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34-704: The EUP was formed by a split in the Responsible Government League (RGL), which advocated " responsible government ". A group of younger anti-Confederation delegates to the Newfoundland National Convention quit the RGL, because they thought the RGL was disorganized and had failed to present a positive alternative to Confederation. Thus it seemed that the RGL was doomed to lose the referendum to Joey Smallwood 's Confederate Association , advocates of Confederation. The EUP

68-633: A National Convention was called by the Governor of Newfoundland and the Commissioners of Government. In September 1947 the assembly was convened. The mandate of the National Convention was to debate the various forms of government that the people were to choose from. While almost all members of the National Convention advocated change, two strong factions soon developed. One called for Confederation with Canada. The other called for

102-472: A distinctive elaborate banner with red, white and green being prominent colours. For ease of manufacture, a tricolour flag was adopted. This flag consisted of three equal width vertical panels of red (at the hoist), white (in the centre) and green (on the fly) in proportion 1:2. The flag became known as the "Native Flag". Red and white could be seen as representing the Tudor rose, the floral emblem of England. White

136-564: A fishermen's aid and benefit organization, the Newfoundland Fishermen's Star of the Sea Association. Its official banner was a green background with a central white star with a pink cross in it. The green depicted the cold and dangerous North Atlantic Ocean, the great many local pine trees, and possibly the shamrock of Ireland since the vast majority of Newfoundland Catholics at the time were of Irish ancestry. The star

170-565: A large public debt noted above, the Newfoundland economy collapsed and the government was forced out of office. A new government led by Frederick C. Alderdice came to power after promising to ask the British Government to appoint a Royal Commission to inquire into the possibility of suspending responsible government. That Royal Commission recommended a "rest from politics," after which the Newfoundland legislature requested that

204-428: A long-defunct patriotic organization in Newfoundland established in 1840 to protect the rights and privileges of Newfoundland-born and other longtime residents in dealings with colonial civil servants, big business owners who were not always residents, and newcomers who considered themselves much higher in the social structure than the locals even though the vast majority of locals were of the same British Isles ancestry as

238-662: A number of younger delegates and supporters, fearing that the League was poorly run and would lose the referendum, left to form the Party for Economic Union with the United States with Chesley Crosbie as its leader. The RGL tended to draw its support from The Avalon peninsula, Bonavista South, and from Roman Catholics in Eastern Newfoundland. There were two referendums held in 1948 as the first vote on June 3

272-561: A positive reason to reject Confederation. There was no "economic union option" on the referendum ballot. The EUP therefore supported "responsible government", with the expectation that the independent Newfoundland government would negotiate the union with the United States. The party's support was concentrated on the Avalon Peninsula . Its economic ideas, though popular with the St. John's business community, failed to generate interest in

306-478: A separate political entity for a further four generations. During the 1890s the question of Confederation again arose but Canadian diplomats were cold to the idea. The colony was granted dominion status at the same time as New Zealand . During World War I , Newfoundland mustered its own Regiment, and sent it to both Gallipoli , Turkey and the Western Front , France . In return for this contribution,

340-417: Is thought, in other communities. The Natives' Society was formed by Richard Barnes in 1840 and elected its first president, Dr. Edward Kielly, on June 15, 1840. The cornerstone of the society's hall, located at Bannerman Park , was laid by Civil Governor of Newfoundland Sir John Harvey on May 24, 1845. The completed hall fell in a windstorm on September 19, 1846, killing two people. The society had

374-545: The Dominion of Newfoundland . The Responsible Government League of Newfoundland, led by Peter Cashin , was formed in February 1947 by anti- Confederation delegates to the Newfoundland National Convention on the future of the colony. It was one of several Anti-Confederation movements which suffered intermittent popularity between 1865 and 1948 as the issue of Confederation between the colonies of Newfoundland and Canada

