July 22, 1948 dawned a beautiful summers day in Little Valley where every person aged 21 and older had voted in the referendum on June 3, and today was not expected to be any different. On June 3, Twenty-six individuals from a total of 127, had defied the church and voted for Confederation with Canada, seven others had chosen Commission of Government which would not be on the ballot this time around. Father Ryan had let his displeasure  be known in his homily at Mass the following Sunday, but since it was a secret ballot, and no one deemed it a sin to be confessed to the priest, he had no way of knowing who the dissenters were. Adam was secretly pleased that some people had decided that religion and politics did not mix and resented the church telling them how to vote.  When the polls closed and the votes were counted that evening, it once again showed a one hundred per cent turn out, but this time there were 54 votes for union with Canada. Clearly, more and more people were making their own choices.

Adam had little sleep that night and although the early returns from St John’s  and the surrounding area were expected to be strongly in favour of Responsible government, there were some surprises.  In the capital itself, support for Confederation with Canada had grown significantly since the earlier referendum in June. Outside the city, support was even stronger. Eli and his sons left for the fishing grounds early the following morning but their minds were on what was happening in the political arena. When they returned home the women were waiting with news that with more than seventy percent of the ballots counted, Confederation was leading by just under three thousand votes – it would not be a runaway for either side. 

The men sat by their radio for a second night as reports continued to come in from the most remote parts of the Island. By twelve o’clock Confederation with Canada was leading by more than six thousand votes and with just a handful of ballots left to count, victory speeches were already being heard. In the end the turnout at the polls were reported as being eighty-five percent and Confederation with Canada had won the day with a majority of 6,989 votes. Although little was said outside the home, Adam had always known that his parents supported union with Canada and had from the very beginning. Major Cashin however, refused to concede, reiterating his claim that the referendum itself had been a sham and that Britain and Canada had already decided the outcome. The results of the referendum were binding however, and even he knew that Newfoundland must now negotiate with Canada to enter into Confederation.