1860 Londonderry City by-election

The 1860 Londonderry City by-election was held on 2 April following the 13 March 1860 death of the incumbent, the Liberal Party's Sir Robert Ferguson. Ferguson had held the seat since 1830 and had received significant support from the Catholic segment of the constituency. The Liberal Party's candidate Samuel MacCurdy Greer had counted on this support transferring to him, however the Irish Conservative Party's candidate William McCormick, who employed a significant number of Catholic workers, managed to split the Catholic vote. The Liberal Party's Presbyterian support had also been adversely affected by their defeat to the Tories in Londonderry County in 1857, which led many to withdraw from politics.

The election resulted in a narrow victory for McCormick, with a 19-vote majority. He held the seat until his retirement at the 1865 United Kingdom general election.

Background

Londonderry City, a one-seat borough constituency, had been represented in the House of Commons of the British Parliament by Sir Robert Ferguson, 2nd Baronet since the 1830 United Kingdom general election. Ferguson, who represented first the Whig and then the Liberal Party, died on 13 March 1860, triggering a by-election.[1] Ferguson had been unopposed in all five elections held in the constituency since 1841.[2][3][4]

Candidates

The Irish Conservative Party's candidate was William McCormick, a Donegal-born engineering contractor. He arrived in Londonderry in 1840 as an entrepreneur during a land reclamation project on Lough Swilly. McCormick was popular as he had intervened to save local railway lines running to Coleraine and Enniskillen and employed hundreds of local people.[5][6] There were two Liberal Party candidates Samuel MacCurdy Greer and George Skipton. Greer was born in County Londonderry and represented the county constituency as a Radical between the 1857 and 1859 general elections.[7][8] Skipton was a resident of Beech Hill in Londonderry.[9] All of the candidates were prominent in the municipal life of Londonderry.[10]

Results

The electorate comprised freemen of the city, houseowners with property rated at a value in excess of £10 per year and occupiers of properties rated at £8 or more per year.[11]

Ferguson had been largely apolitical and had received the support of the Catholic population. However the majority of constituents were Protestants (around 37% Presbyterians and 22% Episcopalians) and, with a weakening of Liberal support in the city following Ferguson's death, from 1860 the Conservative Party entered a period of dominance.[12] The Presbyterians had supported Greer at the 1857 by-election for Londonderry County but the victory of Tory landlord-nominee James Johnston Clark led to the withdrawal of many Presbyterians from politics.[13] McCormick, many of whose employees were Catholic, campaigned heavily for support from this segment of the population. This was successful in splintering the Catholic vote, which Greer had thought he could count on.[14] Skipton had hoped to attract support from across all groups in the city, but because of strong denominational ties in the constituency only received a handful of votes.[14]

McCormick won the election, held on 2 April, with 327 votes compared to 309 for Greer and 82 for Skipton.[15] An election petition was made against the result but the House of Commons committee declared the result as valid on 8 June 1860.[16] McCormick chose to serve only one term, retiring on 11 July 1865 with the dissolution of parliament ahead of the 1865 United Kingdom general election.[17]

By-election, 2 April 1860: Londonderry City[18]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Irish Conservative William McCormick 326 45.6 New
Liberal Samuel MacCurdy Greer 307 42.9 N/A
Liberal George Skipton 82 11.5 N/A
Majority 19 2.7 N/A
Turnout 715 86.7 N/A
Registered electors 825
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing N/A

References
  1. "Ferguson, Sir Robert Alexander, 2nd bt. (1796-1860), of The Farm, nr. Londonderry, co. Londonderry". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  2. Crosby's Political Record of Parliamentary Elections in Great Britain and Ireland: With Select Biographical Notices and Speeches of Distinguished Statesmen ... York: George Crosby. 1843. p. 259.
  3. The Annual Register: Or a View of the History, Politics and Literature, for the Year ... London: Dodsley. 1852. p. Appendix page 367.
  4. Thom's Directory of Ireland. Dublin: Alexander Thom and Co. 1873. p. 889.
  5. Hume, John (2002). Derry Beyond the Walls: Social and Economic Aspects of the Growth of Derry : 1825-1850. Belfast: Ulster Historical Foundation. p. 166. ISBN 978-1-903688-24-3.
  6. Edwards, Robert Dudley (1979). Studies in Irish History, Presented to R. Dudley Edwards. Dublin: University College. p. 202. ISBN 978-0-901120-61-8.
  7. "Samuel McCurdy Greer". Dictionary of Ulster Biography. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  8. Stephen, Leslie; Lee, Sidney, eds. (1890). "Greer, Samuel MacCurdy" . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 23. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
  9. Burke, Bernard (1871). A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain & Ireland. London: Harrison. p. 1271.
  10. Murphy, Desmond (1981). Derry, Donegal, and Modern Ulster, 1790-1921. Londonderry: Aileach Press. p. 114.
  11. Dod, Robert Phipps (1862). The Parliamentary Companion. London: Whittaker & Company. p. 120.
  12. Hoppen, Karl Theodore (1984). Elections, Politics, and Society in Ireland, 1832-1885. Oxford: Clarendon Press. p. 269. ISBN 978-0-19-822630-7.
  13. Murphy, Desmond (1981). Derry, Donegal, and Modern Ulster, 1790-1921. Londonderry: Aileach Press. pp. 113–114.
  14. Murphy, Desmond (1981). Derry, Donegal, and Modern Ulster, 1790-1921. Londonderry: Aileach Press. p. 115.
  15. The Handbook of the Court, the Peerage, the House of Commons. London: Henry Adams. 1862. p. 241.
  16. Parliamentary Papers volume 56. London: H.M. Stationery Office. 1860. p. 588.5.
  17. "William McCormick". Rush Database. History of Parliament. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  18. Walker, B.M., ed. (1978). Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801-1922. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. ISBN 0901714127.
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