South Australia - Politics
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There must be here less of Downing-Street regime; more of democratic influence. But to this effort the people must rouse themselves to political action. A false autocracy may sink this colony to perdition, but democratic institutions may elevate it to the very highest point of power and felicity.
(Adelaide Times, 26 June 1851, page 3b.)
- Country Party
- Elections
- Labo(u)r Party
- Legislative Council
- Liberalism and Conservatism(includes obituaries)
- Miscellany
- Morality in Parliament
- Party Politics
- Payment of Members
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Republicanism
- Socialism
Country Party
A letter expressing the need for the formation of a country party is in the Advertiser, 27 April 1893, page 6b:
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... the principal aim of which shall be to protect the much-neglected interests of the rural toilers [who] are the mainstay of the State, but owing principally to want of cohesion they have allowed themselves to be overborne by city cliques, who really live on them, and who now coolly propose to saddle them with the whole burden of taxation.
(Also see Advertiser, 29 April 1893, page 4e.)
A cartoon titled "The Independent Country Party - Leg-Roped by the Labor Party" is in The Critic,
10 October 1906, page 4; also see
17 October 1906, page 4.
"Farmers in Politics" is in the Advertiser,
24 February 1905, page 4c; also see
3 and 6 March 1905, pages 6c and 6g.
Information on the formation of the Progressive Country Party is in the Advertiser,
22 November 1920, page 6e,
Register,
27 January 1921, page 8d,
4 March 1921, page 6e.
An amusing poem appears in the Register, 25 March 1922, page 9d; the last verse reads:
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So join with us you country folk, Oh! join our little
show;
You see that we're a leading you with Bluster and with
Blow?
We're farmers of King William Street, we're squatters
bluff an' 'earty.
They used to call us scuttlers, but we're now the
"Country Party".
"Country Party in Politics" is in the Register,
11 December 1923, page 6d.
"The Country Party's Policy" is in the Advertiser,
11 March 1924, page 12e; also see
1 March 1927, page 12e,
31 May 1927, page 12g,
Register,
11 March 1924, page 8d.
"Widening the Breach" is in the Register,
2 May 1924, page 8d.
"The Country Party Split" is in the Advertiser,
15 and 21 February 1928, pages 12f and 17f,
"The Country Party and the Liberals" on
15 June 1928, page 11d.
"Country Party Will Stand Alone" is in the Register,
21 November 1929, page 3c.
Elections
Colonial and Municipal Elections
(Taken from Geoffrey H. Manning's A Colonial Experience)
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A man who, whether for a glass of beer or a five pound note, would sell his vote at the polling-booth is really as great a scoundrel as the legislator who would barter his in parliament.
(See Advertiser, 29 June 1881, page 4; 5, 20 and 29 July 1881, pages 4, 4 and 4.)
Introduction
Hurling a tirade of abuse at their opponents from the public platform and through the columns of the daily press, a flood of rhetoric, which left their supporters bewildered and fascinated - candidates in our earliest elections entered their campaigns with a spirit and vigour that has never been equalled.
Many broken heads and bleeding noses heralded election day and the celebration of success. There were riots and processions, free beer and flags flying, coloured ribbons and scathing advertisements, bitter personalities and open fights; and they were all accepted as part and parcel of elections which gave the colony some of its most brilliant legislators:
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To the lovers of election excitement, riot and debauchery, no doubt the method of nomination by letter, in a booth erected 'not less than one hundred yards from a public house' would be extremely unwelcome. But to the orderly portions of the citizens the new plan will be pronounced a vast improvement on the old. The proceedings of yesterday included no hooting, yelling, nor boisterous manifestations; no drinking, fighting, nor scuffling in the streets; no bitter taunts nor personal attacks; no stump oratory prolonged hour after hour in a burning sun; no farce of taking a 'show of hands', meaning nothing; but, on the contrary, a calm, quiet, and speedy discharge of a merely routine business.2
Men are prone to stoop to successful duplicity. Intrigue and stratagem are called a 'policy'. The only qualifications required for a Minister are want of principle and great cunning. It is of little importance that he is abhorred by the good and despised even by his own associates; has he talent? will he serve the cause? are the only questions. Office is made a bribe, exclusive privileges are granted to the dominant party. Party spirit wields the power of the province.
Three phases marked South Australia's legislative procedure and the last, introduced in 1857, still prevails; that is the method of voting by secret ballot. In this innovation South Australia set an example which was followed by democratic countries throughout the world.
When the colony was founded the governor had virtual dictatorship and he told the nominee Legislative Council what was good for the development of the colony and its settlers. His opinions were not always convincing, but they were accepted. Such a system was in force until 1851 when, after a great deal of discontent and criticism against the dictation of what to do and what not to do, a new constitution was granted by Queen Victoria.
The colonists were seething with excitement when it became known that the charter conferring the Constitution was to arrive in the Ascendant in January 1851. In many years of nomineeism the people had grown impatient to throw off its swaddling clothes and the apron strings of imperialism and to take a part in ruling itself:
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It is one of our great misfortunes to have a set of men in the Legislative Council as quasi representatives, with no fixed principles... We only quote the above as a means of showing how utterly worthless the opinions of any class of men upon any particular subject are, when they can thus don and doff them as inclination prompts, or as occasion and opportunity suit.
Imagine the disappointment, discontent and indignation when the good ship Ascendant reached our shores and the charter could not be found. There was an uproar in the dovecotes of officialdom, but it did little to pacify the enraged minds of the settlers. The vessel was searched from fore to aft, but there was no trace of the precious document. Finally, a steward remembered that he had shoved a piece of paper in the dirty linen bag in the captain's cabin for safety. It proved to be the charter. Under the new constitution the legislature was still committed to the one chamber but, of the 24 members of the Legislative Council, only eight were to be nominees. The birth of South Australia's first electoral system, and the first channel for giving expression to the will of its people, was announced as follows:
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Ordinance enacted by the Governor of South Australia with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council thereof.
