1879 New Zealand general election

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All 88 seats in the New Zealand House of Representatives
Turnout 66.5%
  First party
  Sir John Hall, ca 1880.jpg
Leader John Hall
Party Independent
Leader's seat Selwyn
Last election 88 seats
Seats won 88
Seat change Steady
Popular vote N/A
Percentage N/A
Swing N/A
Prime Minister before election

George Grey
Independent

 Prime Minister-designate

John Hall
Independent

The New Zealand general election of 1879 was held between 28 August and 15 September 1879 to elect a total of 88 MPs to the 7th session of the New Zealand Parliament. The Māori vote was held on 8 September. A total of 82,271 (66.5%) European voters turned out to vote, plus 14,553 Māori voters. Following the election, John Hall formed a new government.

Background

File:Sir George Grey, ca 1890.jpg
Sir George Grey, ca 1890

Political parties had not been established yet; this only happened after the 1890 election.[1] The same 73 electorates were used as for the last election,[2] which was held in 1875–76. In October 1875, Parliament passed the Representation Act 1875, which resolved to increase the size of Parliament to 88 representatives across the 73 electorates.[3][4]

Two of the electorates were represented by three members each (Christchurch and Dunedin).[5] A further eleven electorates were represented by two members each (Auckland West, Franklin, Grey Valley, Hokitika, Napier, City of Nelson, Thames, Wairarapa, Waitaki, Wanganui and City of Wellington).[3][6] The remaining 60 electorates were represented by a single member each.[3]

The election came about when George Grey's government was defeated in a no-confidence motion in July. He successfully requested a dissolution from the Governor of New Zealand, Sir Hercules Robinson.[7]

Male Māori received universal suffrage (two years before European males were granted universal suffrage). The parliamentary term was reduced from five to three years.[8]

Date

The election was held between 28 August and 15 September.[9] The date of election is defined here as the day on which the poll took place, or if there was no contest, the day of nomination.[10] The earliest date was the nomination meeting in the Avon electorate, where William Rolleston was declared elected unopposed.[11][12] The last elections were held on 15 September, where John Studholme and Edward George Wright were elected in the Gladstone and Coleridge electorates, respectively.[13]

The election in the Maori electorates were held on 8 September.[14]

Candidates

At the nomination meeting in the Waimea electorate on 5 September 1879, Joseph Shephard, Albert Pitt, Oswald Curtis and Acton Adams were proposed, the latter three without their knowledge or consent, presumably by opponents of George Grey who had the support of Shephard.[15] With Pitt, Curtis and Adams all formally withdrawing from the contest, the returning officer declared Shephard elected unopposed.[16] In 14 seats there was only one candidate.[17]

Result

In the European electorates, the male population over 21 years of age was 116,008.[18] Of those, 82,271 were enrolled and the turnout was 66.5%.[9] The male Māori population was estimated at 14,553, of which 6,686 voted (turnout 46%). The Maori statistics are to be treated with caution, though, as not much emphasis was put into precise data gathering. When the first Maori roll was established for the 1949 election, for example, more votes were cast than were voters on the roll.[9]

George Grey was elected in both the Thames and the City of Christchurch electorates.[19] Grey came first in the three-member Christchurch electorate (Samuel Paull Andrews and Edward Stevens came second with equal numbers of votes, and only 23 votes ahead of Edward Richardson).[20] Richardson petitioned against Grey's return on technical grounds, as Grey had already been elected in the Thames electorate.[21][22] The electoral commission unseated Grey on 24 October,[23] with Richardson offered to fill this vacancy a few days later. Grey kept the Thames seat and remained a member of parliament through that constituency.[24]


