5th General Assembly of Newfoundland


The members of the 5th General Assembly of Newfoundland were elected in the Newfoundland general election held in 1852. The general assembly sat from 1853 to 1855.
John Kent was chosen as speaker.
Ker Baillie-Hamilton served as List of [lieutenant governors of Newfoundland and Labrador#Civil Governors of Newfoundland, 1825–1855|civil governor of Newfoundland].
Although Baillie-Hamilton was opposed to any change in the colony's system of government, in March 1854, Philip Francis Little and Robert John Parsons, with the support of Joseph Hume, were able to persuade the secretary of state for the colonies, the Duke of Newcastle, to grant responsible government to the colony.
Later in 1854, the assembly passed a Representation Act to double the number of seats in the assembly; this satisfied one of the conditions set by Newcastle for implementation of responsible government.
Baillie-Hamilton delayed the upcoming general election until May 1855 because he felt that a winter election would be unfair to Protestant voters living in remote areas of the colony.

Members of the Assembly

The following members were elected to the assembly in 1852:
MemberElectoral districtAffiliationFirst elected / previously elected
John Henry WarrenBonavista BayConservative1852-
Clement BenningBurinLiberal1852-
John BemisterConception BayConservative1852-
Edmund HanrahanConception BayLiberal1848-
John HaywardConception BayConservative1852-
William TalbotConception BayLiberal1852-
Peter WinserFerrylandLiberal1848-
George [Henry Emerson (Twillingate and Fogo)|George Henry Emerson]FogoConservative1848-
Hugh William HoylesFortune BayConservative1848-
George James HogsettPlacentia and St. Mary'sLiberal1852-
Ambrose SheaPlacentia and St. Mary'sLiberal1848-
John KentSt. John'sLiberal1832, 1848-
Philip Francis LittleSt. John'sLiberal1850-
Robert John ParsonsSt. John'sLiberal1843-
Stephen MarchTrinity BayConservative1852-

By-elections

None