The Commission of Government was a non-elected body that governed the

Dominion of Newfoundland Newfoundland was a British dominion in eastern North America, today the modern Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It was established on 26 September 1907, and confirmed by the Balfour Declaration of 1926 and the Statute of Westmi ...

from 1934 to 1949. Established following the collapse of Newfoundland's economy during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, it was dissolved when the

dominion The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire. "Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 1926 ...

became the tenth

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

on March 31, 1949. It was composed of civil servants who were directly subordinate to the

British Government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_es ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Background

Newfoundland's economic difficulties were exacerbated by

debt Debt is an obligation that requires one party, the debtor, to pay money or other agreed-upon value to another party, the creditor. Debt is a deferred payment, or series of payments, which differentiates it from an immediate purchase. The ...

incurred during the

First World War 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 the collapse of fish prices during the Depression. In 1933, following a prolonged period of

economic crisis An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the p ...

and severe budgetary deficit, and civil unrest that culminated in a riot which brought down the previous government, the government of

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Frederick C. Alderdice asked the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

and Canadian governments to establish a royal commission (the

Newfoundland Royal Commission {{Short description, 1933 UK royal commission on Newfoundland finances The Newfoundland Royal Commission or Amulree Commission (as it came to be known) was a royal commission established on February 17, 1933 by the Government of the United Kingdom ...

) to investigate the dominion's continuing crisis and to suggest a solution to its problems. The commission (commonly known as the "Amulree Commission") was chaired by Lord Amulree, appointed by the British government, and also included

Charles Alexander Magrath Charles Alexander Magrath (April 22, 1860 – October 30, 1949) was a Canadian land surveyor and statesman. He conducted foundation surveys of the North-West Territories (NWT) from 1878 until 1885. He joined Sir Alexander Tilloch Galt and Elli ...

, appointed by the Canadian government, and Sir William Ewen Stavert, who represented the Newfoundland government. The commission recommended the temporary suspension 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 ...

in Newfoundland, and replacing it with a Commission of Government made up of the British-appointed

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

and six commissioners appointed by

the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...

made up of three British officials and three Newfoundland-born appointees. Alderdice was in favour of this recommendation and accordingly put it 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 ...

, which duly approved the proposals and thus voted itself out of existence. The Commission of Government was sworn in on 16 February 1934, with Alderdice as vice-chairman, and immediately set about reforming the administration of the country in hopes of balancing the government's budget. With the help of grants in aid from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, the Commission attempted to encourage agriculture and reorganize the fishing industry. While it did much to expand government health services to rural areas, for example, it could not solve the basic economic problems of a small export-oriented country during a time of worldwide economic stagnation.

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

and Canadian military spending in Newfoundland during the 1940s caused an economic boom and allowed the Commission of Government to consider how to reintroduce a system of democratic government. However, the British government believed that wartime prosperity would be short-lived. So it established 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 ...

in 1946 to debate constitutional options, which were submitted to the people in two referendums in 1948. By a slender majority, Newfoundlanders chose to become a

of Canada, rather than return to the status of a self-governing dominion. The Commission of Government continued to govern Newfoundland until March 31, 1949, when the dominion joined Canada.

Chairmen of Commission of Government

Members of the Commission of Government

References

Sources

Details as per notices in ''

The London Gazette ''The London Gazette'' is one of the official journals of record or government gazettes of the Government of the United Kingdom, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, in which certain statutory notices are ...

'': *Notice dated January 31, 1934, issue no. 34021 of February 6, 1934, p. 834 *Notice dated April 21, 1936, issue no. 34280 of May 1, 1936, p. 2800 *Notice dated July 29, 1936, issue no. 34312 of August 7, 1936, p. 5184 *Notice dated January 18, 1937, issue no. 34363 of January 26, 1937, p. 554 *Notice dated May 10, 1937, issue no. 34400 of May 21, 1937, p. 3297 *Notice dated September 15, 1937, issue no. 34439 of September 28, 1937, p. 6016 *Notice dated May 31, 1939, issue no. 34634 of June 9, 1939, p. 3883 *Notice dated March 6, 1941, issue no. 35102 of March 11, 1941, p. 1447 *Notice dated June 3, 1941, issue no. 35183 of June 6, 1941, p. 3223 *Notice dated July 3, 1941, issue no. 35208 of July 4, 1941, p. 3821 *Notice dated September 14, 1944, issue no. 36709 of September 19, 1944, p. 4343 *Notice dated September 29, 1944, issue no. 36724 of September 29, 1944, p. 4491 *Notices dated September 28, 1945, issue no. 37305 of October 12, 1945, p. 5026 *Notice dated September 12, 1946, issue no. 37747 of October 4, 1946, p. 4945 *Notice dated January 25, 1947, issue no. 37868 of January 31, 1947, p. 559

External links