Between Damnation and Starvation: Priests and Merchants in Newfoundland Politics, 1745-1855

356 Pages·1999·22.507 MB·English

by  John P. Greene

Between Damnation and Starvation
Priests and Merchants in Newfoundland Politics, 1745—1855
In 1997 the Canadian constitution was amended to remove the
denominational rights of Newfoundland churches regarding educa-
tion, erasing the last vestiges of a uniquely organized society. Until
the 1950s and 1960s Newfoundland had been characterized by
an electoral map drawn to denominational specifications, cabinet
and civil-service positions allocated on a per capita sectarian basis,
and government expenditures divided according to denominational
proportions of the total population.
While some scholars have focused on various aspects of the
denominational origins of the education system, and others have
revealed the influence of religion on the electoral results of the
pre-1 864 period, the complete story has never been told. In Between
Damnation and Starvation John Greene presents for the first time
a far-reaching analysis of the origins and evolution of developments
in both religion and politics in Newfoundland. He reveals the full
details of political struggles, presenting them against the back-
ground of the historical evolution of churches in the century prior
to the granting of representative institutions.
Between Damnation and Starvation provides a comprehensive
treatment of a complex subject, taking into account the social,
economic, and political developments of the entire period.
JOHN P. GREENE is a writer and researcher living in Newfoundland.
MCGILL-QUEEN'S STUDIES IN THE HISTORY OF RELIGION
Volumes in this series have been supported by the Jackman Foundation of
Toronto.
SERIES TWO In memory of George Rawlyk
Donald Harman Akenson, Editor
Marguerite Bourgeoys and Montreal, The Waning of the Green
1640—1665 Catholics, the Irish, and Identity in
Patricia Simpson Toronto, 1887-1922
Mark G. McGowan
Aspects of the Canadian Evangelical
Experience Good Citizens
Edited by G.A. Rawlyk British Missionaries and Imperial
States, 1870-1918
Infinity, Faith, and Time
lames G. Greenlee and
Christian Humanism and Renaissance
Charles M. Johnston, editors
Literature
John Spencer Hill The Theology of the Oral Torah
Revealing the Justice of God
The Contribution of Presbyterianism
Jacob Neusner
to the Maritime Provinces of Canada
Charles H.H. Scobie and Gentle Eminence
G.A. Rawlyk, editors A Life of George Bernard Cardinal
Flahiff
Labour, Love, and Prayer
P. Wallace Platt
Female Piety in Ulster Religious
Literature, 1850-1914 Culture, Religion, and Demographic
Andrea Ebel Brozyna Behaviour
Catholics and Lutherans in Alsace,
Religion and Nationality in Western
1750-1870
Ukraine Kevin McQuillan
The Greek Catholic Church and the
Ruthenian National Movement in Between Damnation and Starvation
Galicia, 1867—1900 Priests and Merchants in
John-Paul Himka Newfoundland Politics, 1745—1855
John P. Greene
SERIES ONE
G.A. Rawlyk, Editor
1 Small Differences 10 God's Peoples
Irish Catholics and Irish Protestants, Covenant and Land in South Africa,
1815—1922 Israel, and Ulster
An International Perspective Donald Harman Akenson
Donald Harman Akenson
11 Creed and Culture
2 Two Worlds The Place of English-Speaking
The Protestant Culture of Catholics in Canadian Society,
Nineteenth-Century Ontario 1750—1930
William Westfall Terrence Murphy and Gerald Stortz,
editors
3 An Evangelical Mind
Nathanael Burwash and the i 2 Piety and Nationalism
Methodist Tradition in Canada, Lay Voluntary Associations and the
1839-1918 Creation of an Irish-Catholic
Marguerite Van Die Community in Toronto, 1850-1895
Brian P. Clarke
4 The Devotes
Women and Church in 13 Amazing Grace
Seventeenth-Century France Studies in Evangelicalism in