To establish the Legislative Council of South Australia and to provide for the election of members to serve in same.
Whereas by an Act of the Imperial Parliament of Great Britain and Ireland passed in the session of the thirteenth and fourteenth years of the reign of Her Most Gracious Majesty Queen Victoria, entitled 'An Act for the Better Government of Her Majesty's Colonists', it was enacted that it should be lawful for the Legislature now by law established within the colony of South Australia... to establish within the said colony a Legislative Council... to be appointed by Her Majesty and elected by the inhabitants of the colony.
Electoral laws were then drawn up and provision included for an adjournment in the event of a riot. Nominations and elections were to be held on the same day. If there was only one candidate, then he would be elected. If more than one, then the election would be decided upon a show of hands. A poll could be demanded upon the request of a candidate or by not fewer than six electors on behalf of a candidate.
Every elector was entitled to vote by delivering to the returning officer a slip upon which he had recorded his name and the Christian and surname of his selected candidate. As these were received they were announced to the world at large and entered by an officer in the poll book similar to the method adopted in betting shops.
Better times seemed to be ahead for South Australia. The Register which had been one of the principal agitators for an electoral system, wrote at the time:
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We are laying the foundation of a new political and social State. We are deciding whether public opinion shall be taken as the source of legislative authority or whether the people are yet to be held in the leading strings of Imperial domination.
Public opinion had achieved its long-awaited ambition and all that remained was for the election to be held. The framers of the legislation in their foresight had provided for the possibility of a riot, but they could not have dreamed of the extreme steps the electioneering-mad section of the community would take.
For weeks before the election the newspaper columns were filled by prepaid election advertisements which abused every candidate and showed an utter disregard for the possibility of libel action. In appealing language, supporters attempted to exhort electors to cast their votes in favour of so and so.
In columns of dignified and precise language would-be legislators told how they had been approached to stand for the Council, how they had finally consented under pressure, and what reforms they would introduce for the betterment of the people, The appeals were made in English, German and Irish.
General Notes
"The Electoral Laws of SA" is in the Observer,
20 July 1850 (supp.).
"The Complete Suffrage League" is in the Observer,
26 October 1850, page 2d (supp.); also see
9 November 1850, page 4c (supp.),
28 December 1850, page 3c.
"German Electioneering Tactics" is in the SA Gazette & Mining Journal,
6 March 1851, page 3c,
"German Voters" on
21 June 1851, page 2d.
The following appears in the SA Gazette & Mining Journal, 29 May 1851, page 4b:
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The standard of intelligence with regard to the entire population is very low. Ignorant political demagogues, utterly unacquainted with the commonest rules of political economy, are likely to gain the ears and work upon the passions of an illiterate mob, which, uncontrolled by any educated upper class, is apt to run riot to a fearful degree... Greedy demagogues at the head of a clamorous mob are not calculated to frame sound fundamental laws...
"Open Voting versus the Ballot" is in the Register,
5 March 1851, page 2d,
"Vote by Ballot" on
26 and 27 August 1853, pages 2d and 2f,
8 and 10 September 1853, pages 2e and 2f.
"Electioneering in 1851" is in the Register,
6 June 1907, page 6h.
"Electioneering in the Early Days" is in the Express,
24 April 1902, page 2f.
Reminiscences of early elections are in the Observer,
31 December 1887, page 22a,
21 June 1902, page 31d.
"The Elections [in 1851 and 1855]" is in the Register,
27 September 1855, page 2d.
"Old Time Election [of 1853]" is in the Observer,
18 April 1914, page 53e.
Reminiscences of the first election are in the Register,
16 December 1887, page 7g.
"In the Fifties - A Port Adelaide Election" is in the Register,
9 June 1906, page 10f.
Statistics on Registered voters are in the Register,
23 June 1855, page 3a.
"Election Expenses" is in the Register,
10 August 1855, page 2c,
"Information for Electors" on
23 August 1855, page 2d.
"The Election Riot" is in the Observer,
29 September 1855, page 5h; also see
Register,
20 July 1900, page 3i.
"Old Time Elections - Riots in Early Days" is in The Mail,
7 November 1925, page 3a,
"Riot and Bitter Abuse in SA's First Election" on
15 September 1934, page 4,
"Bizarre Elections in State's Early Days" in The News,
10 December 1931, page 8d.
"The Riot Act - When It was Read in Adelaide" is in the Express,
17 October 1911, page 3d.
"The Rotten Borough of Light and Eyre" is in the Adelaide Times,
29 July 1853, page 3c.
"Election Expenses" is in the Observer,
11 August 1855, page 5b,
"Qualification for Voters" on
18 August 1855, page 5e.
"Elections and the Police" is in the Register,
28 September 1855, page 3d; the conduct of prostitutes during an election riot is also reported:
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While a most fearful breach of the peace was being committed, the police were quietly looking on and thereby encouraging [the riot].
Also see Police
"The Registration Act" is in the Observer,
22 and 29 September 1855, pages 4g and 6c,
"The Elections" on
29 September 1855, page 5e.
"The Dirty, Stinking Ballot" is in the Register on
3, 5 and 12 October 1855, pages 3d, 3b and 2c,
18 February 1856, page 2c,
"Election Riots" on
22, 24 and 28 September 1855, pages 2d, 3c and 5d.
