One of Newfoundland's outstanding statesmen, Bond was a member of tile House of Assembly almost continuously between 1882 and his retirement in 1914. With the exception of a brief interval he was Colonial Secretary from 1889 until 1897 and held the dual portfolio of Colonial Secretary and Prime Minister from 1900 until 1909. It was as Colonial Secretary, in the field of international relations, that he achieved his greatest renown, negotiating fishing treaties, trade agreements and loans essential to the well-being of the colony. He died at "The Grange" at Whitbourne after a lengthy illness.