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In 1934, a financial emergency created in part by the Great Depression forced the suspension of self-government in Newfoundland. In dealing with this crisis, Britain guaranteed Newfoundland's debt but appointed a Commission of Government composed of a governor, three British members and three Newfoundlanders to manage its affairs. Among the first British appointees to arrive in St. John's was Sir John Hope Simpson, a man of considerable international experience whose portfolio was to include fishing, forestry, mining and agriculture. White Tie and Decorations is a selection of the letters written from St. John's by Sir John and his wife "Quita," judiciously edited by Peter Neary of the University of Western Ontario and provided with an introduction contextualizing the economic conditions that brought about the loss of democratic institutions in the first place.
A veteran of colonial and government service, Sir John was 65 when he arrived in Newfoundland in 1934, equipped with astonishing executive and legislative powers to "put things right." His wife was 64. The two admire the landscape during their forays outside the capital but condemn virtually everything else about the people and their public institutions, confident that in the future the regulated folk society they and their colleagues were endeavouring to construct would improve matters. Their letters sustain an amusing counterpoint with each other. Sir John had over the years developed an earnest but occasionally self-mocking narrative voice and a facility for the apt phrase. Grand Falls, in his view, was not just an industrial town but "rather like an Indian station," the city of St. John's not just factious but "divided into watertight compartments." Quita, for her part, had thoroughly mastered the domestic style. Nothing escaped her opinions and judgements, especially what she calls "social morality," but she was apt to drift into chats about household matters.
The two are dedicated to the task of reform (though privately they take the measure of their colleagues and the Gilbert-and-Sullivanesque court life at Government House), and their sense of mission and certitude never wavers as Sir John goes about his business. He must not only develop plans for marketing salt fish but reorganize the civil service, not only found a rural ranger force but promote game preservation and land settlement and look after lighthouses. Not surprisingly, a year after his arrival, he complains of fatigue, and a year after that he would hand over to his successor, convinced that despite deep-seated resistance to change amongst the local worthies he had accomplished something.
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