1892 Belfast East by-election

The Belfast East by-election of 1892 was held on 9 March 1892 after the incumbent Irish Unionist Party, Edward de Cobain, was expelled from the House of Commons of the United Kingdom after a criminal conviction. It was retained by the Irish Unionist Party candidate Gustav Wilhelm Wolff.[1]

In April 1891, a warrant was issued for the arrest of Edward de Cobain for "the commission of unnatural offences in Belfast" and he fled to the continent being seen at one time in Bilbao. He refused to resign his seat, saying it was tantamount to an admission of guilt. The House of Commons ordered him to attend and when he failed to do so he was expelled on 26 February 1892.

Belfast East by-election, 1892[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Irish Unionist	Gustav Wilhelm Wolff	4,746	64.6	-15.7
	Independent Unionist	William Thomas Charley	2,607	35.4	N/A
Majority			2,139	29.1	-31.5
Turnout			7,353	64.8	-7.8
Registered electors			11,339
	Irish Unionist hold		Swing

External links

• A Vision Of Britain Through Time (Constituency elector numbers)

References

1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 24 February 2012. Retrieved 8 June 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
2. The Constitutional Year Book, 1904, published by Conservative Central Office, page 193 (217 in web page)