"Elections and the Police" is in the Register,
28 September 1855, page 3d:
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While a most fearful breach of the peace was being committed, the police were quietly looking on and thereby encouraging [the riot].
"Confidence in the People" is in the Register,
17 October 1855, page 2d.
"The Proposed Electoral Districts" is in the Observer,
3 November 1855, page 1b (supp.).
"Electioneering Remuneration" is in the Register,
8 and 12 November 1855, pages 3b and 3f.
"The Proposed New Franchise" is in the Observer,
10 November 1855, page 6b,
"Voting Through the Post Office" on
15 December 1855, page 1d (supp.),
"Electoral Registration" on
26 July 1856, page 6a.
"The Conduct of Elections" is in the Register,
28 February 1856, page 2b.
"Disputed Elections" is in the Register,
1 December 1855, page 2d,
"Electoral Reform" on
5 December 1855, page 2d,
"The Anti-Nomination Movement" on
6, 20 and 21 December 1855, pages 2b, 2b and 3c,
"Voting Through the Post Office" on
10 December 1855, page 2e,
"The Electoral Law Bill" on
8 January 1856, page 2b,
"The Electoral Districts on
5 and 11 March 1856, pages 2c and 2c.
"The Conduct of Elections" is in the Register,
28 February 1856, page 2b and
29 August 1856, page 2c:
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A candidate is trotted about the district from one public house to another..., to meet very often the same body of electors, and to be badgered and insulted by perhaps the most worthless and least influential men in the district. Timid men shrink from this ordeal, and their services are consequently, in many cases, lost to the country...
"The Elections" is in the Register,
24 November 1856, page 2d,
29 December 1856, page 2e.
"Disputed Returns" is in the Observer,
1 March 1856, page 5e,
"Register, Register, Register" on
24 and 31 May 1856, pages 5a and 5c-6a,
12 March 1859, page 6a,
"Qualify! Qualify! Qualify!" on
21 June 1856, page 5d,
Register,
27 May 1856, page 2e.
"The Qualification of Electors" is in the Register,
16 June 1856, page 2f.
"The Conduct of Elections" is in the Observer,
30 August 1856, page 5d; also see
6 September 1856, page 6c,
"The Electoral Rolls" on
13 September 1856, pages 5d-6a,
"Electoral Law: The New and Old Acts" on
20 September 1856, page 6b,
"The New Constituencies" on
25 October 1856, page 6d.
"Amendment of the Electoral Laws" is in the Observer,
13 December 1856, pages 5c-6a,
"How Not to Do It" on
20 December 1856, page 6c:
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The horror which old-fashioned politicians feel with regard to universal suffrage is about the most gratuitous piece of self-reflection ever perpetrated by fear or folly. The surest way to tie the hands and shut the mouths of the community is to give everybody unbounded licence to say what he likes and do what he pleases.
An editorial on elections is in the Register, 24 February 1857, page 2d:
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To the lovers of election excitement, riot and debauchery, no doubt the method of nomination by letter, in a booth erected "not less than one hundred yards from a public house' would be extremely unwelcome. But to the orderly portions of the citizens the new plan will be pronounced a vast improvement on the old. The proceedings of yesterday included no hooting, yelling, nor boisterous manifestations; no drinking, fighting, nor scuffling in the streets; no bitter taunts nor personal attacks; no stump oratory prolonged hour after hour in a burning sun; no farce of taking a "show of hands", meaning nothing; but, on the contrary, a calm, quiet, and speedy discharge of a merely routine business.
"The Parliamentary Elections" is in the Register,
9 and 10 March 1857, pages 2c and 2d.
"The Parliamentary Elections" is in the Register,
9 and 10 March 1857, pages 2c and 2d.
"Old-Time Elections" is in the Register,
16 April 1910, page 15h,
"A Peep Into the Past - Old-Time Elections" is in the Advertiser,
21 April 1916, page 9a.
Polling days at Port Adelaide and West Torrens are described in the Register,
10 March 1857, page 3a.
"The Barossa Election" is in the Register,
12, 19 and 31 March 1857, pages 2c, 2g and 2h,
10, 11 and 16 April 1857, pages 2f, 2e and 2c-g,
6 and 8 May 1857, pages 3c and 2c,
6 and 22 June 1857, pages 2d and 3b.
"State of the Electoral Law" is in the Observer,
7 November 1857, page 6b,
"The New Electoral Bill" on
5 December 1857, page 6a,
23 January 1858, page 1c (supp.),
6 March 1858, page 6a,
"The Amendment of the Electoral Act" on
11 May 1861, page 6d,
24 August 1861, page 6d,
9 November 1861, page 6d.
"The Farce of Popular Election" is in the Register,
14 January 1858, page 2c,
Observer,
16 and 23 January 1858, pages 6b and 6a.
"The New Electoral Law" is in the Register,
2 March 1858, page 2f,
"The Elective Franchise" on
10 July 1858, page 3e.
"Electoral Registration" is in the Observer,
15 January 1859, page 6e,
19 and 26 March 1859, pages 6a and 5a.
The Advertiser of
9 April 1859 has an editorial on the plight of colonial working men together with further comment on
12 April 1859, pages 2e and 3a:
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The cause of labour is that of the nation, and the remonstrations of working men must be listened to, and will be all the more likely to be attended to when moderation of language is observed, and when habitual grievances are unfolded without the disturbing influences of personal attacks and class denunciation.
Let the working man Register his vote; and the day is not far distant when he will have an opportunity to use it in choosing honest men to represent him... and prevent the public money being squandered away in pensions and unnecessary emigrants. Agitate! Agitate! Without it you will obtain no lasting good.
