A referendum on amalgamation with

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a self-governing British Crown colony in Southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally known as South ...

was held in

Northern Rhodesia Northern Rhodesia was a British protectorate in Southern Africa, now the independent country of Zambia. It was formed in 1911 by Amalgamation (politics), amalgamating the two earlier protectorates of Barotziland-North-Western Rhodesia and North ...

in February 1922 alongside Advisory Council elections.Michael Gelfand (1961) ''Northern Rhodesia in the days of the charter: medical and social study, 1878-1924'', Basil Blackwell, p140 The proposal was rejected by 82% of voters, who were generally in favour of the territory becoming a

Crown colony A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony governed by Kingdom of England, England, and then Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain or the United Kingdom within the English overseas possessions, English and later British Empire. There was usua ...

with a

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

Campaign

Amalgamation was supported by Francis Chaplin, who was Administrator of both Northern and Southern Rhodesia.Gelfand, pp140–141 Opponents included Leopold Moore, a prominent politician and Advisory Council member.

Results

Aftermath

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

was held in Southern Rhodesia in October, with voters offered the choices of

responsible government Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability, the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy. Governments (the equivalent of the executive br ...

or union with

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, with 60% voting for the former. In July 1923 the Advisory Council officially requested that Northern Rhodesia be made a Crown colony, and in early 1924 an

Order in Council An Order in Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom, this legislation is formally made in the name of the monarch by and with the advice and consent of the Privy Council ('' ...

was issued by the British Government, stating that the territory would get a

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

and Legislative Council.

Herbert Stanley Sir Herbert James Stanley, (25 July 1872 – 5 June 1955) was a leading British colonial administrator, who served at different times as Governor of Northern Rhodesia, Ceylon and Southern Rhodesia. Life and career Born in England, Stanley ...

became the territory's first Governor on 1 April 1924, and a Legislative Council was created in the same year. Its members were initially appointed, until the first elections were held in 1926.

References

{{Zambian elections 1922 in Northern Rhodesia

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

1922 referendums

1922 elections in the British Empire