1894 Hartley colonial by-election

Last updated

A by-election for the seat of Hartley in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly was held on 14 August 1894 because Joseph Cook had been appointed Postmaster General in the Reid ministry. [1] [2] Such ministerial by-elections were usually uncontested and four ministers were re-elected unopposed, James Brunker (East Maitland), Joseph Carruthers (St George), Jacob Garrard (Sherbrooke) and James Young (The Manning). A poll was required in Bathurst (Sydney Smith), Hartley, Singleton (Albert Gould) and Sydney-King (George Reid) however all were comfortably re-elected. [3]

Contents

Background

Cook was one of 35 Labour members elected at the 1891 New South Wales colonial election and was the leader of the Parliamentary Labour Party from 1893. The party was divided on the question of free trade or protectionism, with Cook on the side of free trade, but increasingly at odds with the party. The party decided that members must sign a "pledge" to be bound by decisions of the Caucus and Cook was the leader of those parliamentarians who refused to sign, [4] contesting the 1894 election as an Independent Labour candidate. [5] Cook's decision, immediately after the election, to join the Free Trade ministry under George Reid was seen as an opportunistic act which saw Cook labeled as a class traitor. [4]

Dates

DateEvent
17 July 1894 1894 New South Wales colonial election
3 August 1894Reid ministry appointed. [6]
4 August 1894 Writ of election issued by the Governor. [7] [lower-alpha 1]
10 August 1894Day of nomination
14 August 1894Polling day
24 August 1894Return of writ

Result

1894 Hartley by-election
Tuesday 14 August [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Free Trade Joseph Cook (re-elected)94283.8
Labour James Thomson 18216.2
Total formal votes1,12499.5
Informal votes60.5
Turnout 1,13055.6 [lower-alpha 2]
Member changed to Free Trade from Independent Labour  

See also

Notes

  1. Ordinarily the writ for a by-election would be issued by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, however the ministers were appointed before Parliament convened and the writs were issued by the Governor.
  2. Estimate based on a roll of 2,031 at the 1894 election. [5]

Related Research Articles

Sydney Smith (Australian politician) Politician from New South Wales, Australia

Sydney Smith was an Australian politician. He began his parliamentary career in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly and served as a government minister under Henry Parkes. He transferred to the new House of Representatives after Federation, representing the Division of Macquarie from 1901 to 1906. He served as Postmaster-General in the Reid Government from 1904 to 1905.

John Fegan (politician)

John Lionel Fegan was a politician and coal miner in New South Wales, Australia.

This is a list of members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly who served in the 16th parliament of New South Wales from 1894 to 1895 They were elected at the 1894 colonial election on 17 July 1894. The Speaker was Sir Joseph Palmer Abbott.

Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly who served in the 15th parliament of New South Wales held their seats from 1891 to 1894 They were elected at the 1891 colonial election between 17 June and 3 July 1891. The Speaker was Sir Joseph Palmer Abbott.

Reid ministry (New South Wales) New South Wales ministry led by George Reid

The Reid ministry was the 28th ministry of the Colony of New South Wales, and was led by the 12th Premier, George Reid. The title of Premier was widely used to refer to the Leader of Government, but was not a formal position in the government until 1920. Instead the Premier was appointed to another portfolio, usually Colonial Secretary but on this occasion Reid took the portfolio of Colonial Treasurer until July 1899 and then Attorney General.

Jacob Garrard

Jacob Garrard was a politician in colonial New South Wales, serving as Secretary for Public Works and Minister for Public Instruction.

The 1901 New South Wales state election was for 125 electoral districts, with each district returning one member. The election was conducted on the basis of a simple majority or first-past-the-post voting system. In this election, in 32 electorates the winning candidate received less than 50% of the votes, while 13 were uncontested. The average number of enrolled voters per electorate was 2,764, ranging from Wentworth (1,706) to Willoughby (4,854).

