1876 Parramatta colonial by-election

A by-election was held for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly electorate of Parramatta on 20 April 1876 caused by the resignation of sitting member Hugh Taylor after he was referred to the Committee of Elections and Qualification as to whether he had a position of profit under the crown as a result of the supply of meat by him to Mr Dunn who in turn had a contract to supply meat to government asylums.[1][2]


Dates

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Date Event
24 February 1876 Question referred to the Committee of Elections and Qualifications.[3]
22 March 1876 The Committee of Elections and Qualifications reported that Thomas Brown was disqualified from sitting.[4]
31 March 1876 Hugh Taylor resigned.[5]
1 April 1876 Writ of election issued by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.[6]
18 April 1876 Nominations
20 April 1876 Polling day
25 June 1876 Return of writ

Committee of Elections and Qualifications

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The question of Thomas Brown's eligibility had been referred to the committee on the same day. The Committee found that Thomas Brown was the owner of the Eskbank Colliery, the coal supplied by William Pitt was taken from the Eskbank Colliery and that Thomas Brown had a "direct interest in a contract entered into with the Government by the said William Pitt for the supply of engine coal for the Great Southern and Western Railways" and was therefore disqualified from being a member of the Legislative Assembly.[4][7]

Taylor resigned after the report on Thomas Brown had been tabled, but before the Committee had reported on whether he too was disqualified.[5]

Results

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1876 Parramatta by-election
Thursday 20 April [2]
Candidate Votes %
Hugh Taylor (elected) 455 53.4
George Young 397 46.6
Informal votes 852 100.0
Informal votes 0 0.0
Turnout 852 68.7

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Nomination for Parramatta". The Sydney Morning Herald. 19 April 1876. p. 3. Retrieved 3 July 2019 – via Trove.
  2. ^ a b Green, Antony. "1876 Parramatta by-election". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
  3. ^ "Legislative Assembly: questions of privilege". The Sydney Morning Herald. 25 February 1876. p. 3. Retrieved 24 September 2020 – via Trove.
  4. ^ a b "Legislative Assembly: case of Mr T Brown". The Sydney Morning Herald. 23 March 1876. p. 2. Retrieved 24 September 2020 – via Trove.
  5. ^ a b "Mr Hugh Taylor (1823-1897)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  6. ^ "Writ of election: Parramatta". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 107. 1 April 1876. p. 1319. Retrieved 5 June 2021 – via Trove.
  7. ^ Twomey, Anne (2004). The Constitution of New South Wales. Federation Press. pp. 415. ISBN 9781862875166. Retrieved 21 September 2020.