John Le Marchant (colonial administrator)

This article is about the British Army infantry general and Governor of Newfoundland. For his father, the British Army cavalry general, see John Le Marchant (British Army cavalry officer).

General Sir John Gaspard Le Marchant GCMG KCB (1803–1874) was a British Army officer and governor of Newfoundland from 1847 to 1852. He was criticized for misappropriation of relief funds collected for the 1846 fire victims of the June 1846 fire that devastated most of St. John's.

Le Marchant was the son of Major-General John Le Marchant and the younger brother of Sir Denis Le Marchant, 1st Baronet, and was educated at High Wycombe Royal Grammar School and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. In 1820, at the age of seventeen, he was commissioned into the 10th Foot as an Ensign. In 1821 he transferred to the 57th Foot as a Lieutenant and later transferred to the 98th Foot, in which he was promoted Major. In 1835 he became adjutant-general of the British Auxiliary Legion in Spain with the rank of Brigadier-General. He transferred to the 20th Foot in 1837, the 99th Foot as Lieutenant-Colonel in 1839, the 85th Foot in 1845, and the 11th Foot as Colonel in the 1860s. He was appointed as a Knight of the Order of Charles III by Isabella II, Queen of Spain in 1838, and was knighted and granted permission to use his Spanish knighthood in Britain. He was also a Knight Commander of the Military Order of St Ferdinand. In 1847 he reluctantly accepted the governorship of Newfoundland which proved to be a very unpopular position. It was noted by an observer in his regard for the people of Newfoundland;

in no other light than as soldiers on furlough, and the seat of Government as a barrack yard.^{[citation needed]}

Le Marchant was opposed to the idea of responsible government and condemned local merchants of amassing wealth in the Colony and then returning to England. After the fire of 1846 funds were collected for the victims and Le Marchant, acting upon Robert Law's recommendation that no further money be given to victims, then directed funds to the repair of public buildings and construction of roads in St. John's and the outports. He left Newfoundland in 1852, and then served a term as Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia, which he then continued in colonial administration in Malta and Madras.

Le Marchant Road, a prominent street in St. John's is named in his honour.

See also

• List of people of Newfoundland and Labrador
• Le Marchant Baronets

External links

• Biography at Government House The Governorship of Newfoundland and Labrador
• Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online

Government offices
Preceded by Sir John Harvey	Governor of Newfoundland 1847–1852	Succeeded by Ker Baillie Hamilton
Preceded by John Bazalgette	Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia 1852–1858	Succeeded by Earl of Mulgrave
Preceded by Sir William Reid	Governor of Malta 1858–1864	Succeeded by Sir Henry Knight Storks

Note: The year after Sir John Harvey had stepped down as governor of Newfoundland, and until Sir John LeMarchant was appointed, the colony was administered by Robert Law, a British army officer.