# 7th General Assembly of Newfoundland

The members of the 7th General Assembly of Newfoundland were elected in the Newfoundland general election held in November 1859. The general assembly sat from 1860 to 1861.
The Liberal Party led by John Kent won the election and Kent served as Newfoundland's premier.
Ambrose Shea was chosen as speaker until 1861, when Frederick Carter briefly served as speaker.
Sir Alexander Bannerman served as colonial governor of Newfoundland.
In February 1861, Premier Kent accused Governor Bannerman of conspiring with the Conservatives and the judiciary to defeat a bill that would have changed the rate of exchange for the dollar. Bannerman dismissed Kent's government and invited the Conservative leader Hugh Hoyles to form a government. That government subsequently was defeated by a vote of no confidence and a general election was held.

## Members of the Assembly

The following members were elected to the assembly in 1859:
| 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 |
| James Seaton | Burgeo-La Poile | Conservative | 1859 |
| Hugh Hoyles (1860) | Burgeo-La Poile | Conservative | 1855, 1860 |
| James Johnstone Rogerson | Burin | Liberal | 1859 |
| Ambrose Shea | Burin | Liberal | 1848 |
| Edmund Hanrahan | Carbonear | Liberal | 1855 |
| Thomas Glen | Ferryland | Liberal | 1855 |
| Edward Dalton Shea | Ferryland | Liberal | 1855 |
| Robert Carter | Fortune Bay | Conservative | 1859 |
| James Luke Prendergast | Harbour Grace | Liberal | 1855 |
| John Hayward | Harbour Grace | Liberal | 1855 |
| Patrick Nowlan | Harbour Main | Liberal | 1859 |
| Charles Furey | Harbour Main | Liberal | 1859 |
| George James Hogsett | Placentia and St. Mary's | Liberal | 1852 |
| J. W. English | Placentia and St. Mary's | Liberal | 1859 |
| John Delaney | Placentia and St. Mary's | Liberal | 1848, 1855 |
| Richard McGrath (1860) | Placentia and St. Mary's | Liberal | 1860 |
| John Leamon | Port de Grave | Conservative | 1859 |
| John Kent | St. John's East | Liberal | 1832, 1848 |
| John Kavanagh | St. John's East | Liberal | 1857 |
| Robert John Parsons | St. John's East | Liberal | 1843 |
| Pierce Barron | St. John's West | Liberal | 1859 |
| John Casey | St. John's West | Liberal | 1859 |
| Thomas S. Dwyer | St. John's West | Liberal | 1859 |
| 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 | 1858 |
| Thomas Knight | Twillingate and Fogo | Conservative | 1859 |

## By-elections

By-elections were held to replace members for various reasons:
| Electoral district | Member elected | Affiliation | Election date | Reason |
| Harbour Grace | James Luke Prendergast | Liberal | November 1860 | Election of JL Prendergast declared invalid |
| Burgeo-La Poile | Hugh Hoyles | Conservative | 1860 | J Seaton resigned seat |
| Placentia and St. Mary's | Richard McGrath | Liberal | 1860 | J Delaney named Postmaster General |