The 1885 Newfoundland general election was held on October 31, 1885 to elect members of the 15th General Assembly of Newfoundland in the Newfoundland Colony. The denominationally unified Whiteway government had fallen as supporters of the Orange Order abandoned him following the Harbour Grace Affray. Members of the opposition New Party aligned themselves with Protestant members of Whiteway's administration to create the Reform Party. Led by Robert Thorburn, a former member of the Legislative Council, the Reform Party ran on a platform of "Protestant rights." The Roman Catholic caucus within Whiteway's administration formed the Liberal led by Ambrose Shea, who had also turned against the Whiteway government. Many candidates who continued to support Whiteway ran as independents, which provided the opposition in some of the most denominationally skewed districts. Thorburn's new party swept to power, but it soon turned away from its sectarian agenda by inviting Catholic Liberals into the Executive Council.
Results
Party Leader 1882CandidatesSeats wonSeat change% of seats(% change)Popular vote % of vote(% change)ReformRobert Thorburn522211658.33%(43.18%)12,21339.78%(11.17%)LiberalAmbrose Shea2614131336.11%(42.68%)11,98339.03%(26.49%)Other21425.56%(0.50%)6,50621.19%(15.32%)Totals335036 3100%30,702100%
Results by district Names in boldface type represent party leaders. † indicates that the incumbent did not run again. ‡ indicates that the incumbent ran in a different district.
St. John's
|bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=3|St. John's East || |Robert Kent1,73828.70% | |Robert Parsons Jr. (Independent)63510.49% || |Robert Kent
|Ambrose Shea1,71128.26% | |John Dearin (Independent)4377.22% || |John Dearin
|Michael O'Mara1,49824.74% | |Thomas Mitchell (Independent)360.59% || |Robert Parsons Jr. |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=3|St. John's West || |Patrick Scott1,25026.44% |rowspan=3 | |rowspan=3|Edward Morris (Independent)1,65134.92% || |Patrick Scott
|James Callanan1,01321.43% || |Philip White†
|James Furlong81417.22% || |James Callanan
Conception Bay
|bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=2|Bay de Verde || |Stephen March85040.81%
|Levi Garland (Independent)35016.80% || |Levi Garland
|A. J. W. McNeilly76536.73%
|Beverly Somerville (Independent)1185.66% || |New seat |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Carbonear || |Alfred PenneyWon by acclamation
|Alfred Penney |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=3|Harbour Grace || |James Winter1,18331.33%
|Joseph Russell (Independent)2767.31% || |Ambrose Shea‡(ran in St. John's East)
|Charles Dawe1,07728.52%
|rowspan=2| |rowspan=2|William Butt (Independent)2326.14% || |Charles Dawe
|Joseph Godden1,00826.69%
|New seat |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=2|Harbour Main
|John Veitch71142.91% |rowspan=2| |rowspan=2|Thomas Murphy (Independent)29117.56% || |Vacant
|Richard MacDonnell65539.53% || |Richard MacDonnell |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Port de Grave || |George HutchingsWon by acclamation
|John Bartlett†
Avalon Peninsula
|bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=2|Ferryland
|Daniel GreeneWon by acclamation || |Daniel Greene
|George SheaWon by acclamation || |Augustus Goodridge‡(ran in Twillingate) |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=3|Placentia and St. Mary's |rowspan=3| |rowspan=3|William Siteman50416.27% || |James McGrath94030.35% || |William Donnelly
|William Donnelly92229.77% || |Albert Bradshaw‡(ran in St. Barbe)
|George Emerson73123.60% || |Michael Tobin†
Eastern Newfoundland
|bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=3|Bonavista Bay || |James Noonan1,06423.88% | |George Skelton (Independent)77017.28% || |James Noonan
|Abram Kean95721.48% |rowspan=2| |rowspan=2|Alfred Morine (Independent)72416.25% || |George Skelton
|Frederick White94121.12% || |Francis Winton† |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=3|Trinity Bay || |Robert ThorburnWon by acclamation
|William Whiteway†
|Walter GrieveWon by acclamation
|Joseph Boyd†
|Ellis WatsonWon by acclamation
|Robert Bond‡(ran in Fortune Bay)
Central Newfoundland
|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Fogo || |James RollsWon by acclamation
|New district |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=3|Twillingate || |Augustus Goodridge1,09532.78% |rowspan=3| |rowspan=3|Jabez Thompson (Independent)57717.28% || |Smith McKayTwillingate and Fogo
|Smith McKay1,05831.68% || |Richard Rice†Twillingate and Fogo
|Michael Knight61018.26% || |Jabez ThompsonTwillingate and Fogo
Southern and Western Newfoundland
|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Burgeo and LaPoile || |Alexander MackayWon by acclamation
|Alexander Mackay |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=2|Burin || |John Peters57438.01%
|rowspan=2| |rowspan=2|J. Brien (Independent)40927.09% || |James Winter‡(ran in Harbour Grace)
|Henry LeMessurier52734.90%
|John Peters |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Fortune Bay
|Robert Bond (Independent)Won by acclamation || |James Fraser† |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|St. Barbe || |Albert BradshawWon by acclamation
|VacantWhite Bay |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|St. George's
|Michael CartyWon by acclamation
|Michael Carty
Notes
References
Further reading