Member Electorate MP's term Election date
William Montgomery Akaroa Third 1 September[25]
William Sefton Moorhouse Ashley Sixth 11 September[25]
William Speight Auckland East First 10 September[26]
William John Hurst Auckland West First 6 September[27]
James Wallis Auckland West Second 6 September[28]
William Rolleston Avon Fourth 28 August[29]
William Murray Bruce Third 9 September[30]
James Bickerton Fisher Buller First 9 September[31]
William Barron Caversham First 9 September[32]
Alfred Saunders Cheviot Third 6 September[33]
Samuel Paull Andrews Christchurch First 10 September[34]
George Greya Christchurch Third 10 September[35]
Edward Cephas John Stevens Christchurch Third 10 September[26]
John Davies Ormond Clive Fifth 10 September[36]
James William Thomson Clutha Third 11 September[37]
Edward George Wright Coleridge First 15 September[38]
William Gibbs Collingwood Third 11 September[39]
Thomas Dick City of Dunedin Third 2 September[40]
Richard Oliver City of Dunedin Second 2 September[36]
William Downie Stewart City of Dunedin Second 2 September[41]
Vincent Pyke Dunstan Third 3 September[42]
Allan McDonald East Coast First 5 September[43]
Joseph Tole Eden Second 5 September[44]
Harry Atkinson Egmont Fifth 5 September[34]
Benjamin Harris Franklin First 11 September[45]
Ebenezer Hamlin Franklin Second 11 September[46]
Edward Wakefield Geraldine Second 9 September[28]
John Studholme Gladstone Fourth 15 September[41]
Robert Trimble Grey and Bell First 8 September[44]
Richard Reeves Grey Valley Second 5 September[47]
Edward Masters Grey Valley First 5 September[48]
James Fisher Heathcote Second 8 September[31]
Richard Seddon Hokitika First 5 September[49]
Robert Reid Hokitika First 5 September[47]
Thomas Mason Hutt First 9 September[50]
James Walker Bain Invercargill First 1 September[32]
Charles Christopher Bowen Kaiapoi Third 5 September[51]
Harry Allwright Lyttelton First 4 September[10]
Walter Woods Johnston Manawatu Third 6 September[52]
William Henry Colbeck Marsden First 11 September[53]
James Shanks Mataura Second 29 August[49]
John Lundon Mongonui and Bay of Islands First 10 September[54]
Richmond Hursthouse Motueka Second 2 September[55]
Cecil de Lautour Mount Ida Second 30 August[40]
Fred Sutton Napier Second 8 September[41]
William Russell Napier Second 8 September[33]
Albert Pitt City of Nelson First 6 September[56]
Acton Adams City of Nelson Second 6 September[10]
Andrew Richmond Nelson SuburbsSuburbs of Nelson Fifth 8 September[29]
Thomas Kelly New Plymouth Fourth 6 September[57]
William Swanson Newton Third 2 September[41]
Maurice O'Rorke Onehunga Fifth 9 September[36]
Frederick Moss Parnell Second 4 September[30]
Courtney Kenny Picton Fourth 30 August[57]
James Macandrew Port Chalmers Seventh 5 September[58]
William Jarvis Willis Rangitikei First 3 September[59]
Patrick McCaughen Riverton First 6 September[58]
Seymour Thorne George Rodney Second 8 September[39]
Henry Driver Roslyn Fourth 5 September[60]
John Hall Selwyn Fourth 29 August[46]
James Fulton Taieri First 9 September[39]
George Greya Thames Third 2 September[35]
John Sheehan Thames Third 2 September[49]
Richard Turnbull Timaru Second 6 September[44]
William Gisborne Totara Third 29 August[39]
James Clark Brown Tuapeka Fourth 6 September[61]
George Ireland Waikaia First 8 September[55]
John Blair Whyte Waikato First 8 September[62]
George McLean Waikouaiti Third 6 September[63]
Joseph Shephard Waimea Second 5 September[15][16]
Frederick Alexander Whitaker Waipa First 10 September[62]
Henry Bunny Wairarapa Fifth 4 September[64]
George Beetham Wairarapa Second 4 September[65]
Arthur Seymour Wairau Third 8 September[49]
Samuel Shrimski Waitaki Second 5 September[66]
Thomas William Hislop Waitaki Second 5 September[67]
Reader Wood Waitemata Fifth 9 September[38]
Hugh Finn Wakatipu First 12 September[31]
Henry Hirst Wallace First 4 September[67]
John Bryce Wanganui Fourth 5 September[61]
John Ballance Wanganui Third 5 September[32]
William Hutchison City of Wellington First 5 September[55]
William Levin City of Wellington First 5 September[54]
Alfred Brandon Wellington Country Sixth 11 September[61]
Henare Tomoana X-01Eastern Maori Second 8 September[44]
Hone Tawhai X-02Northern Maori First 8 September[68]
Ihaia Tainui X-03Southern Maori Second 8 September[68]
Wiremu Te Wheoro X-04Western Maori First 8 September[62]

a George Grey was unseated on petition in Christchurch, as he had already been elected in the Thames electorate[69]


