1855 Newfoundland general election

1855 Newfoundland general election

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30 seats of the Newfoundland House of Assembly 16 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party   Leader Philip Little Hugh Hoyles Party Liberal Conservative Leader since 1855 1855 Leader's seat St. John's West [a] Fortune Bay Last election 9 6 Seats won 18 12 Seat change 9 6 Popular vote 482 [b] 287 [b] Percentage 62.68% 37.32% Swing 1.25% [c] 1.25% [c]
Premier before election Position established Premier after election Philip Little Liberal

The 1855 Newfoundland general election was held on May 7, 1855 to elect members of the 6th General Assembly of Newfoundland in the Newfoundland Colony. This was the first election after responsible government was introduced in Newfoundland. ^[1] The Liberal Party, now led by Philip Francis Little, formed the government. The opposition was formed by the Conservative Party led by Hugh Hoyles.

Results

	Party	Leader	1852	Candidates	Seats won	Seat change	% of seats (% change)	Popular vote [b]	% of vote (% change)
	Liberal	Philip Little	9	22	18	9	60.00% ()	482	62.68% ( 1.25%)
	Conservative	Hugh Hoyles	6	14	12	6	40.00% ()	287	37.32% ( 1.25%)
Totals			15	36	30	15	100%	769	100%

Results by district

• Names in boldface type represent party leaders.
• † indicates that the incumbent did not run again.
• ‡ indicates that the incumbent ran in a different district.

St. John's

Electoral district	Candidates		Incumbent
	Liberal (historical)
St. John's East		John Kent Won by acclamation		John Kent St. John's
		Robert Parsons Won by acclamation		Robert Parsons St. John's
		Peter Winser Won by acclamation		New seat
St. John's West		Philip Little Won by acclamation		Philip Little St. John's
		Ambrose Shea Won by acclamation		New seat
		John Fox Won by acclamation		New seat

Conception Bay

Electoral district	Candidates				Incumbent
	Liberal (historical)		Conservative (historical)
Bay de Verde [d]		David Walsh		John Bemister		John Bemister Conception Bay
Carbonear		Edmund Hanrahan Won by acclamation				Edmund Hanrahan Conception Bay
Harbour Grace		John Hayward Won by acclamation				John Hayward Conception Bay
		James Prendergast Won by acclamation				New seat
Harbour Main		William Talbot Won by acclamation				William Talbot Conception Bay
		Thomas Byrne Won by acclamation				New seat
Port de Grave				Robert Brown Won by acclamation		New district

Avalon Peninsula

Electoral district	Candidates		Incumbent
	Liberal (historical)
Ferryland		Thomas Glen Won by acclamation		Peter Winser‡ (ran in St. John's East)
		Edward Shea Won by acclamation		New seat
Placentia and St. Mary's		George Hogsett Won by acclamation		Ambrose Shea‡ (ran in St. John's West)
		Michael Kelly Won by acclamation		George Hogsett
		John Delaney Won by acclamation		New seat

Eastern and Central Newfoundland

Electoral district	Candidates				Incumbent
	Liberal (historical)		Conservative (historical)
Bonavista Bay [d]		John Haddon [2]		John Warren		John Warren
		J. Stewart [3]		Robert Carter		New seat
				Matthew Walbank		New seat
Trinity Bay				Stephen March Won by acclamation		Stephen March
				John Winter Won by acclamation		New seat
				Frederick Carter Won by acclamation		New seat
Twillingate and Fogo [d]		George Emerson		William Ellis		George Emerson
				Thomas Knight		New seat

Southern Newfoundland

Electoral district	Candidates				Incumbent
	Liberal (historical)		Conservative (historical)
Burgeo and LaPoile				Robert Prowse Won by acclamation		New district
Burin [4]		Clement Benning 243 31.60%		? Woods 231 30.04%		Clement Benning
		Patrick Morris 239 31.08%		? Freeman 56 7.28%		New seat
Fortune Bay				Hugh Hoyles Won by acclamation		Hugh Hoyles

Notes

1. Not the incumbent, but ran in this district and won
2. Full results are only available for the district of Burin.
3. Based on incomplete figures from the previous election
4. Results are not available for this district.

References

1. Prowse, D W (1895). A History of Newfoundland from the English, Colonial and Foreign Records. Heritage Books. pp. 467–8. ISBN   0-7884-2310-X.
2. "To the Free and Independent Electors of the District of Bonavista Bay". Newfoundland Express. May 10, 1855. Retrieved June 16, 2025.
3. "Candidates in Bonavista". Public Ledger. April 20, 1855. Retrieved June 16, 2025.
4. "Result of the Poll in Burin". Morning Courier. May 23, 1855. Retrieved June 16, 2025.

Further reading

• Riggs, Bert (1981). "General Election #6: May 7, 1855". Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador, volume 1. St. John's: Harry Cuff Publications Ltd. Retrieved June 18, 2025.