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General elections were held in Fiji in July, August and September 1920.[1]
Electoral system
[edit]The Legislative Council consisted of 12 official members (eleven civil servants and a British subject not holding public office),[2] seven elected Europeans and two appointed Fijians. The Governor served as President of the Council.[1]
The Europeans were elected from six constituencies; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Suva, Vanua Levu & Taveuni and Western. Voting was restricted to men aged 21 or over who had been born to European parents (or a European father and was able to read, speak and write English) who were British subjects and had been continuously resident in Fiji for 12 months, either owning at least £20 of freehold or leasehold property or having an annual income of at least £120, and were not on the public payroll.[2]
Constituency | Geographical area | Election date |
---|---|---|
Eastern | Lau Province, Lomaiviti Province | 30 July[1] |
Northern | Ba District, Colo North Province, Ra Province | 6 September |
Southern | Colo East Province, Kadavu Province, Naitasiri Province, Namosi Province, Rewa Province (except Suva), Serua Province, Tailevu Province | 2 September |
Suva | Suva Municipality | 21 August |
Vanua Levu and Taveuni | Bua Province, Cakaudrove Province, Macuata Province | 2 September |
Western | Colo West Province, Lautoka District, Nadi District, Nadroga Province | 3 September |
Results
[edit]Constituency | Candidate | Votes | % | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Eastern | John Maynard Hedstrom | Unopposed | Re-elected | |
Northern | Frederick Clapcott | 60 | 58.3 | Re-elected |
L. Davidson | 42 | 40.8 | ||
N.S. Chalmers | 1 | 1.0 | ||
Southern | Francis Riemenschneider | 80 | 55.9 | Elected |
Robert Crompton | 63 | 44.1 | Unseated | |
Informal votes | 1 | – | ||
Suva | Henry Milne Scott | 242 | 36.3 | Re-elected |
Henry Marks | 194 | 29.1 | Re-elected | |
S.H. Ellis | 123 | 18.5 | ||
James Burton Turner | 107 | 16.1 | ||
Vanua Levu & Taveuni | Herbert Valentine Tarte | 62 | 45.9 | Elected |
W.C. Fisher | 38 | 28.1 | ||
E. Duncan | 35 | 25.9 | ||
Informal votes | 3 | – | ||
Western | Charles Wimbledon Thomas | 63 | 56.3 | Elected |
John Percy Bayly | 49 | 43.8 | ||
Informal votes | 4 | – | ||
Source: Ali |
Appointed members
[edit]The nominated members were appointed on 15 October; one of the Fijian posts was left unfilled.[1]
Position | Member |
---|---|
Governor (President) | Cecil Hunter-Rodwell |
Agent-General of Immigration | Percy Robert Backhouse |
Attorney General | Alfred Karney Young |
Chief Medical Officer | George Cecil Strathairn |
Colonial Postmaster | Herbert Paul St. Julian |
Colonial Secretary | Thomas Edward Fell |
Commissioner of Lands | Dyson Blair |
Commissioner of Works | Henry Berry Lees |
District Commissioner, Rewa | Richard Rutledge Kane |
Receiver General | William Henry Brabant |
Secretary for Native Affairs | Douglas Ray Stewart |
Superintendent of Agriculture | Charles Henry Knowles |
Representing Indo-Fijians | Badri Maharaj |
Fijian member | Joni Antonio Rabici |
Source: Fiji Blue Book[1] |
Aftermath
[edit]A by-election was held for the Vanua Levu and Taveuni seat on 4 October 1922, which was won by William Edmund Willoughby-Tottenham.[3]