8th General Assembly of Newfoundland

The members of the 8th General Assembly of Newfoundland were elected in the Newfoundland general election held in May 1861. The general assembly sat from 1861 to 1865.
Hugh Hoyles, leader of the Conservative Party, had been appointed premier and invited to form a government in March after his predecessor was dismissed by the governor. Hoyle's government was defeated in a non-confidence vote prompting a general election in May which Hoyles and his party won, allowing Hoyles to continue as Newfoundland's premier until March 1865, when he accepted a post on the Newfoundland Supreme Court. Frederick Carter succeeded Hoyles as party leader and premier. Carter formed a coalition government with Liberals Ambrose Shea and John Kent.
Frederick Carter was chosen as speaker, serving until April 1865, when William Whiteway became speaker.
Sir Alexander Bannerman served as List of [lieutenant governors of Newfoundland and Labrador#Colonial Governors of Newfoundland, 1855–1907|colonial governor of Newfoundland] until 1864. Sir Anthony Musgrave succeeded Bannerman as governor.
Frederick Carter and Ambrose Shea represented Newfoundland at the 1864 Quebec Conference on Canadian Confederation.

Members of the Assembly

The following members were elected to the assembly in 1861:

	Member	Electoral district	Affiliation	First elected / previously elected
John Bemister	Bay de Verde	Conservative	1855	-
Stephen March	Bonavista Bay	Conservative	1852	-
John Henry Warren	Bonavista Bay	Conservative	1852	-
Matthew W. Walbank	Bonavista Bay	Conservative	1855	-
Frederick J. Wyatt	Bonavista Bay	Conservative	1864	-
Daniel W. Prowse	Burgeo-La Poile	Conservative	1861	-
Edward Evans	Burin	Conservative	1861	-
Hugh Hoyles	Burin	Conservative	1855, 1860	-
Edmund Hanrahan	Carbonear	Liberal	1855	-
John Rorke	Carbonear	Conservative	1863	-
Thomas Glen	Ferryland	Liberal	1855	-
Edward Dalton Shea	Ferryland	Liberal	1855	-
Robert Carter	Fortune Bay	Conservative	1859	-
John Hayward	Harbour Grace	Liberal	1855	-
Henry J. Moore	Harbour Grace	Liberal	1861	-
Thomas Byrne	Harbour Main	Liberal	1861	-
Patrick Nowlan	Harbour Main	Liberal	1859	-
Ambrose Shea	Placentia and St. Mary's	Liberal	1848	-
W. G. Flood	Placentia and St. Mary's	Liberal	1861	-
Richard McGrath	Placentia and St. Mary's	Liberal	1860	-
Pierce M. Barron	Placentia and St. Mary's	Liberal	1861	-
John Leamon	Port de Grave	Conservative	1859	-
John Kent	St. John's East	Liberal	1832, 1848	-
Robert John Parsons	St. John's East	Liberal	1843	-
John Kavanagh	St. John's East	Liberal	1857	-
John Casey	St. John's West	Liberal	1859	-
Thomas Talbot	St. John's West	Liberal	1861	-
Henry Renouf	St. John's West	Liberal	1861	-
Stephen Rendell	Trinity Bay	Conservative	1859	-
John Winter	Trinity Bay	Conservative	1859	-
F.B.T. Carter	Trinity Bay	Conservative	1859	-
William Whiteway	Twillingate and Fogo	Conservative	1859	-
Thomas Knight	Twillingate and Fogo	Conservative	1859	-

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