1862 Morpeth colonial by-election

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.[1]

Dates

Date Event
2 September 1862 David Buchanan resigned.[3]
Writ of election issued by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.[4]
16 September 1862 Nominations at Morpeth.[5]
18 September 1862 Polling day between 9 am and 4 pm.[6]
25 September 1862 Return of writ

Polling places

Result

1862 Morpeth by-election
Thursday 18 September [7][6]
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

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Rutledge, Martha. "Buchanan, David (1823–1890)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  2. ^ "Supreme Court: Buchanan v Fairfax". The Sydney Morning Herald. 6 August 1862. p. 5. Retrieved 20 June 2021 – via Trove.
  3. ^ "Mr David Buchanan (1823-1890)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  4. ^ "Writ of election: Morpeth". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 155. 18 June 1862. p. 1681. Retrieved 20 June 2021 – via Trove.
  5. ^ "Election for Morpeth: the nominations". The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser. 18 September 1862. p. 2. Retrieved 20 June 2021 – via Trove.
  6. ^ a b "Morpeth election — declaration of the poll". The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser. 20 September 1862. p. 2. Retrieved 20 June 2021 – via Trove.
  7. ^ Green, Antony. "1862 Morpeth by-election". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 20 June 2021.