"The Ballot" is in the Observer,
14 May 1859, page 5h,
"The Electoral Act" on
25 June 1859, page 6d:
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Some of its evils have forced themselves so prominently into view that it has been impossible to overlook them... The constituency voting is not the living acting men of the day, but the remnant of those who fifteen or eighteen months before constituted the true electoral population... Scores of men who, by the theory of the Constitution are entitled to vote, retire indignant from the polling booth, because the arbitary and altogether needless requirements of the Electoral Act had deprived them of their rights.
(Also see Observer,
2 July 1859, page 1b (supp.),
13 August 1859, page 1b (supp.).
"The New Electoral Act" is in the Chronicle,
8 October 1859, page 2d,
"The Elections" in the Observer,
28 January 1860, page 5a,
"The Electoral Law" on
19 April 1862, page 1b (supp.),
"The Electoral Act" on
13 September 1862, page 1a (supp.),
13 December 1862, page 6c,
17 January 1863, page 5e,
24 September 1864, page 2f (supp.),
Register,
8 December 1862, page 2f,
16 January 1863, page 2e.
"Election Memoranda" is in the Register,
29 February 1860, page 2g,
"Fair Play" on
3 March 1860, page 2f,
"The Port Election" on
19 and 29 March 1860, pages 2g and 2f,
"The Elections" on
28 April 1862, page 2h.
"Universal Suffrage" is in the Chronicle,
18 February 1860, page 4a,
14 April 1860, page 1b (supp.).
"The Electoral Act" is in the Register,
8 September 1862, page 2e.
"Priestly Interference at the Mt Barker Election" is in the Register,
26, 28 and 29 November 1862, pages 2e, 2c and 2f,
"Religious Interference at Elections" is in the Express,
3 and 8 December 1874, pages 2b and 2b.
"New Electoral Rolls" is in the Observer,
6 February 1864, page 5c,
"The Elections" on
24 December 1864, page 6c,
"Legislative Council Election" on
4 and 18 February 1865, pages 5f and 6b.
"The Farmers and the Elections" is in the Observer,
4 February 1865, page 1e (supp.).
"Schoolmasters and Elections" is in the Chronicle,
25 February 1865, page 2b,
4 March 1865, page 3g.
"Election Oddities" is in the Chronicle,
25 March 1865, page 4b.
"Electors Who Will Not Vote" is in the Register,
22 April 1865, page 2e.
"Plumping" is discussed in the Register,
1 March 1865, pages 2e-3a,
Chronicle,
11 April 1896, page 31c,
Weekly Herald,
17 April 1896, page 4d,
"The Premier on Plumping" is in the Register,
9 May 1899, page 6f.
"Informal Votes" is in the Observer,
25 March 1865, page 5g,
"Electors Who Will Not Vote" on
29 April 1865, page 6b,
"Electoral Laws" on 22 July 1865, page 6h.
"Some Old Election Placards" is in the Advertiser,
26 September 1917, page 9a.
Legislative Council elections are discussed in the Advertiser,
1 and 4 August 1866, pages 2e and 2e,
Express,
3 August 1866, page 2a,
Register,
6 February 1869, page 2d,
Observer,
22 September 1866, page 6a,
13 February 1869, page 12d,
Advertiser,
16 March 1894, page 4e.
"The Electoral Act" is in the Register,
15 November 1866, page 2b.
"Electoral Inequalities" is in the Express,
20 December 1866, page 2d.
"Hare's System" is discussed in the Observer,
6 December 1862, page 2e (supp.),
"Hare's Modified System of Voting" is in the Register,
8 March 1867, page 2e,
9 and 23 March 1869, pages 2c and 2c,
Observer,
30 March 1867, page 6g,
"Our Electoral System and Mr Hare's" on
3 April 1869, page 10d; also see
11 September 1869, page 3a under "Triangular Constituencies",
Register,
12 December 1871, page 4e,
21 May 1890, page 5d.
An obit of C.S. Hare is in the Register,
24 July 1882, page 5g,
Chronicle,
29 July 1882, page 7f.
"Political Pugilism at the Hotel Europe" is in the Register,
27 January 1868, page 2d.
"Electoral Reform" is in the Register,
2 May 1868, page 2e,
Observer,
2 May 1868, page 3b,
"A Lesson in Electioneering" on
15 August 1868, page 4g,
"Bribery at Elections" on
13 February 1869, page 12d,
Express,
24 September 1874, page 2c.
"The Franchise in 1867" is in the Register,
5 December 1868, page 2f.
In 1870 an irate citizen rose in anger against the alleged nefarious practice of candidates for parliament providing "Beer at Elections":
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I am sure that no right thinking person can have witnessed the scenes of riot and debauchery... without seriously considering that the time has come for more stringent legislation... [The beer] "steals away their brains" and reduce[s] them below the level of the brute creation... Wealthy men make the bodies and souls of their fellow-creatures stepping stones to position or power... In God's name, let us tear aside the mask that hides so much deformity under so fair an exterior as our bribery clause... At the risk of bringing a hornet's nest of publicans ... about my ears, I must raise my feeble protest against this great evil...
