A by-election was held for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly electorate of Ashfield on 26 September 1899 because Bernhard Wise (Protectionist) had been appointed Attorney General.
[1] Until 1904, members appointed to a ministerial position were required to face a by-election.
These were generally uncontested.
Of the nine ministers appointed with the formation of Lyne ministry, Ashfield and Hume (William Lyne) were the only electorates in which the by-election was contested.
[2]