General elections were held in Fiji in June and July 1917.
Changes were made to the constitution on 20 July 1916, increasing the number of nominated members in the Legislative Council from 10 to 12; eleven were civil servants and the other had to be a British subject not holding public office.[1] [2] The number of elected Europeans remained at seven and the number of appointed Fijians at two. The Governor served as President of the Council.
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.[1]
| Constituency | Geographical area | Election date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern | Lau Province, Lomaiviti Province | 22 June | |
| Northern | Ba District, Colo North Province, Ra Province | 21 July | |
| Southern | Colo East Province, Kadavu Province, Naitasiri Province, Namosi Province, Rewa Province (except Suva), Serua Province, Tailevu Province | 23 June | |
| Suva | Suva Municipality | 21 July | |
| Bua Province, Cakaudrove Province, Macuata Province | |||
| Western | Colo West Province, Lautoka District, Nadi District, Nadroga Province | 20 July |
| Constituency | Candidate | Votes | % | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern | John Maynard Hedstrom | Unopposed | Re-elected | ||
| align=left rowspan=3 | Northern | Frederick Clapcott | 67 | 69.1 | Elected |
| Henry Lamb Kennedy | 30 | 30.9 | Unseated | ||
| Informal votes | 3 | – | |||
| Southern | Robert Crompton | Unopposed | Re-elected | ||
| align=left rowspan=4 | Suva | Henry Marks | 187 | 38.2 | Re-elected |
| Henry Milne Scott | 179 | 36.6 | Re-elected | ||
| Francis Reimenschneider | 123 | 25.2 | |||
| Informal votes | 2 | – | |||
| align=left rowspan=4 | Vanua Levu & Taveuni | Joseph MacKay | 78 | 51.0 | Elected |
| T.A. Montgomery | 70 | 45.8 | |||
| James McConnell | 5 | 3.3 | |||
| Informal votes | 3 | – | |||
| align=left rowspan=3 | Western | Reginald Harricks | 66 | 71.0 | Elected |
| Charles Wimbledon Thomas | 27 | 29.0 | Unseated | ||
| Informal votes | 1 | – | |||
| align=left colspan=5 | Source: Ali |
The nominated members were appointed on 3 August.
| Position | Member | |
|---|---|---|
| Governor (President) | Ernest Bickham Sweet-Escott | |
| Agent-General of Immigration | Robert Malcolm Booth | |
| Attorney General | Alfred Karney Young | |
| Chief Medical Officer | George Lynch | |
| Colonial Postmaster | Herbert Paul St. Julian | |
| Colonial Secretary | Eyre Hutson | |
| Commissioner of Lands | Dyson Blair | |
| Commissioner of Works | William Akerman Miller | |
| Receiver General | Richard Sims Donkin Rankine | |
| Registrar-General | Roger Green | |
| Secretary for Native Affairs | Kenneth Allardyce | |
| Superintendent of Agriculture | Charles Henry Knowles | |
| Representing Indo-Fijians | Badri Maharaj | |
| Fijian member | Joni Madraiwiwi I | |
| Fijian member | Joni Antonio Rabici | |
| Source: Fiji Blue Book[3] | ||
The results of the Vanua Levu and Taveuni seat were later annulled by the Supreme Court. As a result, a by-election was held in November 1917 which Joseph MacKay was again elected,[4] receiving 84 votes to the 50 of J. Harper received 50 votes and three for James McConnell.[5] However, MacKay died on 6 December.[4] John Francis Dyer was subsequently elected in the constituency in another by-election in 1919.[6]