Elizabeth Rapley Australia, Britain, Canada, and the
United States
5 The Evangelical Century
George Rawlyk and Mark A .Noll,
College and Creed in English Canada
editors
from the Great Revival to the Great
Depression 14 Children of Peace
Michael Gauvreau W. John Mclntyre
6 The German Peasants' War and 15 A Solitary Pillar
Anabaptist Community of Goods Montreal's Anglican Church and
James M. Stayer the Quiet Revolution
John Marshall
7 A World Mission
Canadian Protestantism and the 16 Padres in No Man's Land
Quest for a New International Order, Canadian Chaplains and
1918—1939 the Great War
Robert Wright Duff Crerar
8 Serving the Present Age 17 Christian Ethics and Political
Revivalism, Progressivism, and the Economy in North America
Methodist Tradition in Canada A Critical Analysis of U.S. and
Phyllis D. Airhart Canadian Approaches
P. Travis Kroeker
9 A Sensitive Independence
Canadian Methodist Women 18 Pilgrims in Lotus Land
Missionaries in Canada and Conservative Protestantism in British
the Orient, 1881-1925 Columbia, 1917—1981
Rosemary R. Gagan Robert K. Burkinshaw
19 Through Sunshine and Shadow 23 Evangelism and Apostasy
The Woman's Christian Temperance The Evolution and Impact of
Union, Evangelicalism, and Reform Evangelicals in Modern Mexico
in Ontario, 1874—1930 Kurt Bowen
Sharon Cook
24 The Chignecto Covenanters
20 Church, College, and Clergy A Regional History of Reformed
A History of Theological Education at Presbyterianism in New Brunswick
Knox College, Toronto, 1844—1994 and Nova Scotia, 1827 to 1905
Brian J. Eraser Eldon Hay
21 The Lord's Dominion 25 Methodists and Women's Education
The History of Canadian Methodism in Ontario, 1836-1925
Neil Semple Johanna M. Selles
22 A Full-Orbed Christianity 26 Puritanism and Historical
The Protestant Churches and Social Controversy
Welfare in Canada, 1900-1940 William Lamont
Nancy Christie and Michael Gauvreau
Between Damnation
and Starvation
Priests and Merchants in
Newfoundland Politics,
1745-185 5
JOHN P. GREENE
McGill-Queen's University Press
Montreal & Kingston • London • Ithaca
© McGill-Queen's University Press 1999
ISBN 0-7735-18800
Legal deposit fourth quarter 1999
Bibliotheque nationale du Quebec
Printed in Canada on acid-free paper
Reprinted 2000
This book was first published with the help of a grant
from the Humanities and Social Sciences Federation of
Canada, using funds provided by the Social Sciences
and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
McGill-Queen's University Press acknowledges the
support of the Government of Canada through the
Book Publishing Industry Development Program
(BPIDP) for its activities. We also acknowledge the
support of the Canada Council for the Arts for our
publishing program.
Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data
Greene, John P.
Between damnation and starvation: priests and
merchants in Newfoundland politics, 1745-1855
(McGill-Queen's studies in the history of religion)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-7735-1880-0
1. Church and state - Newfoundland - History - 19th
century. 2. Newfoundland - Politics and government -
1763—1855. 1. Tide. 11. Series.
FC2172.G74 1999 971.8'oi 099-900907-9
FI 123.074 1999
Typeset in New Baskerville 10/12
by Caractera inc., Quebec City
To Sheila
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Contents
Acknowledgments xi
Abbreviations xiii
Maps xiv
Introduction 3
1 Religious Competition, 1745-1825 10
2 The Anglican Response, 1820—34 26
3 Bishop Fleming and Newfoundland Catholicism,
1829-37 47
4 Religion and Politics, 1832-36 68
5 The Catholic Crusade, 1836-38 108
6 Checkmating Reform, 1837—41 135
7 Constitutional Change, 1837-47 167
8 The Rise of Philip Little, 1848-52 197
9 Religion and Electoral Representation, 1852—54 234
10 The Election of 1855 253
Conclusion 269