1894 Grenfell colonial election re-count

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In October 1894, the Elections and Qualifications Committee conducted a re-count of the 1894 Grenfell election, in which George Greene (Free Trade) had been declared elected by a margin of 2 votes over Michael Loughnane (Labour). [1] The Elections and Qualifications Committee consisted of 9 members, 5 Free Trade (Thomas Bavister, William McMillan, Philip Morton, Varney Parkes and Bernhard Wise) and four Protectionist (Paddy Crick, James Gormly, James Hayes, and Francis Wright). [2]

Contents

The committee declared that George Greene (Free Trade) had not been elected the member for Grenfell, however no by-election was conducted. Instead the committee declared that Michael Loughnane (Labour) based on its own count of the result. [3]

Dates

DateEvent
17 July 18941894 Grenfell election
7 August 1894George Green sworn in as member for Grenfell
Elections and Qualifications Committee appointed. [2]
26 September 1894Petition lodged by Michael Loughnane. [4]
9 October 1894Petition referred to the Elections and Qualifications Committee.
25 October 1894Elections and Qualifications Committee declared that Michael Loughlane had been elected. [3]

Result

1894 Grenfell election re-count
Thursday 25 October  [3]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Michael Loughnane 52536.3+0.3
Free Trade George Greene 51635.7−0.4
Protectionist Robert Vaughn 33022.8+0.2
Independent John Williams755.2−0.1
Total formal votes1,44697.0−0.7
Informal votes45 [a] 3.0+0.7
Turnout 1,49171.0'"`UNIQ−−ref−00000011−QINU`"'
Labour gain from Free Trade  

Aftermath

This was the 6th and final occasion on which the Elections and Qualifications Committee overturned the result of an election without ordering a fresh election. [b] A public meeting at Grenfell expressed indignation at the unfairness of the decision. The meeting called for the abolition of the parliamentary Elections and Qualifications Committee and its replacement by a tribunal outside of parliament. [5] The committee continued however until 1928 when the Court of Disputed Returns was established as a special jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. [6]

Michael Loughnane only held the seat for 8 months, as he did not stand for the 1895 Grenfell election and George Greene regained the seat. [7]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Calculated on the assumption that the total number of votes did not change.
  2. ↑ the 5 previous occasions were Northumberland Boroughs (1856), Hastings (1870), Mudgee (1879), Young (1885) and Canterbury (1891).

References

  1. ↑ Green, Antony. "1894 Grenfell". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales . Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  2. 1 2 Sir Joseph Palmer Abbott, Speaker (7 September 1894). "Elections and Qualifications Committee" (pdf). Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) . New South Wales: Legislative Assembly. p. 8. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 "The Grenfell election: return of Mr Loughnane". The Sydney Morning Herald . 26 October 1894. p. 3. Retrieved 19 September 2020– via Trove.
  4. ↑ "Grenfell petition". New South Wales Government Gazette . No. 654. 9 October 1894. p. 6375. Retrieved 19 September 2020– via Trove.
  5. ↑ "Elections and Qualifications Committee: Indignation meeting at Grenfell". The Sydney Morning Herald . 13 November 1894. p. 5. Retrieved 19 September 2020– via Trove.
  6. ↑ Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Amendment Act 1928 (NSW).
  7. ↑ Green, Antony. "1895 Grenfell". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales . Retrieved 8 April 2020.
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