(Register,
14 April 1870, page 5d.
A cartoon on the subject of liquor at elections is in The Lantern,
2 April 1887, page 21 and
The Adelaide Punch,
13 April 1878, page 12.)
"A Nice Point of Electoral Law" is in the Observer,
30 April 1870, page 3a,
"The New Electoral Law" on
1 October 1870, page 4a.
"New Electoral Bill" is in the Chronicle,
23 September 1871, page 9d (includes list of polling places),
"Australian Reports on the Ballot" in the Observer,
2 September 1871, page 13d,
"Revision of the Electoral Districts" on
23 September 1871, page 13c,
"Electoral Eccentricities" on
14 October 1871, page 7f.
Information on elections is in the Observer,
30 September 1871, page 14d,
9 December 1871, page 2f.
"Electoral Districts" is in the Observer,
25 November 1871, page 3e,
"What Elections Cost" on
25 November 1871, page 3g.
"The Proposed Electoral Districts" is in the Observer,
29 June 1872, page 13e,
3 and 24 August 1872, pages 2g and 12e,
2 November 1872, page 13a,
"The Electoral Districts Act" on
3 May 1873, page 3b.
"The New Electoral Act" is in the Observer,
28 June 1873, page 13a,
12 July 1873, page 3a,
"The New Electoral Roll" on
24 January 1874, page 3a,
21 February 1874, pages 3a and 13b.
"The Electoral Districts" is in the Register,
2, 16 and 17 August 1872, pages 4e, 4d and 4e,
31 October 1872, page 4d.
"Proportional Representation" is in the Observer,
7 September 1872, page 12c,
Register, 27 May 1884, page 4e,
17 January 1907, page 8f,
4 February 1908, page 7d,
Advertiser,
13 August 1898, page 6e,
8 June 1905, page 9b,
"Preferential Voting" on
16 September 1908, page 6d,
"Proportional Voting" on
27 March 1927, page 15g.
"Religious Interference at Elections" is in the Express,
3 and 8 December 1874, pages 2b and 2b.
An editorial on electioneering tricks is in the Advertiser,
8 June 1875, page 2b and on informal votes on
18 December 1877, page 4d.
"Purity of Elections" is in The Irish Harp,
11 June 1875, page 4a.
"Manhood Suffrage in Jeopardy" is in the Farmers Weekly Messenger,
10 August 1877, page 2c,
"Adult Suffrage" in the Weekly Herald,
11 January 1895, page 4a,
"Household Suffrage" on
8 April 1899, page 3a,
15 April 1899, page 6c.
"Legislative Council Elections" is in the Register,
31 January 1877, page 4d,
3, 13, 15 and 27 February 1877, pages 4d, 5f, 6d and 4d,
2 April 1877, page 4d,
25 April 1882, pages 4c-1a (supp.),
10, 11 and 26 May 1882, pages 4c, 4f and 4d,
Observer,
3 and 10 February 1877, pages 13a and 12f,
3 March 1877, page 13c,
21 April 1877, page 12g,
17 August 1878, page 2g,
21 September 1878, page 10c,
Register,
7 April 1882, page 4d.
"The Cost of Electioneering" is in the Observer,
5 May 1877, page 7a,
"Electoral Districts Bill" on
16 June 1877, page 13a,
Register,
13 July 1877, page 4d,
"The Electoral Rolls" on
23 February 1878, page 10g.
"The Forthcoming Elections" is in the Register,
28 February 1878, page 2d.
"The Licensed Victuallers and the Elections" is in the Observer,
9 March 1878, page 10b.
"Electoral Reform" is in the Observer,
24 August 1878, page 11g,
"The Electoral Bill" on
28 June 1879, page 12f.
"The Electoral Bill" is in the Register,
21 and 25 June 1879, pages 4d and 4d,
13 August 1879, pages 4e-6d,
13 and 24 October 1879, pages 4d and 4f,
"The Electoral Districts Bill" on
8, 9 and 16 June 1880, pages 4e, 4f and 4e,
2 July 1880, page 4e,
16 July 1880, pages 4f-5c,
4 August 1880, page 4d,
29 September 1880, page 4c.
"Equality of Representation" is in the Observer,
26 July 1879, page 12e; also see
9 and 16 August 1879, pages 12b and 13b,
6 September 1879, page 13a,
18 October 1879, page 13b.
"Electoral Reform" is in the Register,
17 and 19 August 1878, pages 4d and 4d,
Observer,
1 May 1880, page 724d,
12 June 1880, page 964c,
3 July 1880, page 20c.
"Disenfranchised Electors" is in the Register,
13 August 1880, page 4e.
"An Election Dispute" is in the Observer,
21 August 1880, page 316c.
"Bribery and the Ballot" is in the Register,
3 December 1880, page 4f.
"The Coming Elections and Manhood Suffrage" is in the Register,
3 January 1881, page 7a.
"The Census" is in the Register,
8 February 1881, page 4c,
2 April 1881, page 4e,
7 May 1881, page 4e.
"The Elections" is in the Register,
11 February 1881, page 4e,
1 April 1881, page 4f.
A bribery and corruption case before the Court of Disputed Returns is discussed in the Advertiser,
29 June 1881, page 4f,
5, 20 and 29 July 1881, pages 4d, 4e and 4f:
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A man who, whether for a glass of beer or a five pound note, would sell his vote at the polling-booth is really as great a scoundrel as the legislator who would barter his in parliament.
(Also see Observer,
30 July 1881, page 24d,
Advertiser,
16 May 1882, page 4f.)
"The Electoral Law" is in the Register,
7 July 1882, page 4f.
"The Assembly Electoral Districts" is in the Register,
11 July 1882, page 4c.
"How to Wield the Ballot" is in the Register,
11 September 1883, page 4e.
"Candidates and Their Creeds" is in the Register,
31 March 1884, page 4d.
"Public Works and the Election" is in the Register,
2 April 1884, page 4d.
"The Elections and the Electoral Law" is in the Register,
28 April 1884, page 4e,
"Electoral Rolls" on
30 April 1884, page 4d.
Compulsory voting is discussed in the Register,
27 August 1885, page 5a,
2 June 1904, page 6h,
8 July 1904, page 7c,
24 May 1927, page 8d,
"Why Compel People to Vote?" is in the Advertiser,
12 September 1928, page 16i,
"Compulsory Voting and Informality" on
6 December 1928, page 12g,
"Making the Duty of Voting Compulsory" in The News,
24 August 1933, page 8c; also see
12 February 1934, page 4d.
The origin of the secret ballot is discussed in the Register,
6 October 1925, page 8d and
compulsory voting on
13 April 1926, page 8d.
"Bribery at the Sturt Election" is in the Register,
28 August 1885, page 5a,
4 September 1885, page 7d.
"A Chat About Elections" is in the Register,
26 January 1887, page 6c; also see
1 and 2 February 1887, pages 7c and 4e.
