1913 Londonderry City by-election

Vacancy

The sitting Unionist MP, James Hamilton succeeded his father on his death as the Duke of Abercorn, so vacated his seat in the House of Commons to take up his seat in the House of Lords. He had been MP here since 1900.

Previous result

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Candidates

The Unionist candidate was 50-year-old Antrim-born, London-based soldier Colonel Hercules Pakenham, whom had previously served as the commanding officer of the London Irish Rifles.

The Catholic clergy, whose authority on the choice of nationalist candidate was total, surprisingly selected Liberal David Hogg, a 73-year-old local shirt manufacturer, the Lord Lieutenant of County Londonderry and a Protestant. Hogg was selected as he had a broad appeal across the religious communities in the Londonderry City constituency and as the Lord Lieutenant, refused to appoint anybody who had signed the Ulster Covenant as a Justice of the Peace for the county.

Campaign

The date of poll was set at 30 January, just 27 days after the automatic vacation of the seat. This left little time for campaigning. Hogg's election address said he was a Liberal and a supporter of the government's Home Rule Bill; he did not canvass during the election. Hogg only spoke once in the campaign at a public meeting, with the prominent Irish Home Rule politicians Charles O'Neill, Willie Redmond and Shane Leslie also attending and speaking to support Hogg's candidacy.

Result

The Liberal Party gained the seat from the Irish Unionist Alliance.

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Aftermath

The election gave supporters of Irish Home Rule a majority of one in the province of Ulster.

References

References

1. Walker, Brian Mercer. (1978). "Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801-1922". Royal Irish Academy.
2. "I Want To Be Elected".
3. Lacy, Brian. (1991). "Siege city: the story of Derry and Londonderry". Blackstaff Press.
4. (17 December 2003). "Down memory lane - Factory founder in Home Rule dispute". Belfast Telegraph.
5. (10 June 1913). "Government of Ireland bill". [[Hansard.
6. "SIR JAMES DOUGHERTYI DIES IN ENGLAND AT 89; Prominent Edu Had Been for Many Years a Political Leader in Ireland.". The New York Times.