1894 Grenfell colonial election re-count
By-election in New South Wales, Australia
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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
| 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
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Michael Loughnane | 525 | 36.3 | +0.3 | |
| Free Trade | George Greene | 516 | 35.7 | â0.4 | |
| Protectionist | Robert Vaughn | 330 | 22.8 | +0.2 | |
| Independent | John Williams | 75 | 5.2 | â0.1 | |
| Total formal votes | 1,446 | 97.0 | â0.7 | ||
| Informal votes | 45[a] | 3.0 | +0.7 | ||
| Turnout | 1,491 | 71.0 | '"`UNIQâârefâ00000014âQINU`"' | ||
| 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
- Calculated on the assumption that the total number of votes did not change.
- the 5 previous occasions were Northumberland Boroughs (1856), Hastings (1870), Mudgee (1879), Young (1885) and Canterbury (1891).