1894 Grenfell colonial election re-count

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 instead the committee declared that Michael Loughnane (Labour) based on its own count of the result.[3]

Dates
DateEvent
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
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
Labour gain from Free Trade  
Total formal votes 1,446 97.0 -0.7
Informal votes 45[lower-alpha 1] 3.0 +0.7
Turnout 1,491 71.0 [lower-alpha 2] 
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.[lower-alpha 3] 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. 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
  1. Green, Antony. "1894 Grenfell". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  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. "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 (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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