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]

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[edit]

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

Result[edit]

1894 Grenfell election re-count
Thursday 25 October [3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Michael Loughnane 525 36.3 +0.3
Free Trade George Greene 516 35.7 -0.4
Protectionist Robert Vaughn 330 22.8 +0.2
Independent John Williams 75 5.2 -0.1
Total formal votes 1,446 97.0 -0.7
Informal votes 45[a] 3.0 +0.7
Turnout 1,491 71.0 [b] 
Labour gain from Free Trade  

Aftermath[edit]

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.[c] 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[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Calculated on the assumption that the total number of votes did not change.
  2. ^ Change is compared to the previously declared count for the election.
  3. ^ the 5 previous occasions were Northumberland Boroughs (1856), Hastings (1870), Mudgee (1879), Young (1885) and Canterbury (1891).

References[edit]

  1. ^ Green, Antony. "1894 Grenfell". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  2. ^ a b 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. ^ a b c "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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