1861 Newfoundland general election

Election in the Colony of Newfoundland September 2023 1861 Newfoundland general election parliamentary no no Flag of the United Kingdom (3-5).svg 1859 Newfoundland general election 1859 outgoing members May 2, 1861 members 1865 Newfoundland general election 1865 30 seats of the Newfoundland House of Assembly 16 150x150px 006699 Hugh Hoyles 1855 Conservative BurinNot the incumbent, but stood in this district and won. 12 16"Riots" This figure includes the subsequent by-election for Harbour Grace as that district did not initially submit returns due to sectarian violence. 4 84"ConservativeVotes" The entirety of the Conservative caucus were elected by acclamation. As a consequence of this, the only votes that the government received in this election were through an unsuccessful candidate in the district of Ferryland. 1.50% 28.65% 150x150px E62020 John Kent 1858 Liberal St. John's East 18 14 4 5,184 92.52% 22.67% 400px Premier Hugh Hoyles Conservative Hugh Hoyles Premier after election Conservative no The 1861 Newfoundland general election was held on May 2, 1861 to elect the members of the 8th General Assembly of Newfoundland in the Newfoundland Colony. It was triggered following the forced resignation of Premier John Kent by Governor Alexander Bannerman after Kent accused Bannerman of colluding with the Conservative Party. Bannerman had appointed Conservative leader Hugh Hoyles as the new Premier, but Kent quickly passed a motion of non-confidence against Hoyles' administration, forcing Bannerman to call an election. The election was fraught with sectarian tensions. Most districts went uncontested for fear of violence. A riot broke out in St. John's.Canadian Encyclopedia: "St. John's Election Riot or 1861" https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/st-johns-election-riot-of-1861 accessed 2026-08-23 Riots prevented an election from occurring in the district of Harbour Grace. A violent confrontation broke out in Salmon Cove within the Harbour Main district, killing one man and injuring nine others, and the returns for that district were subsequently invalidated by the House of Assembly. A political deadlock ensued, and no party controlled the legislature until a by-election held in Harbour Grace in November 1861 finally gave Hoyles' Conservatives a majority government. Ambrose Shea subsequently became the leader of the Liberal Party. Results  Party Leader 1859CandidatesSeats wonSeat change% of seats(% change)Popular vote % of vote(% change) NL Conservative (historical) rowConservativeHugh Hoyles121516"Riots"453.33%(13.33%)84"ConservativeVotes"1.50%(28.65%) NL Liberal (historical) rowLiberalJohn Kent181814446.67%(13.33%)5,184If the 1,273 votes cast for the four Liberal candidates in Harbour Main are counted, then the opposition under Kent received a total of 6,457 votes.92.52%(22.67%) NL Independent rowOther0100.00%()3355.98%(5.98%)Totals303430100%5,603Including the invalidated results from the district of Harbour Main, a total of 6,876 votes were cast in this election.100% Results by district Names in boldface type represent party leaders. † indicates that the incumbent did not run again. ‡ indicates that the incumbent ran in a different district. $ indicates that the incumbent was initially nominated for re-election, but they later chose to withdraw from the race. St. John's NL Liberal (historical) Other |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=3|St. John's East |NL Liberal (historical) background| |John Kavanagh1,48933.70% |rowspan=3| |rowspan=3|Samuel Archibald (Independent)3357.58% |NL Liberal (historical) background| |John Kent |- |NL Liberal (historical) background| |Robert Parsons1,30929.62% |NL Liberal (historical) background| |John Kavanagh |- |NL Liberal (historical) background| |John Kent1,28629.10% |NL Liberal (historical) background| |Robert Parsons |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=3|St. John's WestKenneth McLea initially ran as a Conservative candidate, but he withdrew prior to election day following mob violence against his business premises. |NL Liberal (historical) background| |John CaseyWon by acclamation | | |NL Liberal (historical) background| |John Casey |- |NL Liberal (historical) background| |Thomas TalbotWon by acclamation | | |NL Liberal (historical) background| |Thomas Dwyer† |- |NL Liberal (historical) background| |Henry RenoufWon by acclamation | | |NL Liberal (historical) background| |Pierce Barron$ |- |} Conception Bay NL Conservative (historical) Liberal (historical) Other |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Bay de Verde |NL Conservative (historical) background| |John BemisterWon by acclamation | | | | |NL Conservative (historical) background| |John Bemister |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Carbonear | |W. P. Taylor initially ran as a Conservative candidate, but he withdrew prior to election day following mob violence against some of his relatives.Carbonear Election https://collections.mun.ca/digital/collection/nfldexpress/id/8342/rec/1 13 June 2025 Newfoundland Express 9 May 1861 |NL Liberal (historical) background| |Edmund HanrahanWon by acclamation | | |NL Liberal (historical) background| |Edmund Hanrahan |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=2|Harbour GraceAlthough Moore would withdraw prior to election day, no return was declared by the returning officer, and the House of Assembly later also determined that nobody had been elected in the district of Harbour Grace. A by-election was held in November 1861 which saw Hayward and Moore elected, both of whom were running as Conservatives. |rowspan=2| |rowspan=2|Henry Moore initially ran as a Conservative candidate, but he withdrew prior to election day following a series of riots