Lords. Newfoundland was granted dominion status and was as independent as Australia, Canada, or New Zealand in this Period. This was confirmed in the Balfour declaration and in The Statute of Westminster, 1931. The Great Depression hit the Newfoundland economy hard causing the dominion government to collapse in bankruptcy. Commission of Government Newfoundland's economy experienced many cycles of recession. Its government's finances collapsed completely in the early 1930s due in part to considerable debts incurred by the government in its aid of the Allied effort during the First World War and the large government debt acquired in constructing a railway across the island. Economic collapse led to political crisis. In 1932, due to economic dislocations brought about by the Great Depression, government corruption and a resulting riot and the lingering effects of a large public debt noted above, the Newfoundland economy collapsed and the government was forced out of office. A new government led by Frederick C. Alderdice came to power after promising to ask the British Government to appoint a Royal Commission to inquire into the possibility of suspending responsible government. That Royal Commission recommended a "rest from politics," after which the Newfoundland legislature requested that the British appoint a Commission of Government. In February 1934 the island reverted to something similar to crown colony status. A Commission of Government was established to govern the Dominion. Confederation debate Calls for a return to a system of democracy in Newfoundland had been quiet during the Second World War, but the question of Newfoundland's constitution was reawakened by Clement Attlee in the British Parliament. In 1946, a National Convention was called by the Governor of Newfoundland and the Commissioners of Government. In September 1947 the assembly was convened. The mandate of the National Convention was to debate the various forms of government that the people were to choose from. While almost all members of the National Convention advocated change, two strong factions soon developed. One called for Confederation with Canada. The other called for the restoration of responsible government for Newfoundland, and for it to revert to its previous status. Since the pro-Confederation forces in the Convention seemed to have the upper hand, a group of business and professional men and women outside the Convention formed a sort of political party, the RGL, to counter the effective pro-Confederation propaganda. The RGL suffered a split on March 20, 1948 when a number