4th Parliament of British Columbia


The 4th Legislative Assembly of British Columbia sat from 1882 to 1886. The members were elected in the British Columbia general election held in July 1882. Robert Beaven formed a minority government in 1882. The Beaven government fell on a Motion of no confidence in January 1883. William Smithe formed a new government later that month.
There were four sessions of the 4th Legislature:
SessionStartEnd
1stJanuary 25, 1883May 12, 1883
2ndDecember 3, 1883February 18, 1884
3rdJanuary 12, 1885March 9, 1885
4thJanuary 25, 1886April 6, 1886

John Andrew Mara served as speaker.

Members of the 4th Parliament

The following members were elected to the assembly in 1882:
MemberElectoral districtPartyFirst elected / previously electedNo.# of term
George CowanCaribooIndependent18773rd term-
Robert McLeeseCaribooGovernment18821st term-
Charles WilsonCaribooOpposition18821st term-
John GrantCassiarOpposition18821st term-
William Munro DingwallComoxGovernment18821st term-
William SmitheCowichanOpposition18714th term-
Hans Lars HelgesenEsquimaltGovernment18782nd term-
Charles Edward PooleyEsquimaltOpposition18821st term-
Robert Leslie Thomas GalbraithKootenayGovernment18773rd term-
Edward AllenLillooetOpposition18821st term-
Alexander Edmund Batson DavieLillooetOpposition1875, 18822nd term*-
Robert DunsmuirNanaimoOpposition18821st term-
William RaybouldNanaimoOpposition18821st term-
James OrrNew WestminsterOpposition18821st term-
John RobsonNew WestminsterOpposition1871, 18822nd term*-
William James ArmstrongNew Westminster CityGovernment1871, 18813rd term*-
James Cunningham New Westminster CityGovernment18841st term-
Robert Franklin JohnVictoriaOpposition18821st term-
George Archibald McTavishVictoriaOpposition18821st term-
Robert BeavenVictoria CityGovernment18714th term-
Theodore DavieVictoria CityOpposition18821st term-
Simeon DuckVictoria CityIndependent1871, 18822nd term*-
Montague William Tyrwhitt-DrakeVictoria CityOpposition18821st term-
Preston BennettYaleOpposition18782nd term-
John Andrew MaraYaleOpposition18714th term-
Charles Augustus SemlinYaleIndependent1871, 18822nd term*-
George Bohun Martin YaleOpposition18821st term-

By-elections

By-elections were held for the following members appointed to the provincial cabinet, as was required at the time:
By-elections were held to replace members for various other reasons:
Electoral districtMember electedElection dateReason
YaleGeorge Bohun MartinOctober 13, 1882death of P. Bennett on August 9, 1882
New Westminster CityJames CunninghamApril 21, 1884W.J. Armstrong appointed sheriff April 5, 1884