ABSTRACT
The Victorian Legislative Council elected in 1851 was a ‘mockery of representation’ and drafted a constitution which provided for property qualifications for both a Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council, including property qualifications for standing for election. This restricted radicals but others as well. Premier William Clark Haines removed the property qualifications for the Legislative Assembly in 1857 but retained unequal electoral districts. Property qualifications remained for elections to the Legislative Council, which led to periodic political crises as the Council rejected and amended legislation, such as payment of members and land reform, passed by the more democratic Legislative Assembly.