Sketches are in the Pictorial Australian
in March 1883, page 41, March 1887, page 33.
"On Voting at Elections" is in the Chronicle,
29 March 1884, page 5a.
A letter headed "Political Candidates" is in the Register, 15 May 1886, page 7f:
-
Until our Bribery Act is somewhat enlarged, and more importantly still, faithfully enforced, we shall never receive fair and equitable representation... If we "free and independent voters" tolerate electioneering chicanery, or allow ourselves to be cajoled by paid agents, or, worse still, by butchers of colonial beer (as was said to have been done at a recent election) then we ought, like miserable sinners, to bear the consequence without complaint until we mend our ways...
(Note: The reference to "butchers" of beer disproves the suggestion that the name was bestowed in 1913 in relation to workers in the butchery trade who "found the pint too big and the pony too small, so my father created the ""butcher"" of 13 ounces...". See Advertiser, "What's Your Problem" column, 20 July 1991 and South Australia - Social Matters - Temperance and Allied Matters - Miscellany and Adelaide - Hotels and Lodging Houses.
"A Chat About the Elections" is in the Observer,
29 January 1887, page 33a,
5 February 1887, page 24c.
Pen pictures of candidates are in the Observer,
9 April 1887, page 19c.
"Electoral Dishonesty" is in the Observer,
23 April 1887, page 28c.
"Conveying Voters to the Poll" is in the Register,
12 May 1888, page 6b.
"The Electoral Bill" is in the Register,
31 October 1888, page 4f,
15 August 1889, page 4e,
17 September 1889, page 4h,
12 October 1889, page 4f,
Observer, 17 August 1889, page 24e.
"Election Cries" is in the Register,
26, 27, 28 and 31 March 1890, pages 4e, 4e, 4f and 4h,
"The Elections" on
9, 10 and 26 April 1890, pages 4f, 4e and 7c.
"The Electoral Laws" is in the Observer,
8 August 1891, page 24e.
"Mock Election - The Transferable Vote" is in the Express,
4 May 1892, page 3f.
"The Electoral Districts" is in the Register,
31 July 1891, page 4e,
1 August 1891, page 4e,
Observer,
1 August 1891, pages 25a-31a.
Editorials on the Single Electorates Bill are in the Advertiser,
30 July 1891, page 4d,
1 August 1891, page 4c; also see
18 February 1892, page 5f,
12 March 1892, page 6g,
6 and 18 May 1892, pages 4d-6b and 7d,
24 September 1903, page 4d,
28 September 1909, page 6d,
5 September 1912, page 8e.
"The Absent Voters System" is in the Observer,
23 May 1896, page 24e.
"Effective Voting" is in the Register,
10 March 1892, page 7b,
4 and 6 May 1892, pages 4f-6e and 4h-7a,
11 March 1893, pages 4g-6b.
"A Test of Effective Voting" is in the Observer,
20 August 1892, page 34a,
19 and 26 October 1895, pages 42d and 43d.
An address given by C.H. Spence entitled "Effective Voting" is in the Advertiser,
9 February 1893, page 6e,
Chronicle,
18 March 1893, pages 4f-8e; also see
Advertiser,
12 May 1893, page 3g,
22 May 1893, page 4e,
13 December 1894, page 5g,
12 October 1895, page 4h,
18 January 1897, page 3i,
20 July 1897, page 6e,
Register,
12 May 1896, page 5g,
22, 29 and 30 September 1899, pages 4e-6g, 6i and 4c,
Weekly Herald,
20 May 1899, page 8a.
"Effective Voting" is in the Observer,
18 March 1893, page 33e,
"Parliamentary Elections" on
15 April 1893, page 29b.
"The Social Side of Elections" is in the Register,
27 March 1893, page 4g.
"Purity of Elections" is in the Register,
7 July 1892, page 4f.
"Politics and the Coming Elections" is in the Register,
13 March 1894, page 4g.
"Some Curiosities of the Electoral Law" is in the Register,
12 April 1894, page 4f.
"Peculiar Election Tactics" is in the Register,
26 April 1894, pages 4g-5b.
"The Electoral Laws" is in the Register,
17 October 1894, page 5a.
"The Elections" is in the Register,
25, 27 and 28 April 1896, pages 4g-6h, 4e and 4f.
"The Absent Voters System" is in the Observer,
23 May 1896, page 24e.
"Election Day" and "Election Night in Adelaide" are in the Register,
24 May 1897, page 5b.
"The Right to Vote" is in the Register,
22 September 1898, page 4f.
"How Should We Vote", by C.H. Spence, is in the Register,
23 August 1899, page 6d,
Observer,
26 August 1899, page 15c,
30 September 1899, page 54b,
"Who Has the Right to Vote?" on
2 March 1901, page 24e.
Also see Advertiser,
28 July 1900, page 9e,
16 August 1900, page 4e,
5 August 1901, pages 4b-8a,
15 September 1902, pages 4c-5g,
8 October 1902, page 4d,
16 July 1903, page 4d,
8 June 1905, page 6c,
19 August 1908, page 8d,
29 September 1908, page 6d,
2 November 1908, page 10e,
11, 13, 18 and 21 May 1909, pages 9d, 9c, 9d and 8f.
