1862 Morpeth colonial by-election
# 1862 Morpeth colonial by-election

A by-election was held for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly electorate of Morpeth on 18 September 1862 because David Buchanan was insolvent and resigned his seat. Buchanan had unsuccessfully sued the Sydney Morning Herald for libel and was required to pay their legal costs. He was unable to pay and declared himself bankrupt.

## Dates

| Date | Event |
| - | - |
| 2 September 1862 | David Buchanan resigned. |
| 2 September 1862 | Writ of election issued by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly. |
| 16 September 1862 | Nominations at Morpeth. |
| 18 September 1862 | Polling day between 9 am and 4 pm. |
| 25 September 1862 | Return of writ |

## Polling places

* Morpeth
* Hinton
* Largs
* Clifden

## Result

1862 Morpeth by-election Thursday 18 September :

| Candidate | Candidate | Votes | % |
| - | - | - | - |
| Edward Close (elected) | Edward Close (elected) | 330 | 68.5 |
| David Buchanan (defeated) | David Buchanan (defeated) | 152 | 31.5 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 482 | 100.0 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | 0 | 0.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | 482 | 61.5 |
