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The Tumut - By-election (Roll: 778)
Nominations: Thursday, 3 May 1860, Polling: Thursday, 10 May 1860
Candidate Votes Votes %
Deniehy, Daniel Henry (Elected) 172 55.31
Egan, John Piper 139 44.69
Formal Votes 311
Informal Votes 0 0.00
Total Votes / Turnout 311 39.97
Cause Category: Resignation - Other
Notes: George Dunmore Lang resigned, seemingly having lost interest in politics. He stated in a letter to voters that he was 'not in a position to wage protracted warfare with dullness and incapacity', Adelong Mining Journal, 4 May, p.5 col.2-3. There was a muddle over the inability to hold a poll in Adelong on the date set aside for the election, polling eventually deferred to early June, a proclamation validating the poll despite the delay in returning the writ. Results were reported patchily, and the Elections and Qualifications Committee eventually held an investigation and declared the election void. Deniehy had been elected as member for East Macquarie at another by-election on 10 May, something which appeared to play a part in the committee's deliberations on what to do with Tumut. (LAVP 1860, Vol A1, p.179) Motion voiding result passed by Assembly 18 October 1860.
Source: Report of nominations, Adelong Mining Journal, 4 May 1860, p.4 col.2-3. The totals use here have been calculated by adding together two reports of the different polling days published in the Adelong Mining Journal, 11 May p.4 col.4 and 8 June p.2 col.3. Similar totals derived by adding booth reports published in the SMH between 18 May and 12 June. Results from this part of the state were always slow and erratic to arrive in the 1850s, and the difficulties with the poll, along with Deniehy already being victorious in East Macquarie, caused the newspapers to lose interest in publishing the final result. Even the Elections and Qualifications committee paid little attention to working out the correct result, mainly because Deniehy never took up his seat having already taken up his representative duties for East Macquarie.
Corrections: The writ for this election was returned, but the Legislative Assembly records have never recognised Deniehy as having taken up his seat.