Career
Born in Scotland, Thorburn emigrated to Newfoundland in 1852 when he was sixteen. Thorburn, a leading merchant, argued that the colony should be developed along strict commercial lines based on the fisheries. Thorburn created the New Party to represent the interest of Saint John"s businessmen.
The Harbour Grace Affray, an 1883 sectarian melee between Irish Catholics of Riverhead and the Southside of Harbour Grace who confronted a parade of Orangemen.
The resulting battle killed five and wounded seventeen. The religious violence gave Thorburn an opportunity.
In power, Thorburn"s government turned away from the sectarian agenda that had brought it to power and implemented Thorburn"s real agenda, the rejection of the railway plan and focussing on developing the economy along the fishers. An economic downturn was exacerbated by the colony"s one industry economy forcing Thorburn to belatedly reverse himself and implement a public works agenda.
lieutenant was too late, however, and Thorburn was defeated in 1889 by Whiteway and his new Liberal Party which had been created to promote the railway plan.
The Reform Party collapsed and a new Tory Party emerged from its ashes but was only able to hold power twice for brief periods before disappearing.