-
The larger the party the less definite it must become, and the greater the tendency to the development of conflicting groups within it. There cannot, in short, be only two parties unless the political education of the individual is to be arrested, and all policy and tactics decided by a few despotic leaders. Two party arrangements are artificial and unreal, as drawing a veil over the divergencies in opinion and belief which they do not destroy, and which they could not destroy without at the same time destroying the freedom and variety of intellectual life that are the glory of every progressive nation. The two-party system is the quack remedy for these evils to which proportional representation ought to be applied.
(Advertiser, 27 August 1909, page 4c.)
"Alleged Stuffing of a Roll" is in the Register,
30 October 1900, page 7g.
"Will Women Vote?" is in the Register,
22 April 1902, page 4c.
"Will Electors Vote?" is in the Register,
3 May 1902, page 4c.
"The Duty of Voting" is in the Register,
2 December 1904, page 4e.
"At the Town Hall Polling Booth" is in The Herald,
2 February 1907, page 10a.
Also see Advertiser,
13 March 1912, page 8e,
18 May 1912, page 18e,
29 August 1912, page 8e,
14 October 1912, page 11e,
30 August 1913, page 23a.
"The Electoral Scandals" is in the Observer,
14 June 1913, page 46a.
"Working Men and the Elections" is in the Advertiser
on 14 March 1893, page 6h.
An obituary of W.R. Boothby, returning officer, is in the Observer,
22 April 1893, page 33b.
"Announcing the Results - The Scene in Grenfell Street" is in the Observer,
22 April 1893, page 39a.
"Incidents of the Election Campaign" is in the Observer,
22 April 1893, page 41c,
"Some Curiosities of the Electoral Law" on
14 April 1894, page 24e.
"Election Methods" is in the Advertiser,
13 February 1895, page 4f,
"Disputed Election" on
20 June 1896, page 4e.
"Lessons of the Recent Elections" on
5 May 1899, page 7d,
"Electoral Expenditure" on
2 June 1899, page 4e.
Proportional representation is discussed in the Advertiser,
13 August 1898, page 6e,
"Preferential Voting" on
16 September 1908, page 6d,
"Proportional Representation" on
8 June 1905, page 9b,
"Mr Boothby on Effective Voting" is in the Advertiser,
22 September 1899, page 4e; also see
27, 29 and 30 September 1899, pages 5g, 6g and 8b.
"King O'Malley - A Personal Explanation" is in the Observer,
31 July 1897, page 15d.
"Memorable Election - Defeat of King O'Malley" is in The News,
1 November 1927, page 8g.
"The Talk Ceases" is in the Register,
27 April 1899, page 4e,
1 and 5 May 1899, pages 4d and 4e.
Biographical details of W.H. Carpenter, Alexander McDonald, John Miller, James McLachlan, J.T. Morris and E.A. Roberts are in the Register,
2 May 1899, page 7,
of R.W. Foster on
4 May 1899, page 6d.
"How the People Vote - The Legislative Council Rolls" is in the Advertiser,
3 October 1900, page 5h.
A photograph of the Advance Election Board is in the Chronicle,
17 May 1902, page 41.
Compulsory voting is discussed in the Register,
8 July 1904, page 7c,
"Why Compel People to Vote?" is in the Advertiser,
12 September 1928, page 16i,
"Compulsory Voting and Informality" on
6 December 1928, page 12g,
"Making the Duty of Voting Compulsory" in The News,
24 August 1933, page 8c; also see
12 February 1934, page 4d.
A cartoon on State elections is in The Critic,
26 April 1902, page 17,
15 March 1905, page 15,
3 May 1905, page 5.
"Are Voters Awakening?" is in the Observer,
25 June 1904, page 27d.
"Are Voters Awakening?" is in the Observer,
25 June 1904, page 27d.
"An Electoral Burlesque" is in the Register,
28 October 1904, pages 4d-5i.
"Plural Voting" is discussed in the Advertiser,
10 December 1904, page 5f,
"Electoral Reform" on
2 August 1906, page 6c,
10 June 1907, page 6d,
Register,
24 June 1915, page 6b,
12 and 13 April 1921, pages 6c and 2h.
"Conducting Elections - Criticising the Machinery" is in the Register,
30 May 1905, page 6h.
"Elections in the Back Blocks" is in the Observer,
17 and 24 June 1905, pages 34a and 27d.
"Lesson of the Elections" is in the Register,
8 June 1905, page 7d,
Observer,
17 June 1905, page 37a.
"Voting Machines" is in the Register,
2 November 1907, page 5d.
"Formal or Informal Votes" is in the Advertiser,
13 February 1908, page 11f
"Politicians, Sinners and Others" is in the Register,
13 February 1908, page 4c.
"People at Work - The Legislator" is in the Register,
4 March 1908, page 6b.
"Humours of the Election" is in the Register,
17 February 1908, page 4e.
"Effective Voting" is in the Register,
30 September 1908, page 5a,
2 November 1908, page 4g-h,
27 August 1909, page 4c,
28 July 1910, page 6d,
28 October 1910, page 8g (historical information),
"Effective Voting - Test Election" in the Observer,
11 September 1909, page 51a; also see
Register,
6 March 1912, pages 8d-10a.
"Old Time Elections" is in the Register on
16 April 1910, page 15h,
Observer,
23 April 1910, page 45c,
Advertiser,
6 January 1932, page 8g,
"An Old Time Election" in the Register,
11 April 1914, page 12b.
"Disturbances at Election Meetings" is in the Register,
20 July 1911, page 8e.
Cartoons are in The Critic,
30 March 1901, page 3.
"Alleged Roll-Stuffing" is in the Register,
1, 2, 4, 10 and 14 August 1911, pages 6a, 3g, 4e, 8e and 8e.
