1874 Victorian colonial election

1874 Victorian colonial election

← 1871 25 March to 22 April 1874 1877 →
All 78 seats in the Victorian Legislative Assembly 40 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party   Leader James Francis James Grant Party Constitutionalist Liberal Leader's seat Richmond Avoca Seats won 31 37 Percentage 27.47 24.8
Premier before election James Francis Constitutionalist Elected Premier James Francis Constitutionalist

The 1874 Victorian colonial election was held from 25 March to 22 April 1874 to elect the 8th Parliament of Victoria. All 78 seats in 49 electorates in the Legislative Assembly were up for election, though eleven seats were uncontested.^[1]

There were 24 single-member, 21 two-member and 4 three-member electorates.^[1]

The Premier James Francis fought the 1874 general election on a proposition for constitutional reform to settle disputes between the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council by joint sittings.^[2] After the inconclusive election results became known, the editorial in The Argus commented: "In no one case does it appear that the proposed scheme of constitutional reform exercised any material effect upon the decision of the constituencies".^[3] Although Francis continued as Premier after the election, the results precluded any prospect of passing the constitutional reform he had advocated.^[2][4]