1862 Morpeth colonial by-election
By-election in New South Wales, Australia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A by-election was held for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly electorate of Morpeth on 18 September 1862 because David Buchanan was insolvent and resigned his seat.[1] Buchanan had unsuccessfully sued the Sydney Morning Herald for libel and was required to pay their legal costs.[2] He was unable to pay and declared himself bankrupt and resigned from parliament.[1] Buchanan re-contested the seat at the resulting by-election but was defeated, with Edward Close Jr. being elected from that electoral district.[3]
Dates
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 2 September 1862 | David Buchanan resigned.[4] |
| Writ of election issued by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.[5] | |
| 16 September 1862 | Nominations at Morpeth.[6] |
| 18 September 1862 | Polling day between 9 am and 4 pm.[7] |
| 25 September 1862 | Return of writ |
Polling places
Result
| Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edward Close (elected) | 330 | 68.5 | |
| David Buchanan (defeated) | 152 | 31.5 | |
| Total formal votes | 482 | 100.0 | |
| Informal votes | 0 | 0.0 | |
| Turnout | 482 | 61.5 | |