1846, was to be an _annus mirabilis_, for a storm, fiercer
than the wildest within living memory, wrought havoc among the
shipping in St. John's Harbour, and overwhelmed many substantial
buildings inland. It seemed as if the malice of destiny had sent the
gale to destroy the little that had escaped the fire; for Natives'
Hall, which was being used to shelter the houseless, was blown to the
ground.

About this time--thanks to the currents of excitement spread
everywhere by the European revolutionary movements of 1848--began a
fresh agitation for responsible government, which had already been
granted to the other North American colonies, and which involved a
larger measure of self-government than had been conceded in the
constitution of 1832. The inhabitants became more and more anxious
that appointments within the colony should depend upon popular
approval--or, rather, on the choice of the party commanding a majority
in the Legislature--and not upon the Crown's nomination. The official
view at home on this demand was stated both by the Whig, Earl Grey,
and the Conservative, Sir John Pakington. The former wrote:

"Until the wealth and population of the colony shall have increased
considerably beyond their present amount, the introduction of what is
called responsible government will by no means prove to its
advantage.... The institutions of Newfoundland have been of late in
various ways modified and altered, and some time must unavoidably
elapse before they can acquire that amount of fixity and adaptation to
the colonial wants of society which seems an indispensable preliminary
to the future extension of popular government."

Similarly, Sir John Pakington, in a despatch of April 3rd, 1852,
observed:

"Her Majesty's Government see no reason for differing from the
conclusions at which their predecessors had arrived in the question of
the establishment of responsible government, and which were conveyed
to you by Lord Grey in the despatch already mentioned. I consider, on
the contrary, that the wisdom and justice of these conclusions are
confirmed by the accounts since received from Newfoundland."

The change came in 1855, a year after the Secretary of State for the
Colonies had informed the Governor that "Her Majesty's Government has
come to the conclusion that they ought not to withhold from
Newfoundland those institutions and that civil administration which,
under the popular name of responsible government, have been