Government formation

Following the election, John Hall formed a new government on 8 October 1879, and Hall thus became the 12th Premier of New Zealand.[70][71] The Hall Ministry stayed in power until 21 April 1882, i.e. some months after the next general election.[71]

Notes

  1. ↑ Wilson 1985, p. 177.
  2. ↑ McRobie 1989, p. 43.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Scholefield 1950, p. 156.
  6. ↑ Scholefield 1950, pp. 154–167.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Scholefield 1950, p. 92.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Scholefield 1950, pp. 142, 149.
  14. ↑ Scholefield 1950, pp. 142, 144, 147.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Wilson (1985) page 285
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 Scholefield 1950, p. 127.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 Scholefield 1950, p. 140.
  27. ↑ Scholefield 1950, p. 115.
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 Scholefield 1950, p. 145.
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 Scholefield 1950, p. 136.
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 Scholefield 1950, p. 128.
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 31.2 Scholefield 1950, p. 106.
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 32.2 Scholefield 1950, p. 94.
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 Scholefield 1950, p. 137.
  34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 Scholefield 1950, p. 93.
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 Scholefield 1950, p. 110.
  36. ↑ 36.0 36.1 36.2 Scholefield 1950, p. 130.
  37. ↑ Scholefield 1950, p. 143.
  38. ↑ 38.0 38.1 Scholefield 1950, p. 149.
  39. ↑ 39.0 39.1 39.2 39.3 Scholefield 1950, p. 108.
  40. ↑ 40.0 40.1 Scholefield 1950, p. 103.
  41. ↑ 41.0 41.1 41.2 41.3 Scholefield 1950, p. 141.
  42. ↑ Scholefield 1950, p. 133.
  43. ↑ Scholefield 1950, p. 122.
  44. ↑ 44.0 44.1 44.2 44.3 Scholefield 1950, p. 144.
  45. ↑ Scholefield 1950, p. 112.
  46. ↑ 46.0 46.1 Scholefield 1950, p. 111.
  47. ↑ 47.0 47.1 Scholefield 1950, p. 134.
  48. ↑ Scholefield 1950, p. 126.
  49. ↑ 49.0 49.1 49.2 49.3 Scholefield 1950, p. 138.
  50. ↑ Scholefield 1950, p. 125.
  51. ↑ Scholefield 1950, p. 96.
  52. ↑ Scholefield 1950, p. 117.
  53. ↑ Scholefield 1950, p. 101.
  54. ↑ 54.0 54.1 Scholefield 1950, p. 120.
  55. ↑ 55.0 55.1 55.2 Scholefield 1950, p. 116.
  56. ↑ Scholefield 1950, p. 132.
  57. ↑ 57.0 57.1 Scholefield 1950, p. 118.
  58. ↑ 58.0 58.1 Scholefield 1950, p. 121.
  59. ↑ Scholefield 1950, p. 148.
  60. ↑ Scholefield 1950, p. 104.
  61. ↑ 61.0 61.1 61.2 Scholefield 1950, p. 97.
  62. ↑ 62.0 62.1 62.2 Scholefield 1950, p. 147.
  63. ↑ Scholefield 1950, p. 124.
  64. ↑ Scholefield 1950, p. 98.
  65. ↑ Scholefield 1950, p. 95.
  66. ↑ Scholefield 1950, p. 139.
  67. ↑ 67.0 67.1 Scholefield 1950, p. 114.
  68. ↑ 68.0 68.1 Scholefield 1950, p. 142.
  69. ↑ Wilson 1985, p. 201.
  70. ↑ Scholefield 1950, p. 37.
  71. ↑ 71.0 71.1 Wilson 1985, p. 57.

References

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