The 1878 Newfoundland general election was held on November 9, 1878 to elect the members of the 13th General Assembly of Newfoundland in the Newfoundland Colony. The Conservative Party led by William Whiteway formed the government. Whiteway, who had succeeded Frederick Carter earlier in the year, ran on a platform promoting the development of a trans-insular railway. As Anti-Confederate leader Charles Fox Bennett had retired, the opposition to the government became disorganized, and it was loosely led by James Conroy and Robert Pinsent.
Results
Party Leader(s) 1874CandidatesSeats wonSeat change% of seats(% change)Popular vote% of vote(% change)ConservativeWilliam Whiteway182621367.74%(9.68%)7,81355.86%(0.72%)OppositionJames Conroy and Robert Pinsent131510332.26%(9.68%)6,17444.14%(0.14%)Totals314131100%13,987100%
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 |rowspan=3 | |rowspan=3|Robert Parsons Jr.1,01424.36% || |Michael O'Mara1,11426.77% || |Robert Kent
|Robert Kent1,10926.65% || |Robert Parsons Sr.†
|John Dearin92522.22% || |John Dearin |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=3|St. John's West
|Lewis TessierWon by acclamation || |Lewis Tessier
|Patrick ScottWon by acclamation || |Maurice Fenelon
|Maurice FenelonWon by acclamation || |Patrick Scott
Conception Bay
|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Bay de Verde || |Alfred PenneyWon by acclamation
|James Rogerson‡(ran in Burin) |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Carbonear || |John RorkeMajority of over 200 votes | |Francis Taylor || |John Rorke |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=2|Harbour Grace || |Ambrose Shea77733.40% |rowspan=2 | |rowspan=2|Charles Dawe82335.38% || |Ambrose Shea
|Joseph Godden72631.21% || |Joseph Godden |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=2|Harbour Main |rowspan=2| |rowspan=2|Charles Furey || |Joseph Little || |Joseph Little
|Patrick Nowlan || |Patrick Nowlan |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=2|Port de Grave || |Nathan NormanMajority of 153 votes |rowspan=2| |rowspan=2| |rowspan=2 | |rowspan=2|Nathaniel Rabbitts
|Nathaniel Rabbitts
Avalon Peninsula
|bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=2|Ferryland |rowspan=2| |rowspan=2|Richard Raftus33621.98% || |James Conroy60239.37% || |Richard Raftus
|Daniel Greene59138.65% || |James Conroy |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=3|Placentia and St. Mary's || |William DonnellyWon by acclamation
|Charles Bennett†
|James CollinsWon by acclamation
|James Collins
|Michael DwyerWon by acclamation
|Michael Dwyer
Eastern and Central Newfoundland
|bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=3|Bonavista Bay || |Francis Winton1,12933.06% |rowspan=3 | |rowspan=3|James Saint (Wesleyan Conservative)62918.42% || |John Warren
|George Skelton1,07131.36% || |Charles Bowring†
|John Warren58617.16% || |A. J. W. McNeilly‡(ran in Twillingate and Fogo) |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=3|Trinity Bay || |William WhitewayWon by acclamation
|William Whiteway
|James WatsonWon by acclamation
|John Steer†
|John RendellWon by acclamation
|James Watson |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=3|Twillingate and Fogo || |A. J. W. McNeillyWon by acclamation
|Frederick Carter†
|Stanley CarterWon by acclamation
|Charles Duder†
|Richard RiceWon by acclamation
|William Kelligrew†
Southern Newfoundland
|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Burgeo and LaPoile || |Alexander MackayWon by acclamation
|Prescott Emerson† |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=2|Burin || |James Winter49726.79% | |Robert Pinsent43823.61% || |Charles Ayre†
|James Rogerson48826.31% | |George Bishop43223.29% || |James Winter |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Fortune Bay || |James Fraser~ 560~ 80.00% | |William Wood~ 140~ 20.00% || |Robert Alexander†
Notes
References
Further reading