Newfoundland Election Trials, a drawing

• Main Author: Riggs, Bertram G., 1954-
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1998
• Subjects: Newfoundland
• Online Access: http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/ref/collection/ead/id/109

At an auction held in St. John's in December 1996, the Archives and Special Collections acquired a copy - of a drawing captioned "The Newfoundland Election Trials: Mr. Justice Little Delivering Judgment". - Pictured is a courtroom scene: on the bench at the left are Mr. Justice Joseph I. Little, Chief Justice Sir - Frederick Carter and Mr. Justice James S. Winter. Facing them on the right side of the centre table are - Robert Bond, James Watson and Sir William Whiteway, the three members for Trinity, who are listening to - Mr. Justice Little deliver the verdict. The date is July 25, 1894. - Whiteway and Bond were found guilty of - bribery and corruption in the 1893 Newfoundland election campaign, unseated and disqualified from - running again; Watson, was also found guilty and unseated, but not disqualified. Lawyers, court officials - and members of the public, some of whom are recognizable, fill out the scene. - The drawing appeared in a - British newspaper, probably The Illustrated London News . There is a signature in the lower left corner, - possibly H Johnson, who may be the artist. There is also the name Meisenbach in the lower right corner, - possibly the engraver. The drawing is one of few, perhaps the only illustration of the trials arising from the - infamous "Election Petitions of 1894".