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. 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% of vote(% change)LiberalPhilip Little92218960.00%()48262.68%( 1.25%)ConservativeHugh 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
|bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=3|St. John's East || |John KentWon by acclamation || |John KentSt. John's
|Robert ParsonsWon by acclamation || |Robert ParsonsSt. John's
|Peter WinserWon by acclamation || |New seat |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=3|St. John's West || |Philip LittleWon by acclamation || |Philip LittleSt. John's
|Ambrose SheaWon by acclamation || |New seat
|John FoxWon by acclamation || |New seat
Conception Bay
|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Bay de Verde | |David Walsh || |John Bemister || |John BemisterConception Bay |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Carbonear || |Edmund HanrahanWon by acclamation
|Edmund HanrahanConception Bay |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=2|Harbour Grace || |John HaywardWon by acclamation
|John HaywardConception Bay
|James PrendergastWon by acclamation
|New seat |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=2|Harbour Main || |William TalbotWon by acclamation
|William TalbotConception Bay
|Thomas ByrneWon by acclamation
|New seat |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=2|Port de Grave
|Robert BrownWon by acclamation || |New district
Avalon Peninsula
|bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=2|Ferryland || |Thomas GlenWon by acclamation || |Peter Winser‡(ran in St. John's East)
|Edward SheaWon by acclamation || |New seat |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=3|Placentia and St. Mary's || |George HogsettWon by acclamation || |Ambrose Shea‡(ran in St. John's West)
|Michael KellyWon by acclamation || |George Hogsett
|John DelaneyWon by acclamation || |New seat
Eastern and Central Newfoundland
|bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=3|Bonavista Bay | |John Haddon || |John Warren || |John Warren |- |rowspan=2| |rowspan=2|J. Stewart || |Robert Carter || |New seat
|Matthew Walbank || |New seat |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=3|Trinity Bay
|Stephen MarchWon by acclamation || |Stephen March
|John WinterWon by acclamation || |New seat
|Frederick CarterWon by acclamation || |New seat |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=2|Twillingate and Fogo |rowspan=2| |rowspan=2|George Emerson || |William Ellis || |George Emerson
|Thomas Knight || |New seat
Southern Newfoundland
|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Burgeo and LaPoile
|Robert ProwseWon by acclamation || |New district |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=2|Burin || |Clement Benning24331.60% | |Joseph Woods23130.04% || |Clement Benning
|Patrick Morris23931.08% | |William Freeman567.28% || |New seat |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Fortune Bay
|Hugh HoylesWon by acclamation || |Hugh Hoyles
Notes
References
Further reading