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408-694: The Prime Minister of Newfoundland was appointed to Britain's House of Lords . Newfoundland was granted dominion status and was as independent as Australia, Canada, or New Zealand in this Period. This was confirmed in the Balfour declaration and in The Statute of Westminster, 1931 . The Great Depression hit the Newfoundland economy hard causing the dominion government to collapse in bankruptcy. Newfoundland's economy experienced many cycles of recession. Its government's finances collapsed completely in

442-530: The "Native Flag" by the public and even newspaper reporters. The green-white-pink tricolour which started as the unofficial flag of a fishermen's association has survived and become known as the Newfoundland tricolour flag. It is very distinctive since very few flags show any pink and even fewer as much as a third of the flag. One notable exception is the flag of the State of Espírito Santo (Holy Spirit) in Brazil, which

476-672: The British appoint a Commission of Government. In February 1934 the island reverted to something similar to crown colony status. A Commission of Government was established to govern the Dominion. Calls for a return to a system of democracy in Newfoundland had been quiet during the Second World War, but the question of Newfoundland's constitution was reawakened by Clement Attlee in the British Parliament. In 1946,

510-590: The Confederate League to benefit from better funding and a united organization. The Responsible Government League lost the second referendum held on July 22 with 47.7% of the vote compared to 52.3% for confederation. The RGL attempted to scuttle or delay confederation through a petition to the British government, signed by 50,000 Newfoundlanders, demanding the immediate restoration of the Newfoundland House of Assembly arguing that only it had

544-728: The Québécois: he thought that if Newfoundland joined in Confederation with Quebec, then the Canadian Parliament would be dominated by Canada East (Quebec); he feared there would be a whole dynasty of French-Canadian statesmen who would centralize power in Ottawa and ignore the people of Newfoundland; he feared a National Unity Crisis within Canada and believed that Newfoundland would lose control of its natural resources to

578-552: The authority to enact Confederation. The petition was ignored and a legal challenge by six members of the pre-1934 House of Assembly that argued that the National Convention Act and the Referendum Act were both unconstitutional was quashed when Justice Dunfield ruled that with the reversion of Newfoundland to Crown Colony status in 1934, the British Parliament was free to do as it saw fit. [1] Having lost

612-601: The early 1930s due in part to considerable debts incurred by the government in its aid of the Allied effort during the First World War and the large government debt acquired in constructing a railway across the island . Economic collapse led to political crisis. In 1932, due to economic dislocations brought about by the Great Depression , government corruption and a resulting riot and the lingering effects of

646-588: The fight against Confederation, the Responsible Government League decided to join with the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada and form the Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland with H. G. R. Mews as the new party's first leader and RGL leaders Cashin and Malcolm Hollett leading the party through the 1950s. Newfoundland Natives%27 Society The Newfoundland Natives' Society refers to

680-575: The general population. Smallwood's forces attacked the EUP as "republican" (anti-monarchist), disloyal and anti-British. The split of the anti-Confederation forces into two organizations caused problems: tension between the EUP and the RGL, and wasteful division of resources. Conversely, the Confederate Association was well-funded and well-organized across the island. In the first referendum, held on 3 June 1948, "responsible government" won

714-470: The most votes (44.6%). 41.1% voted for Confederation; 14.3% voted for continuing the Commission of Government. Since there was no majority, the results were inconclusive. A second referendum was held on 22 July, with only Confederation and Responsible Government on the ballot. The Economic Union Party decided to unite its efforts with the Responsible Government League for the second referendum, but morale

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748-470: The new arrivals. The society's official mandate was to advance the careers and interests of native-born and other long-time residents. Newfoundlanders, regardless of gender, ethnic origin, religious affiliation or social standing were welcomed as members. This marked the arrival of a new phenomenon, Newfoundland nationalism. Natives' Society branches existed in St. John's , Harbour Grace and Carbonear as well, it

782-412: The new federal government. Both before and during the Confederation debates of the 1860s, there was a "Native Newfoundlanders" movement: The Newfoundland Natives' Society was formed in 1840 to lobby for more labour and employment rights in the forestry and fishery for Newfoundland residents. Also, songs such as "The Anti-Confederation Song" and "The Antis of Plate Cove" were popular at the time. In 1869,

