A by-election was held for the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...

electorate of East Sydney on 29 February 1884 as a result of the Legislative Assembly declaring the seats of

Francis Suttor Sir Francis Bathurst Suttor (30 April 1839 – 4 April 1915) was an Australian pastoralist, politician, and sheep and horse breeder. Early life Suttor was born in Bathurst, New South Wales, the son of pastoralist William Henry Suttor and his wi ...

, and

George Reid Sir George Houston Reid, (25 February 1845 – 12 September 1918) was an Australian politician who led the Reid Government as the fourth Prime Minister of Australia from 1904 to 1905, having previously been Premier of New South Wales f ...

, were vacant as a result of a report of the Committee of Elections and Qualifications that they were incapable of being elected, or of sitting, or voting, as a member of the Assembly. At the time the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

provided that:

XVIII. Any person holding any Office of Profit under the Crown, or having a Pension from the Crown during Pleasure or for Term of Years, shall be incapable of being elected, or of sitting or voting as a Member of the Legislative Assembly, unless he be One of the following official Members of the Government, that is to say, the Colonial Secretary, Colonial Treasurer, Auditor General, Attorney General, and Solicitor General, or One of such additional Officers, not being more than Five, as the Governor, with the advice of the Executive Council, may from Time to Time, by a notice in the Government Gazette, declare capable of being elected a Member of the said Assembly.

Adolphus Taylor Adolphus George Taylor (14 June 1857 – 18 January 1900) was an Australian journalist and populist politician, active in New South Wales the 1880s and 1890s. Early life Reputed the illegitimate son of a gentleman father, Taylor was born in Mudg ...

argued that the Governor had already issued five proclamations prior to the appointment of Suttor and thus the appointments of Suttor and Reid to the office of Minister of Public Instruction meant they were disqualified. The Elections and Qualifications Committee agreed, declaring that both Suttor and Reid held an office of profit under the crown and they were both disqualified from holding office. The Protection and Political Reform League had intended to nominate

Richard Luscombe Richard Charles Luscombe was an Australian politician. He was a master builder and insurance agent, and co-founded the Protection and Political Reform League with Ninian Melville in 1881. He was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembl ...

, however he was withheld to avoid splitting the protectionist vote.

Result

The Committee of Elections and Qualifications held that an error in the drafting of the constitution meant that

could not be validly appointed Minister of Public Instruction and declared his seat vacant.

Aftermath

While Reid was defeated, Suttor was unopposed in the Bathurst by-election. The errors were remedied by the ''Constitution Act Amendment Act'' 1884. Reid did not regain a seat in Parliament until the October 1885 election.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:East Sydney 1884 1884 elections in Australia New South Wales state by-elections 1880s in New South Wales