1873 Newfoundland general election

1873 Newfoundland general election

←  1869 November 8, 1873 1874  →
←  outgoing members members  →
31 seats of the Newfoundland House of Assembly 16 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party   Leader Charles Fox Bennett Frederick Carter Party Anti-Confederation Conservative Leader since 1869 1865 Leader's seat Placentia and St. Mary's Twillingate and Fogo [a] Last election 21 [b] 9 Seats won 17 14 [c] Seat change 4 5 Popular vote 14,686 [d] 9,588 [d] Percentage 60.50% 39.50% Swing 20.27% [e] 20.27% [e]
Premier before election Charles Fox Bennett Anti-Confederation Premier after election Charles Fox Bennett Anti-Confederation

The 1873 Newfoundland general election was held on November 8, 1873 to elect members of the 11th General Assembly of Newfoundland in the Colony of Newfoundland. The Anti-Confederates led by Charles Fox Bennett formed the government; a "new" Conservative party led by Frederick Carter formed the opposition.

Results

	Party	Leader	1869	Candidates	Seats won	Seat change	% of seats (% change)	Popular vote [d]	% of vote (% change)
	Anti-Confederation	Charles Fox Bennett	21 [b]	24	17	4	54.84% (15.16%)	14,686	60.50% (20.27%)
	Conservative	Frederick Carter	9	23	14 [c]	5	45.16% (15.16%)	9,588	39.50% (20.27%)
Totals			30	47	31	1	100%	24,274	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
	Anti-Confederation		Conservative (historical)
St. John's East [1]		John Dearin 1,177 26.70%		Ambrose Shea 803 18.21%		William Walsh†
		Robert Parsons Sr. 1,109 25.15%		John Maher 254 5.76%		James Jordan†
		Robert Kent 1,066 24.18%				Robert Parsons Sr.
St. John's West [1]		Lewis Tessier 1,030 31.95%		Lawrence Barron 489 15.17%		Peter Brennan†
		Maurice Fenelon 897 27.82%				Maurice Fenelon
		Patrick Scott 808 25.06%				Lewis Tessier

Conception Bay

Electoral district	Candidates				Incumbent
	Anti-Confederation		Conservative (historical)
Bay de Verde				James Rogerson Won by acclamation		James Rogerson
Carbonear				John Rorke Won by acclamation		John Rorke
Harbour Grace [1]		? Parsons 420 17.61%		William Wood 984 41.26%		John Munn†
				Frederick Carter 981 41.13%		William Green†
Harbour Main [2]		Joseph Little 763 47.33%		Charles Furey 290 17.99%		Joseph Little
		Patrick Nowlan 559 34.68%				John Kennedy†
Port de Grave [f]		John Bartlett		George Gushue [3]		James Woods†

Avalon Peninsula

Electoral district	Candidates				Incumbent
	Anti-Confederation		Conservative (historical)
Ferryland [4]		Thomas Glen 678 44.75%		Edward Shea [5] 171 11.29%		Thomas Glen
		Richard Raftus 666 43.96%				Thomas Badcock†
Placentia and St. Mary's [6]		Henry Renouf 739 31.43%		Thomas Rielley 151 6.42%		Charles Fox Bennett
		James Collins 735 31.26%				Robert Parsons Jr.†
		Charles Fox Bennett 726 30.88%				Henry Renouf

Eastern and Central Newfoundland

Electoral district	Candidates				Incumbent
	Anti-Confederation		Conservative (historical)
Bonavista Bay [f]		James Noonan		Charles Bowring		James Noonan
		William Barnes		A. J. W. McNeilly		William Barnes
		Francis Winton		John Burton		Francis Winton
Trinity Bay [7]		Robert Pinsent [8] 590 13.28%		John Steer 1,141 25.68%		Stephen Rendell†
		Stephen March [9] [8] 519 11.68%		John Warren 1,102 24.80%		Alexander Graham†
				William Whiteway 1,091 24.56%		John Warren
Twillingate and Fogo [1]		Charles Duder 758 17.49%		Frederick Carter 751 17.32%		Charles Duder
		Smith McKay 746 17.21%		Stephen Knight [10] 700 16.15%		Smith McKay
		James Rolls [11] 700 16.15%		? Windsor 680 15.69%		New seat

Southern Newfoundland

Electoral district	Candidates				Incumbent
	Anti-Confederation		Conservative (historical)
Burgeo and LaPoile				Prescott Emerson Won by acclamation		Prescott Emerson
Burin				James Winter Won by acclamation		Frederick Carter ‡ (Ran in Harbour Grace and Twillingate and Fogo)
				Charles Ayre Won by acclamation		Edward Evans†
Fortune Bay		Thomas Bennett Won by acclamation				Thomas Bennett

Notes

1. Carter chose to contest the new seat in the district of Twillingate and Fogo. As that district had heavily voted for the anti-confederates in 1869, his supporters also nominated him in the more securely pro-confederate district of Harbour Grace in case he lost the former contest. However, Carter was ultimately elected in both districts. He resigned his seat in Harbour Grace prior to the first legislative session, triggering a by-election.
2. This figure includes Henry Renouf's double election in the districts of Placentia and St. Mary's and St. John's West.
3. This figure includes Carter's double election in Harbour Grace and Twillingate and Fogo.
4. Note that this does not include the vote totals for the districts of Bonavista Bay and Port de Grave, as the full results of those contests are not available.
5. Based on incomplete figures from the previous election
6. Returns are not available for this district.

References

1. "Election Returns". Harbour Grace Standard. November 15, 1873. Retrieved June 7, 2025.
2. "Official Return from the Southern Division of the District of Conception Bay". Morning Chronicle. November 12, 1873. Retrieved June 7, 2025.
3. "Mr. George Gushue's address". Times and General Commercial Gazette. October 4, 1873. Retrieved June 7, 2025.
4. "To the Editor [of the] Morning Chronicle". Morning Chronicle. November 22, 1873. Retrieved June 7, 2025.
5. "To the Editor [of the] Morning Chronicle". Morning Chronicle. November 26, 1873. Retrieved June 7, 2025.
6. "State of the Poll at Placentia and St. Mary's". Morning Chronicle. November 15, 1873. Retrieved June 7, 2025.
7. "At the Head of the Poll". North Star and St. John's, Newfoundland News. November 22, 1873. Retrieved June 7, 2025.
8. "Correspondence: Glorious News from Trinity". North Star and St. John's, Newfoundland News. November 8, 1873. Retrieved June 7, 2025.
9. "March in Trinity". North Star and St. John's, Newfoundland News. October 21, 1873. Retrieved June 7, 2025.
10. "Candidates Returned". North Star and St. John's, Newfoundland News. November 13, 1873. Retrieved June 7, 2025.
11. "To the Free and Independent Electors of the District of Twillingate and Fogo". Morning Chronicle. September 17, 1873. Retrieved June 7, 2025.

Further reading

• Riggs, Bert (1981). "General Election #11: November 1873". Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador, volume 1. St. John's: Harry Cuff Publications Ltd. Retrieved June 7, 2025.