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General elections were held in British Guiana in 1892.[1]

Electoral system

The elections were held under the 1891 constitution, which provided for a 16-member Court of Policy, half of which was elected. The Court included the Governor, seven government officials (the Attorney General, the Government Secretary, the Immigration Agent General and the Receiver General, together with three other appointees). The eight elected members were elected from seven constituencies;[2] Demerara East, Demerara West, Essequebo North Western, Essequebo South Eastern, Berbice, City of Georgetown (2 members) and New Amsterdam.[3]

In addition, six "Financial Representatives" were also elected in six single member constituencies; Demerara, Essequebo North Western, Essequebo South Eastern, Berbice, Georgetown and New Amsterdam.[3] Together with the Court of Policy, the two groups formed the Combined Court.[2]

The franchise was restricted on the basis of a minimum income level, and women could not vote.[2]

Campaign

Partick Dargan, a coloured lawyer, ran a vibrant campaign, calling for free and liberal universal education and for civil service entrance to be based on competitive exams.[4] Two black lawyers, J A Murdock and W E Lewis also contested the elections.[4] Only three seats were contested.[5]

Results

No black candidates won a seat, whilst only two coloureds were elected; Dargan, Murdock and Lewis all failed to win seats.[4] The 14 elected members included seven planters, five merchants and two barristers.[6]

Constituency Elected member
Court of Policy
Demerara East E.C. Luard
Demerara West A. Barr
Essequebo North Western A.R. Gilzean
Essequebo South Eastern William Craigen
Berbice Andrew Hunter
City of Georgetown D.M. Hutson
A. Weber
New Amsterdam B.H. Stephens
Financial Representatives
Demerara G. Garnett
Essequebo North Western R.G. Duncan
Essequebo South Eastern H. McN. Greene
Berbice William Ingall
Georgetown J. Duke Smith
New Amsterdam N.R. McKinnon
Source: Clementi[7]

References

  1. ^ Nineteenth-Century British Guiana Library of Congress Country Studies
  2. ^ a b c Historical information events and dates on the Parliament of Guyana from 1718 to 2006 Parliament of Guyana
  3. ^ a b George D Bayley (1909) Handbook of British Guiana, 1909: Comprising General and Statistical Information Concerning the Colony, The Argosy, p158
  4. ^ a b c Political changes (1891-1917) Guyana.org
  5. ^ A. F. Madden (1985) Select Documents on the Constitutional History of the British Empire and Commonwealth: "The Empire of the Bretaignes," 1175-1688, Greenwood Publishing Group, p390
  6. ^ Constitutional Developments in British Guiana and Jamaica between 1890 and 1945 (Part 2) Stabroek News, 11 March 2010
  7. ^ Cecil Clementi (1937) A Constitutional History of British Guiana, p543
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