"Roll-Stuffing Frauds" is in the Observer,
11 November 1911, page 34e,
"Electoral Irregularities" is in the Advertiser,
9 November 1911, page 8d,
"Stuffed Rolls and Legal Fraud" in the Register,
16 and 17 February 1912, pages 4d-5f and 3g.
"The Council Election" is in the Register,
4 and 8 August 1911, pages 4c and 6d-7h.
Biographical details of O.H. Schomburgk are in the Register,
30 September 1911, page 15b.
"The Election Irregularities" is in the Register,
5 January 1912, page 5c.
"Ultra-Socialists" and the Election" is in the Register,
8 January 1912, page 4c.
"Lessons From the Socialist Parliament" is in the Register,
10 January 1912, page 6c,
"Socialist Aims and Tactics" on
22 January 1912, page 6c, Dangers of Socialism" on
26 January 1912, page 6c,
"Adventures in Socialism" on
2 and 5 February 1912, pages 4d and 6c.
"Liberty or Bondage" is in the Register,
7, 8 and 10 February 1912, pages 6e, 4c and 12d.
"The Elections and the Register" is in the Register,
15 January 1912, page 6b,
Observer,
20 January 1912, page 34c,
"Rounds of the Fight" on
17 February 1912, page 49a.
"Interfering With the Electoral Code" is in the Register,
20 January 1912, page 12f.
"Nomination Day" is in the Register,
25 January 1912, page 6c.
"Electoral Enquiry - Alleged Ministerial Interference" is in the Register,
1 May 1912, page 9a.
"Effective Voting" is in the Register,
14 May 1912, page 4d,
6 July 1912, page 8f,
14, 22 and 26 August 1912, pages 8f, 6d and 10h,
9 September 1912, page 6d,
14 October 1912, page 6c,
Observer,
6 and 27 September 1913, pages 50a and 40a,
3 October 1914, page 23d,
Register,
28 August 1915, page 8h,
24 November 1916, page 4g,
1 February 1918, page 4c.
"An Electoral Scheme" is in the Register,
24 October 1912, page 6c.
"The Murray Election" is in the Register,
22 and 28 November 1912, pages 12e and 6c.
"Incidents at the Polls" is in the Register,
2 June 1913, page 12h; also see
7 June 1913, page 14d.
"State Elections" is in the Register,
18 November 1914, page 6b.
"The Premier and State Elections" is in the Register,
20 January 1915, page 6b.
"Freedom or Fetters? - Which Will You Choose?" is in the Register,
12 March 1915, page 7a.
"State Elections - Socialist Tactics" is in the Observer,
13 February 1915, page 29c; also see
Register,
29 March 1915, pages 6b-8a,
1 April 1915, page 6b.
"Rallying the Electors" is in the Register,
6 March 1918, page 6c.
"Do Not Split Votes or Plump" is in the Register,
4 April 1918, page 4b.
"State Elections and Tiredness" is in the Observer,
16 and 30 March 1918, pages 29e and 27d,
6 April 1918, page 27e.
"The Australian Ballot - Pioneered by South Australia" is in the Register,
26 July 1918, page 5a.
"Electoral Justice" is in the Advertiser,
12 June 1919, page 4e.
Prior to an election in 1921 the Register of 5 April 1921, page 4c
under the heading "Shall Rule by the People be Abolished" says, inter alia:
-
If the Socialists win, the fundamental requirements and safeguards of the Constitution [of South Australia] will practically cease to exist, and, in the Assembly, at least, the administration of the affairs of State will be decided... by possibly one man in a junta of outsiders elected in no sense by the people... "Shall we help the Socialists... to smash the Constitution for which our fathers fought so valiantly, or shall we demand by our votes a continuance of safe and well-ordered government?"
Official Labour, or, at least, its formidable and aggressive left wing, must be deemed utterly unfit to be trusted with the rein of office in a loyal British State.
(Register, 7 April 1921, page 6e.)
"Proposed Electoral Reform" is in the Register,
3 and 5 September 1924, pages 10e-13g and 10c.
"Electioneering by Wireless" is in the Register,
14 October 1924, page 7a.
"Electoral Reform" is in the Advertiser,
5 December 1924, page 12h,
"Electoral Boundaries" on
23 November 1927, pages 12h-13f.
"A Defamatory Pamphlet" is in the Register,
24, 28 and 31 May 1927, pages 11e, 9f and 9c,
4, 6 and 16 July 1927, pages 8f, 10f and 10g.
"Experiences at the Polls" is in the Observer,
24 November 1928, page 48c.
"The Informal Voter" is in the Register,
26 November 1928, page 8d.
"Desecrating the Ballot Box" is in the Register,
16 August 1929, page 6c.
"Altering the Electoral Laws" is in the Advertiser,
10 and 18 September 1929, pages 12g and 12f,
3 October 1929, page 14f.
"Outcry Against Preferential Voting System" is in the Register,
8 April 1930, page 3a.
"State Voting Systems - Where South Australia Differs" is discussed in the Advertiser,
29 April 1933, page 14i,
"Old Time Campaigning" on
3 May 1933, page 16h.
"Single Electorates Likely" is in The Mail,
23 and 30 May 1936, pages 1d and 2d.
"Farce and Drama of Elections [in the 1880s]" is in the Chronicle,
19 August 1937, page 47.
