Jamaican general election, 1901

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General elections were held in Jamaica in January 1901. [1] The newly elected Legislative Council was opened on 26 February. [2]

Jamaica Country in the Caribbean

Jamaica is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning 10,990 square kilometres (4,240 sq mi) in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the fourth-largest island country in the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about 145 kilometres (90 mi) south of Cuba, and 191 kilometres (119 mi) west of Hispaniola.

Contents

Background

During 1900 there had been protests from the elected members of the Legislative Council over the addition of four extra appointed members by the Governor (at the request of the British Secretary of State for the Colonies, Joseph Chamberlain) [3] on 20 February. [4] As a result, the 14 elected members had walked out of the Assembly. [4] The following day they returned to make a formal protest, but would continue to abstain from involvement in the work of the Council. [5]

Secretary of State for the Colonies British Cabinet minister in charge of managing the United Kingdoms various colonial dependencies

The Secretary of State for the Colonies or Colonial Secretary was the British Cabinet minister in charge of managing the United Kingdom's various colonial dependencies.

Joseph Chamberlain British businessman, politician, and statesman

Joseph Chamberlain was a British statesman who was first a radical Liberal, then, after opposing home rule for Ireland, a Liberal Unionist, and eventually served as a leading imperialist in coalition with the Conservatives. He split both major British parties in the course of his career.

Governor Olivier attempted to mediate by suggesting that the additional four members would only vote on matters of "paramount importance". [3] However, after Chamberlain refused to make a commitment to the number of appointed members, the leader of the elected members circulated a manifesto to the others promising that they would continue to abstain from the Council if re-elected. [3] After only five of the other 13 elected members signed it, the leader subsequently resigned and announced his retirement from politics. [3]

Sydney Olivier, 1st Baron Olivier British civil servant

Sydney Haldane Olivier, 1st Baron Olivier, was a British civil servant. A Fabian and a member of the Labour Party, he served as Governor of Jamaica and as Secretary of State for India in the first government of Ramsay MacDonald. He was the uncle of the actor Laurence Olivier.

Results

Of the 14 members elected, only one indicated that they would refuse to take their seat, whilst the majority indicated that they would work within the constitution to remove the four additional members. [1] The election also saw the first elected black member of the Council win a seat. [6]

Voter turnout was low, with only 2,300 people out of 8,000 registered voters taking part. [1]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "News in Brief" The Times, 19 January 1901, p5
  2. "News in Brief" The Times, 27 February 1901
  3. 1 2 3 4 "The Political Situation In Jamaica" The Times, 25 December 1900, p5, issue 36334
  4. 1 2 "News in Brief", The Times, 21 February 1900, p5, issue 36071
  5. "News in Brief", The Times, 22 February 1900, p6, issue 36072
  6. Myron Weiner & Ergun Özbudun (1897) Competitive Elections in Developing Countries Duke University Press, p183