1855 Newfoundland general election

Election in the Colony of Newfoundland September 2023 1855 Newfoundland general election no Flag of the United Kingdom (3-5).svg parliamentary no no 1852 Newfoundland general election 1852 outgoing members May 7, 1855 members 1859 Newfoundland general election 1859 30 seats of the Newfoundland House of Assembly 16 150x150px NL Liberal (historical) nohash Philip Little NL Liberal (historical) name 1855 St. John's WestNot the incumbent, but ran in this district and won 9 18 9 482"Results" Full results are only available for the district of Burin. 62.68% 1.25%"Incomplete" Based on incomplete figures from the previous election 150x150px Hugh Hoyles NL Conservative (historical) nohash NL Conservative (historical) name 1855 Fortune Bay 6 12 6 287"Results" 37.32% 1.25%"Incomplete" Premier Position established Philip Little Premier after election Liberal 400px The 1855 Newfoundland general election was held on May 7, 1855, to elect members of the 6th General Assembly of Newfoundland in the Newfoundland Colony. This was the first election after responsible government was introduced in Newfoundland.https://books.google.com/books?id=OHM1QewI1CcC&pg=PA467 Daniel Woodley Prowse 467–8 1895 Heritage Books 0-7884-2310-X A History of Newfoundland from the English, Colonial and Foreign Records Prowse D W The Liberal Party, now led by Philip Francis Little, formed the government. The opposition was formed by the Conservative Party led by Hugh Hoyles. Districts ranged in size from 1 to 3 members, and the election system used in each was either first past the post or block voting. Results  Party Leader 1852CandidatesSeats wonSeat change% of seats(% change)Popular vote"Results"% of vote(% change) NL Liberal (historical) rowLiberalPhilip Little92218960.00%()48262.68%( 1.25%) NL Conservative (historical) rowConservativeHugh Hoyles61412640.00%()28737.32%( 1.25%)Totals15363015100%769100% 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. St. John's NL Liberal (historical) |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=3|St. John's East |NL Liberal (historical) background| |John KentWon by acclamation |NL Liberal (historical) background| |John KentSt. John's |- |NL Liberal (historical) background| |Robert ParsonsWon by acclamation |NL Liberal (historical) background| |Robert ParsonsSt. John's |- |NL Liberal (historical) background| |Peter WinserWon by acclamation |NL Vacant background| |New seat |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=3|St. John's West |NL Liberal (historical) background| |Philip LittleWon by acclamation |NL Liberal (historical) background| |Philip LittleSt. John's |- |NL Liberal (historical) background| |Ambrose SheaWon by acclamation |NL Vacant background| |New seat |- |NL Liberal (historical) background| |John FoxWon by acclamation |NL Vacant background| |New seat |- |} Conception Bay NL Liberal (historical) Conservative (historical) |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Bay de Verde"NoResults" Results are not available for this district. | |David Walsh |NL Conservative (historical) background| |John Bemister |NL Conservative (historical) background| |John BemisterConception Bay |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Carbonear |NL Liberal (historical) background| |Edmund HanrahanWon by acclamation | | |NL Liberal (historical) background| |Edmund HanrahanConception Bay |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=2|Harbour Grace |NL Liberal (historical) background| |John HaywardWon by acclamation | | |NL Liberal (historical) background| |John HaywardConception Bay |- |NL Liberal (historical) background| |James PrendergastWon by acclamation | | |NL Vacant background| |New seat |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=2|Harbour Main |NL Liberal (historical) background| |William TalbotWon by acclamation | | |NL Liberal (historical) background| |William TalbotConception Bay |- |NL Liberal (historical) background| |Thomas ByrneWon by acclamation | | |NL Vacant background| |New seat |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=2|Port de Grave | | |NL Conservative (historical) background| |Robert BrownWon by acclamation |NL Vacant background| |New district |- |} Avalon Peninsula NL Liberal (historical) |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=2|Ferryland |NL Liberal (historical) background| |Thomas GlenWon by acclamation |NL Liberal (historical) background| |Peter Winser‡(ran in St. John's East) |- |NL Liberal (historical) background| |Edward SheaWon by acclamation |NL Vacant background| |New seat |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=3|Placentia and St. Mary's |NL Liberal (historical) background| |George HogsettWon by acclamation |NL Liberal (historical) background| |Ambrose Shea‡(ran in St. John's West) |- |NL Liberal (historical) background| |Michael KellyWon by acclamation |NL Liberal (historical) background| |George Hogsett |- |NL Liberal (historical) background| |John DelaneyWon by acclamation |NL Vacant background| |New seat |} Eastern and Central Newfoundland NL Liberal (historical) Conservative (historical) |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=3|Bonavista Bay"NoResults" | |John HaddonTo the Free and Independent Electors of the District of Bonavista Bay https://collections.mun.ca/digital/collection/nfldexpress/id/2989/rec/4 16 June 2025 Newfoundland Express 10 May 1855 |NL Conservative (historical) background| |John Warren |NL Conservative (historical) background| |John Warren |- |rowspan=2| |rowspan=2|J. StewartCandidates in Bonavista https://collections.mun.ca/digital/collection/publicledger/id/13040/rec/14 16 June 2025 Public Ledger 20 April 1855 |NL Conservative (historical) background| |Robert Carter |NL Vacant background| |New seat |- |NL Conservative (historical) background| |Matthew Walbank |NL Vacant background| |New seat |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=3|Trinity Bay | | |NL Conservative (historical) background| |Stephen MarchWon by acclamation |NL Conservative (historical) background| |Stephen March |- | | |NL Conservative (historical) background| |John WinterWon by acclamation |NL Vacant background| |New seat |- | | |NL Conservative (historical) background| |Frederick CarterWon by acclamation |NL Vacant background| |New seat |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=2|Twillingate and Fogo"NoResults" |rowspan=2| |rowspan=2|George Emerson |NL Conservative (historical) background| |William Ellis |NL Liberal (historical) background| |George Emerson |- |NL Conservative (historical) background| |Thomas Knight |NL Vacant background| |New seat |} Southern Newfoundland NL Liberal (historical) Conservative (historical) |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Burgeo and LaPoile | | |NL Conservative (historical) background| |Robert ProwseWon by acclamation |NL Vacant background| |New district |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=2|BurinResult of the Poll in Burin https://collections.mun.ca/digital/collection/morncourier/id/5383/rec/2 16 June 2025 Morning Courier 23 May 1855 |NL Liberal (historical) background| |Clement Benning24331.60% | |Joseph Woods Wells Elizabeth A. Woods, Joseph Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online 10 1972 https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/woods_joseph_10E.html 20 May 2026 23130.04% |NL Liberal (historical) background| |Clement Benning |- |NL Liberal (historical) background| |Patrick Morris23931.08% | |William FreemanAnonymous Communications https://collections.mun.ca/digital/collection/nfldexpress/id/2907/rec/1 20 May 2026 The Courier 5 April 1855567.28% |NL Vacant background| |New seat |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Fortune Bay | | |NL Conservative (historical) background| |Hugh HoylesWon by acclamation |NL Conservative (historical) background| |Hugh Hoyles |} Notes References Further reading Riggs Bert 1981 General Election #6: May 7, 1855 https://collections.mun.ca/digital/collection/cns_enl/id/78 Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador, volume 1 St. John's Harry Cuff Publications Ltd. 18 June 2025 1855 Category:1855 elections in North America Category:1855 elections in Canada Category:Pre-Confederation Newfoundland Category:1855 in North America Category:1855 in the British Empire Category:19th century in Newfoundland