government League of Newfoundland, led by Peter Cashin, was formed in February 1947 by anti-Confederation delegates to the Newfoundland N ...

that campaigned against joining Canada. He ran and was elected to the

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible governme ...

as a Progressive Conservative member for St. John's West in 1952. The next year, he became leader of the Progressive Conservative party and

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

. He led the party through the

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...

election, but was unable to increase the party's seat total beyond the four seats it had when he became leader. Prior to the 1959 provincial election, Hollett faced a revolt when two of his MHAs left to form the more moderate

United Newfoundland Party The United Newfoundland Party was the name of two conservative parties in Newfoundland. Pre-Confederation The first UNP was a conservative party in the Dominion of Newfoundland led by Frederick C. Alderdice from 1928 to 1934. It was organized by ...

which, unlike Hollett's Conservatives, favoured continued federal subsidies to Newfoundland. During the election itself, Newfoundland Premier and Liberal leader

Joey Smallwood Joseph Roberts Smallwood (December 24, 1900 – December 17, 1991) was a Newfoundlander and Canadian politician. He was the main force who brought the Dominion of Newfoundland into Canadian Confederation in 1949, becoming the first premier of ...

challenged Hollett in his own riding and defeated him, reducing the Tories to three seats in the House of Assembly."Liberals Swept In By Voters in Nfld. - PC Leader Is Ousted; Labor Loses", ''Globe and Mail'', August 21, 1959 Hollett resigned as party leader. Smallwood decided to run against Hollett after the Tory leader opposed a government motion of censure against the federal Progressive Conservative government of

John Diefenbaker John George Diefenbaker ( ; September 18, 1895 – August 16, 1979) was the 13th prime minister of Canada, serving from 1957 to 1963. He was the only Progressive Conservative party leader between 1930 and 1979 to lead the party to an electio ...

. He was appointed to the Senate by Diefenbaker in 1961 and sat as a Progressive Conservative. He resigned in 1971 at the age of 80 and returned to Newfoundland. He died in 1985 at the age of 94.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hollett, Malcolm Mercer 1891 births 1985 deaths Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador MHAs Newfoundland and Labrador political party leaders Canadian senators from Newfoundland and Labrador Progressive Conservative Party of Canada senators Newfoundland Rhodes Scholars Alumni of University College, Oxford Newfoundland military personnel of World War I Newfoundland National Convention members Royal Newfoundland Regiment officers Dominion of Newfoundland people