in Harbour Grace where property belonging to his and Hayward's supporters were damaged by a group of 400 Roman Catholics from Carbonear. | |John HaywardNo returns declared | | |NL Liberal (historical) background| |John Hayward |- | |James PrendergastNo returns declared | | |NL Liberal (historical) background| |James Prendergast |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=2|Harbour MainSpecial Return https://collections.mun.ca/digital/collection/nfldexpress/id/8342/rec/1 13 June 2025 Newfoundland Express 9 May 1861Following the violence in Salmon Cove, the 36 voters from Cat's Cove illegally cast their ballots for Furey and Hogsett in Harbour Main. Under pressure from Furey and Hogsett's outraged voters, the returning officer, Patrick Strapp, issued a return declaring them to have been elected, but it was declared invalid by the House of Assembly. After further violence in St. John's, a select committee decreed that Nowlan and Byrne had been elected. The results of the election without the illegal votes in Harbour Main are shown here in italics. | | | |George Hogsett31624.82% |NL Liberal (historical) background| |Patrick Nowlan (Independent Liberal)"NowlanByrne" Furey and Hogsett had been endorsed by the Roman Catholic clergy of Harbour Main as well as by John Dalton, the Catholic Bishop of Harbour Grace. Byrne and Nowlan ran on a separate ticket without the support of the aforementioned clergy.32525.53% |NL Liberal (historical) background| |Patrick Nowlan |- | | | |Charles Furey31024.35% |NL Liberal (historical) background| |Thomas Byrne (Independent Liberal)"NowlanByrne"32225.29% |NL Liberal (historical) background| |Charles Furey |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=2|Port de Grave |NL Conservative (historical) background| |John LeamonWon by acclamation | | | | |NL Conservative (historical) background| |John Leamon |- |} Avalon Peninsula NL Conservative (historical) Liberal (historical) |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=2|FerrylandResult of the contest for the District of Ferryland https://collections.mun.ca/digital/collection/nfldexpress/id/8353/rec/5 13 June 2025 Newfoundland Express 11 May 1861 |rowspan=2| |rowspan=2|John White847.09% |NL Liberal (historical) background| |Edward Shea57148.23% |NL Liberal (historical) background| |Thomas Glen |- |NL Liberal (historical) background| |Thomas Glen52944.68% |NL Liberal (historical) background| |Edward Shea |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=3|Placentia and St. Mary's | | |NL Liberal (historical) background| |Ambrose SheaWon by acclamation |NL Liberal (historical) background| |George Hogsett‡(ran in Harbour Main) |- | | |NL Liberal (historical) background| |W. G. FloodWon by acclamation |NL Liberal (historical) background| |John English† |- | | |NL Liberal (historical) background| |Richard McGrathWon by acclamation |NL Liberal (historical) background| |Richard McGrath |} Eastern and Central Newfoundland NL Conservative (historical) |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=3|Bonavista Bay |NL Conservative (historical) background| |Stephen MarchWon by acclamation |NL Conservative (historical) background| |Stephen March |- |NL Conservative (historical) background| |John WarrenWon by acclamation |NL Conservative (historical) background| |John Warren |- |NL Conservative (historical) background| |Matthew WalbankWon by acclamation |NL Conservative (historical) background| |Matthew Walbank |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=3|Trinity Bay |NL Conservative (historical) background| |Stephen RendellWon by acclamation |NL Conservative (historical) background| |Stephen Rendell |- |NL Conservative (historical) background| |John WinterWon by acclamation |NL Conservative (historical) background| |John Winter |- |NL Conservative (historical) background| |Frederick CarterWon by acclamation |NL Conservative (historical) background| |Frederick Carter |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=3|Twillingate and Fogo |NL Conservative (historical) background| |William WhitewayWon by acclamation |NL Conservative (historical) background| |William Whiteway |- |NL Conservative (historical) background| |Thomas KnightWon by acclamation |NL Conservative (historical) background| |Thomas Knight |} Southern Newfoundland NL Conservative (historical) |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Burgeo and LaPoile |NL Conservative (historical) background| |D. W. ProwseWon by acclamation |NL Conservative (historical) background| |Hugh Hoyles‡(ran in Burin) |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=2|Burin |NL Conservative (historical) background| |Edward EvansWon by acclamation |NL Liberal (historical) background| |Ambrose Shea‡(ran in Placentia and St. Mary's) |- |NL Conservative (historical) background| |Hugh HoylesWon by acclamation |NL Liberal (historical) background| |James Rogerson† |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Fortune Bay |NL Conservative (historical) background| |Robert CarterWon by acclamation |NL Conservative (historical) background| |Robert Carter |} Notes References Further reading Riggs Bert 1981 General Election #8: May 2, 1861 https://collections.mun.ca/digital/collection/cns_enl/id/80 Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador, volume 1 St. John's Harry Cuff Publications Ltd. 11 June 2025 Webb Jeff 2001 The Election Riots of 1861 https://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/politics/election-riots-1861.php Heritage Newfoundland and Labrador 20 October 2009 1861 Category:1861 elections in North America Category:1861 elections in Canada Category:Pre-Confederation Newfoundland Category:1861 in North America Category:1861 in the British Empire Category:19th century in Newfoundland