The 1894 New South Wales colonial election was for 125 electoral districts, with each district returning one member. The election was conducted on the basis of a simple majority or first-past-the-post voting system. There were three significant changes from the 1891 election, the abolition of multi-member constituencies, the abolition of plural voting where an elector had property or residence in more than one electorate and that polls for every district were held on the same day. The number of seats was reduced from 141 to 125. In this election, in 74 electorates the winning candidate received less than 50% of the votes, while 1 was uncontested. The average number of enrolled voters per electorate was 2,046, ranging from Lismore (1,360) to Marrickville (2,924).

A by-election was held for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly electorate of Newtown on 13 January 1883. The election was triggered by the appointment of Henry Copeland as Secretary for Public Works in the Stuart ministry.

Bourke, an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales was created in 1880 and abolished in 1904.

Cobar, an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales had two incarnations, from 1894 until 1920 and from 1930 until 1968.

East Sydney, an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales was created in 1859 and abolished in 1894.

A by-election was held for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly electorate of East Sydney on 11 January 1883 because George Reid was appointed Minister of Public Instruction in the Stuart ministry. Such ministerial by-elections were usually uncontested and six ministers were re-elected unopposed. On this occasion a poll was required in East Sydney and Newtown. Copeland was defeated but regained a seat in parliament at the second by-election for East Sydney held on 23 January 1883. The six other ministers, Alexander Stuart (Illawarra), George Dibbs, Henry Cohen, James Farnell, Francis Wright (Redfern) and Joseph Abbott (Gunnedah), were re-elected unopposed.

A by-election was held for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly electorate of Glebe on 10 September 1898 because James Hogue had been appointed Public Instruction and Minister for Labour and Industry in the Reid ministry. Until 1904, members appointed to a ministerial position were required to face a by-election. These were generally uncontested. Of the three ministers appointed with the second arrangement of the Reid ministry, Glebe was the only electorate in which the by-election was contested.

Grenfell, an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales was created in 1880 and abolished in 1904.

Hartley, an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales had two incarnations, from 1859 until 1920 and from 1927 until 1968.

Redfern, an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales, has had two incarnations, the first from 1880 to 1920, the second from 1927 to 1968.

A by-election for the seat of Bathurst in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly was held on 14 August 1894 because Sydney Smith had been appointed Secretary for Mines and Agriculture in the Reid ministry. Such ministerial by-elections were usually uncontested and four ministers were re-elected unopposed, James Brunker, Joseph Carruthers, Jacob Garrard (Sherbrooke) and James Young. A poll was required in Bathurst, Hartley, Singleton and Sydney-King however all were comfortably re-elected.

A by-election for the seat of Sydney-King in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly was held on 11 August 1894 because George Reid had been appointed Premier and Colonial Treasurer, forming the Reid ministry. Such ministerial by-elections were usually uncontested and four ministers were re-elected unopposed, James Brunker, Joseph Carruthers, Jacob Garrard (Sherbrooke) and James Young. A poll was required in Bathurst, Hartley, Singleton and Sydney-King however all were comfortably re-elected.

A by-election for the seat of Singleton in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly was held on 14 August 1894 because Albert Gould had been appointed Minister for Justice in the Reid ministry. Such ministerial by-elections were usually uncontested and four ministers were re-elected unopposed, James Brunker, Joseph Carruthers, Jacob Garrard (Sherbrooke) and James Young. A poll was required in Bathurst, Hartley, Singleton and Sydney-King however all were comfortably re-elected.

References

  1. 1 2 Green, Antony. "1894 Hartley by-election". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales . Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  2. "Sir Joseph Cook (1860–1947)". Former Members of the Parliament of New South Wales . Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  3. Green, Antony. "1894 to 1895 by-elections". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales . Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  4. 1 2 Crowley, F K. "Cook, Sir Joseph (1860–1947)". Australian Dictionary of Biography . Melbourne University Press. ISSN   1833-7538 . Retrieved 25 September 2020 via National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.
  5. Green, Antony. "1894 Hartley". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales . Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  6. "Appointment of ministers". New South Wales Government Gazette (506). 3 August 1894. p. 4891. Retrieved 25 September 2020 via Trove.
  7. "Writ of election: Hartley". New South Wales Government Gazette (507). 4 August 1894. p. 4895. Retrieved 25 September 2020 via Trove.