The Constitutional Crisis of 1889 in Newfoundland

Abstract

The constitutional crisis of 1889 in Newfoundland offers an excellent example of what may occur when a governor, in the full belief that he is adhering to the strict observance of his constitutional position, yet manages to defy its limits, bring it into disrepute, and earn the opprobrium of nearly all concerned. That the Governor of Newfoundland did so, as the unsuspecting instrument of a political struggle, points up the dangers of appointing to high office men with little or no appreciation of the duties and responsibilities they are called upon to assume. The crisis of 1889 proves above all the importance that must be attached to the choice of men of good intelligence, even temper, and flexibility. When to insist on the exercise of his prerogatives and when to desist are questions that a governor can only solve by considering as far as possible the results of the choice he makes. A very difficult decision, admittedly, but one which will primarily depend on the governor's tact, influence, articulation, the vital features of his official personality. There is no need to stress the importance of the problem discussed below; the list of constitutional authorities who have studied similar questions is an impressive and well-known one.The Governor in question was Sir Terence O'Brien, a military man who had qualified as an engineer and surveyor in India, had for some years been Inspector General of Police in Mauritius, and, immediately before coming to Newfoundland in 1889, had served as Governor of Heligoland. His immediate concern in Newfoundland was, as befits a man with military experience, the fortification of St. John's against attack in the event of a global conflict which he saw as imminent; but this project was fated to suffer the indifference of a government that did not share his views. In November, 1889, the Governor's attention was abruptly diverted from his scheme of defence to a situation that appeared quite normal and might have remained so but for a combination of events that he grasped only imperfectly.