HOME

TheInfoList



Click Here for Items Related To - 1856 Northumberland Boroughs Colonial Election Re-count
OR:
1856 Northumberland Boroughs Colonial Election Re-count on:   [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Amazon]

In August 1856 the Committee of Elections and Qualifications conducted a re-count of the 1856 election for the district of Northumberland Boroughs, in which
Bourn Russell Bourn Russell (1 December 1794 – 4 July 1880) was a British/Australian mariner, pastoralist, politician and businessman. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council between 1858 and 1880. He was also a member of the New South W ...
had been declared elected by a margin of 8 votes over
Elias Weekes Elias Carpenter Weekes (13 July 1809 – 5 August 1881) was an Australian ironmonger and politician. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council between 1865 and 1880. He was also a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assem ...
. The returning officer was Isaac Gorrick who was a friend of Bourn Russell. The nomination of Russell was moved by Edward Close and seconded by John Kingsmill. Once a poll was called for, Gorrick appointed Close and Kingsmill as deputy returning officers. In January Close had also chaired a meeting at
Morpeth Morpeth may refer to: *Morpeth, New South Wales, Australia ** Electoral district of Morpeth, a former electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in New South Wales * Morpeth, Ontario, Canada * Morpeth, Northumberland, England, UK ** Morpeth (UK ...
where Weekes had addressed the voters. William Christie lodged a petition with a £100 deposit, against the election alleging that more than 20 people who were unqualified to vote had voted for Russell. This was not a
secret ballot The secret ballot, also known as the Australian ballot, is a voting method in which a voter's identity in an election or a referendum is anonymous. This forestalls attempts to influence the voter by intimidation, blackmailing, and potential vote ...
and voters were required to write their name and address on the ballot paper. Christie subsequently published a list of the 21 people whose votes had been struck off. Because the committee was able to identify the ballot papers for people who were unable to vote, they recounted the eligible votes and declared that Elias Weekes had been elected.


Dates


Result

The Committee of Elections and Qualifications conducted a re-count of the 1856 Northumberland Boroughs election and declared that
Bourn Russell Bourn Russell (1 December 1794 – 4 July 1880) was a British/Australian mariner, pastoralist, politician and businessman. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council between 1858 and 1880. He was also a member of the New South W ...
had not been elected the member for Northumberland Boroughs. No by-election was conducted, instead the committee declared that
Elias Weekes Elias Carpenter Weekes (13 July 1809 – 5 August 1881) was an Australian ironmonger and politician. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council between 1865 and 1880. He was also a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assem ...
had been elected.


See also

*
Electoral results for the district of Northumberland Boroughs Northumberland Boroughs, an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in Austral ...
*
List of New South Wales state by-elections This is a list of by-elections for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly. A by-election may be held when a member's seat becomes vacant through resignation, death or some other reasons. These are referred to as casual vacancies. *Brackets aro ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Northumberland Boroughs 1856 1894 elections in Australia New South Wales state by-elections 1890s in New South Wales