1894 Hartley colonial by-election

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]

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 1894 Reid ministry appointed.[6]
4 August 1894 Writ of election issued by the Governor.[7][lower-alpha 1]
10 August 1894 Day of nomination
14 August 1894 Polling day
24 August 1894 Return of writ

Result
1894 Hartley by-election
Tuesday 14 August [1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Free Trade Joseph Cook 942 83.8
Labour James Thomson 182 16.2
Total formal votes 1,124 99.5
Informal votes 6 0.5
Turnout 1,130 55.6 [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]

References
  1. 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. "1882 to 1885 by-elections". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  4. 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 25 September 2020.
  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.
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