6th General Assembly of Newfoundland

6th General Assembly of Newfoundland
Colonial Building seat of the Newfoundland government and the House of Assembly from January 28, 1850 to July 28, 1959.
History
Founded	1855
Disbanded	1859
Preceded by	5th General Assembly of Newfoundland
Succeeded by	7th General Assembly of Newfoundland
Leadership
Premier	Philip Francis Little (1855-1858)
Premier	John Kent (from 1858)
Elections
Last election	Newfoundland general election, 1855

The members of the 6th General Assembly of Newfoundland were elected in the Newfoundland general election held in May 1855. The general assembly sat from 1855 to 1859.

This was the first election held after responsible government was granted to the colony. The Liberal Party led by Philip Francis Little won the election and Little became Newfoundland's first premier.^[1] After Little resigned as leader in 1858, John Kent served as premier.^[2]

Ambrose Shea was chosen as speaker.^[3]

Sir Charles Henry Darling served as colonial governor of Newfoundland until February 1857, when he was named governor of Jamaica.^[4] Later that year, Darling was succeeded by Sir Alexander Bannerman,^[5]

Members of the Assembly

The following members were elected to the assembly in 1855:^[6]

Member	Electoral district	Affiliation
John Bemister	Bay de Verde	Conservative
Robert Carter	Bonavista Bay	Conservative
John Henry Warren		Conservative
Matthew W. Walbank		Conservative
Robert Henry Prowse	Burgeo-La Poile	Conservative
Clement Benning	Burin	Liberal
Patrick Morris		Liberal
Edmund Hanrahan	Carbonear	Liberal
Thomas Glen	Ferryland	Conservative
Edward Dalton Shea		Liberal
Hugh William Hoyles	Fortune Bay	Conservative
James Luke Prendergast	Harbour Grace	Liberal
John Hayward		Conservative
Thomas Byrne	Harbour Main	Liberal
William Talbot		Liberal
George James Hogsett	Placentia and St. Mary's	Liberal
Michael John Kelly		Liberal
John Delaney		Liberal
Robert Brown	Port de Grave	Conservative
John Kent	St. John's East	Liberal
Robert John Parsons		Liberal
Peter Winser		Liberal
John Fox	St. John's West	Liberal
Ambrose Shea		Liberal
Philip Francis Little		Liberal
Stephen March	Trinity Bay	Conservative
John Winter		Conservative
F.B.T. Carter		Conservative
William Henry Ellis	Twillingate and Fogo	Conservative
Thomas Knight		Conservative

Notes:

By-elections

By-elections were held to replace members for various reasons:

Electoral district	Member elected	Affiliation	Election date	Reason
St. John's East	John Kavanagh	Liberal	1857	P Winser resigned in 1857[6]
St. John's West	John Casey	Liberal	1857	J Fox named to Legislative Council in 1857[6]
Twillingate and Fogo	William Whiteway	Conservative	1858	J H Ellis died March 28, 1858[6]
St. John's West	J. J. Gearin	Liberal	1858	P F Little resigned seat in 1858[6]

Notes:

References

1. "Responsible Government, 1855-1933". Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage. Memorial University.
2. Waite, P. B. (1972). "Kent, John". In Hayne, David. Dictionary of Canadian Biography. X (1871–1880) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.
3. "The Speaker of the House of Assembly". House of Assembly.
4. Thompson, Frederic F (1976). "Darling, Sir Charles Henry". In Halpenny, Francess G. Dictionary of Canadian Biography. IX (1861–1870) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.
5. "Bannerman, Sir Alexander". Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage. Memorial University.
6. "Elections". Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador. p. 685.