Riots and Reports - A Time of Change

One of the people trying to keep power and control in 1932 was Sir Richard Squires, the Prime Minister. He was not very popular. When he opened the House of Assembly on March 30, there were police on horses and on foot, in case of trouble.⁷ The next day, 250 unemployed people marched to the House of Assembly. They asked for an increase in the dole. They wanted something done for people who were kicked out of their homes because they could not pay rent. They asked for jobs.

By this time, there were many meetings of unemployed people. They wanted changes. Other people wanted changes, too. Some merchants wanted to get rid of the Squires government. Both the merchants and the unemployed took part in a "parade" to the House of Assembly on April 5. The parade turned into a riot. There were struggles between people in the crowd and police. Some people broke into the Colonial Building. A piano was hauled into Bannerman Park. Sir Richard Squires had to escape through the back door. That night, stores in St. John's were looted. People stole liquor and many people got drunk.

Many different kinds of people took part in this riot. Some were angry about everything, and ready to show it. It could not be blamed on the unemployed committee. The march was led by politicians and businessmen. But some people did blame the unemployed. And some people were afraid that things would get worse. The police began to keep a close eye on people.

Sir Richard Squires escaped the rioters, but his government did not escape for long. In June, Squires was voted out of office. A new government led by F.C. Alderdice took over.

There was more violence as the year went on. There was another riot in St. John's in July. Around the bay, marches, "disturbances" and threats to take action were reported in the summer and fall. In Carbonear, the relief committee members were brought by force to the Court House to hear the demands of the unemployed. A train was held up on the tracks.

The most common kind of action that year was a "raid," or a threat of a raid. To demand more dole, or an increase in the ration, people would threaten to raid a store. Sometimes, the raid went ahead. But often the threat was enough. People had learned that the threat of a raid would often get them the food they needed. It seemed that people could not get what they wanted to solve their larger problems. But, if they could not get jobs and incomes, at least they knew that the threat of a raid might keep them from starving.