816-566: The people of the Colony of Newfoundland voted in a General Election against Confederation with Canada. The Confederation debates were furious and sometimes ludicrous: Anti-Confederates charged Newfoundland children would be drafted into the Canadian Army and die to be left unburied in distant sandy, dry Canadian deserts. There was also vague, xenophobic, anti-French sentiment. Because Newfoundland did not join Canada in 1869, it would remain

850-465: The pitcher plant in the colours red and green. The pitcher plant had been chosen by Queen Victoria as a national symbol to appear on Newfoundland coins. White could also be seen as depicting ice and snow as well as peace among the people of various ancestries. Green could also represent the various and numerous pine trees. Other Natives' Society branches, notably in Carbonear and Harbour Grace, adopted

884-471: The restoration of responsible government for Newfoundland, and for it to revert to its previous status. Since the pro-Confederation forces in the Convention seemed to have the upper hand, a group of business and professional men and women outside the Convention formed a sort of political party, the RGL, to counter the effective pro-Confederation propaganda. The RGL suffered a split on March 20, 1948 when

918-555: The same red, white and green flag, thus establishing it as the first widely recognized unique but unofficial flag of Newfoundland (Island and Labrador). It was commonly called "the native flag." With the introduction of Responsible Government in 1855 need for the Society waned and it ceased functioning in 1866. The NNS had worked for the establishment of responsible government. In 1871 the Roman Catholic Church established

952-461: Was also used non-liturgically to signify joyous celebration. The banner gave rise to what was commonly named the "pink, white and green" tricolour flag which became the unofficial flag of the association. With green at the hoist, white in the centre and pink on the fly it should have been called "the green, white and pink." With the demise of the Natives' Society, the flag was often mistakenly called

986-405: Was debated. The purpose of the RGL was to ensure that Newfoundland and Canada remain separate countries. In the 19th century, various Anti-Confederates were strengthened in their resolve by outspoken figures such as Charles Fox Bennett who successfully championed Responsible Government's cause in an election on the confederation issue in 1869. Bennett was opposed to Confederation because he feared

1020-693: Was for Polaris (the North Star) which was very important in navigation. Also in the Roman Catholic Church. Mary, the mother of Jesus, is known as the Star of the Sea (Stella Maris in Latin). The cross indicated the association's Christian church affiliation and the colour pink was a liturgical colour for joyous celebration in the Anglican, Methodist, Roman Catholic, Lutheran, and many other Christian denominations. Pink

1054-621: Was for the white saltire on the Scottish flag and the white down of the thistle and rare highly prized white heather, as well as the white fleur de lis of France, the predominantly white royal flag of France and the white centre in the French tricolour. Green was for the shamrock of Ireland while green and white could be seen as depicting the leek of Wales. Thus, the majority European resident groups were represented. Those and all others, especially indigenous people, could be seen as being represented by

Economic Union Party - Misplaced Pages Continue

1088-424: Was inconclusive with responsible government receiving 44.6%, confederation 41.1% and Commission of Government 14.3%. A second referendum was held with only confederation and responsible government on the ballot. The Economic Union Party and Responsible Government League tried to reunite the opposition to Joey Smallwood 's Confederate Association but relations between Crosbie and Cashin's parties were tense allowing

1122-510: Was led by St. John's businessman Chesley Crosbie and "co-founded" by Geoff Stirling , publisher of The Sunday Herald . The EUP believed that Newfoundland's voters had to be persuaded that "responsible government" could be made viable again. They proposed to revive the Newfoundland economy through free trade and a customs union with the United States . They also believed that the promise of economic union would give Newfoundlanders

1156-478: Was poor and the campaign was disorganized, compared to Smallwood's well-run machine. Confederation won the second referendum with 52.3% of the votes, and the EUP disbanded. Crosbie died in 1962 and Stirling remained active, through his media holdings, in Canadian discourse until shortly before his death in 2013. Responsible Government League The Responsible Government League was a political movement in

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