1879 New Zealand general election

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1879 New Zealand general election
← 1875–76 28 August – 15 September 1879 1881 →
All 88 seats in the New Zealand House of Representatives
Turnout66.5%
  First party
 
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

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]

Template:New Zealand general election, 1879

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.[25][26] The Hall Ministry stayed in power until 21 April 1882, i.e. some months after the next general election.[26]

Notes

  1. ^ Wilson 1985, p. 177.
  2. ^ McRobie 1989, p. 43.
  3. ^ a b c "Representation Act 1875 (39 Victoriae 1875 No 77)". Parliamentary Counsel Office. Retrieved 5 April 2012.
  4. ^ "Special Parliamentary Telegram". Otago Daily Times. No. 4267. 21 October 1875. p. 3. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
  5. ^ Scholefield 1950, p. 156.
  6. ^ Scholefield 1950, pp. 154–167.
  7. ^ Martin, John E. (2004). The House: New Zealand's House of Representatives, 1854–2004. Palmerston North: Dunmore Publishing Limited. p. 80. ISBN 9780864694638. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  8. ^ "Key dates in New Zealand electoral reform". Elections New Zealand. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
  9. ^ a b c "General elections 1853–2005 – dates & turnout". Elections New Zealand. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
  10. ^ Scholefield 1950, p. 92.
  11. ^ "The General Election". The Star. No. 3551. 28 August 1879. p. 2. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
  12. ^ "The First Election". Auckland Star. Vol. X, no. 2924. 28 August 1879. p. 3. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
  13. ^ Scholefield 1950, pp. 142, 149.
  14. ^ Scholefield 1950, pp. 142, 144, 147.
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference Waimea nomination was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference Waimea result was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ Wilson (1985) page 285
  18. ^ "The Electors of New Zealand". The Star. No. 3596. 20 October 1879. p. 3. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
  19. ^ "General Election News". Vol. XII, no. 9511. Wanganui Herald. 11 September 1879. p. 2. Retrieved 16 March 2010.
  20. ^ "The Christchurch Election". The Star. No. 3563. 11 September 1879. p. 3. Retrieved 19 March 2010.
  21. ^ "The Timaru Herald : Thursday, October 30, 1879". The Timaru Herald. Vol. XXXI, no. 1594. 30 October 1879. p. 2. Retrieved 20 March 2010.
  22. ^ "The Christchurch Election". The Star. No. 3608. 3 November 1879. p. 3. Retrieved 20 March 2010.
  23. ^ "Sir George Grey unseated for Christchurch". The Timaru Herald. Vol. XXXI, no. 1590. 25 October 1879. p. 2. Retrieved 20 March 2010.
  24. ^ "Parliamentary". Vol. VI, no. 934. Poverty Bay Herald. 27 October 1879. p. 2. Retrieved 20 March 2010.
  25. ^ Scholefield 1950, p. 37.
  26. ^ a b Wilson 1985, p. 57.

References

  • McRobie, Alan (1989). Electoral Atlas of New Zealand. Wellington: GP Books. ISBN 0-477-01384-8. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Scholefield, Guy (1950) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1949 (3rd ed.). Wellington: Govt. Printer. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
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