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All 74 seats in the New Zealand House of Representatives 38 seats were needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Turnout | 76.1% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Results of the election. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1896 New Zealand general election was held on Wednesday, 4 December in the general electorates, and on Thursday, 19 December in the Māori electorates to elect a total of 74 MPs to the 13th session of the New Zealand Parliament. A total number of 337,024 (76.1%) voters turned out to vote.[1]
1896 was the year the limit of £200 was placed on each candidate's campaign spending.
Background
The Liberal government campaigned on a platform that the election was between the people and the "selfish few". The economy stagnated, raising unemployment, which caused support for the Liberals to fall in the cities and they lost many seats, though not enough to be removed from office by the Conservatives. In rural areas, the swing in support was not as large due to the public works and land settlement programmes helping to support the regions.[2] In June 1896 Seddon had replaced Joseph Ward as Finance Minister whilst the latter had resigned after being declared temporarily bankrupt. As such Seddon himself took on the workload of the treasury making him more susceptible to opposition attacks over the economy. He proved to be a cautious financier, budgeting for surpluses while maintaining the spirit of self reliance his predecessor John Ballance had advocated.
Results
Party totals
The following table gives party strengths and vote distribution according to Wilson (1985), who records Maori representatives as Independents prior to the 1905 election.[3]
Election results | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidates | Total votes | Percentage | Seats won | Change | |
Liberal | 81 | 184,650 | 54.78% | 39 | -12 | |
Conservative | 70 | 114,574 | 33.99% | 26 | +13 | |
Independent | 60 | 37,800 | 11.23% | 9 | -1 |
Votes summary
The table below shows the results of the 1896 general election:
Key
Liberal Conservative Independent Liberal Liberal–Labour Independent
Table footnotes:
- ^ Robert Thompson was regarded as Liberal in the previous Parliament
- ^ Frederick Pirani was regarded as Liberal in the previous Parliament
- ^ George Warren Russell distanced himself from the Liberal Party and, together with Frederick Pirani, unsuccessfully tried to form the Radical Party[42]
- ^ Lindsay Buick distanced himself from the Liberal Party and became an Independent Liberal-Labour candidate[49][50]
- ^ Robert Stout was regarded as Liberal in the previous Parliament
- ^ The affiliation of Thomas Ellison, who is listed in most contemporary sources under his Māori name Tame Rangiwahia Erihana, is not known
The election of Thomas Wilford for the electorate of Suburbs of Wellington was declared void by an election petition on the grounds of corrupt and illegal practices. Charles Wilson was elected MP for that electorate following a by-election on 23 April 1897.
Summary of changes
- A boundary redistribution resulted in the abolition of seven seats:
- Chalmers, held by John A. Millar
- Inangahua, held by Patrick O'Regan
- New Plymouth, held by Edward Smith
- Pareora, held by Frederick Flatman
- Rangitata, held by William Maslin
- Waimea-Sounds, held by Charles Mills
- Waipa, held by Frederic Lang
- At the same time, seven new seats came into being:
Notes
- ^ "General elections 1853-2005 - dates & turnout". Elections New Zealand. Archived from the original on 14 November 2014. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
- ^ Hamer 1988, p. 231.
- ^ Wilson 1985, pp. 287–289.
- ^ "The New Parliament". Hawke's Bay Herald. Vol. XXXI, no. 10478. 7 December 1896. p. 3. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
- ^ "The Elections". No. 5739. Christchurch: The Star. 5 December 1896. p. 6. Retrieved 14 April 2010.
- ^ "List of Candidates". No. 5733. Christchurch: The Star. 28 November 1896. p. 6. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
- ^ "The General Election". No. 1802. Dunstan Times. 18 December 1896. p. 2. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
- ^ "Public Notices". Ashburton Guardian. Vol. XVII, no. 4061. 7 December 1896. p. 3. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
- ^ a b "Election Notices". The Press. Vol. LIII, no. 9596. 10 December 1896. p. 8. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
- ^ a b "Electoral District of Ellesmere". The Press. Vol. LIII, no. 9585. 27 November 1896. p. 8. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "The General Election". Auckland Star. Vol. XXVII, no. 305. 23 December 1896. p. 6. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
- ^ a b c "Page 1 Advertisements Column 5". The Press. Vol. LIII, no. 9593. 7 December 1896. p. 1. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Otago". Auckland Star. Vol. XXVII, no. 305. 23 December 1896. p. 6. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
- ^ "The General Election". The Press. Vol. LIII, no. 9565. 4 November 1896. p. 6. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
- ^ "Interprovincial". North Otago Times. Vol. XXXVI, no. 8730. 18 November 1896. p. 4. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
- ^ "Nelson". Auckland Star. Vol. XXVII, no. 305. 23 December 1896. p. 6. Retrieved 13 January 2014.
- ^ "Buller Electoral District". Inangahua Times. Vol. XXI, no. 1092. 2 December 1896. p. 3. Retrieved 13 January 2014.
- ^ a b c "Page 3 Advertisements Column 3". The Star. No. 5740. 7 December 1896. p. 3. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
- ^ a b "The General Election". Auckland Star. Vol. XXVII, no. 305. 23 December 1896. p. 6. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
- ^ "The General Election". Auckland Star. Vol. XXVII, no. 305. 23 December 1896. p. 6. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
- ^ "General Election". The Timaru Herald. Vol. LX, no. 2263. 8 December 1896. p. 1. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
- ^ a b "Electoral District of Grey". Grey River Argus. Vol. LVII, no. 9527. 11 December 1896. p. 3. Retrieved 13 January 2014.
- ^ "Electoral District of Hawera". Hawera & Normanby Star. Vol. XXXIII, no. 3418. 9 December 1896. p. 3. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
- ^ a b c d "The General Election". Auckland Star. Vol. XXVII, no. 305. 23 December 1896. p. 6. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
- ^ "To the Electors of Hawke's Bay". Hawke's Bay Herald. Vol. XXXI, no. 10465. 21 November 1896. p. 4. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
- ^ "The New Parliament". Otago Witness. No. 2232. 10 December 1896. p. 20. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
- ^ a b c "Wakatipu Electoral District". No. 228. Christchurch: Mataura Ensign. 15 December 1896. p. 3. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
- ^ "Electoral District of Lyttelton". The Press. Vol. LIII, no. 9594. 7 December 1896. p. 1. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "The General Election". Auckland Star. Vol. XXVII, no. 305. 23 December 1896. p. 6. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
- ^ "Electoral District of Manawatu". Manawatu Herald. 3 December 1896. p. 3. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
- ^ "Masterton Electorate". Wairarapa Daily Times. Vol. XVI, no. 5497. 28 November 1896. p. 3. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
- ^ "The General Election". Auckland Star. Vol. XXVII, no. 285. 1 December 1896. p. 3. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
- ^ "The National Association of New Zealand". Observer. Vol. XVI, no. 934. 5 December 1896. p. 14. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
- ^ "Page 2 Advertisements Column 2". Colonist. Vol. XL, no. 8744. 15 December 1896. p. 2. Retrieved 13 January 2014.
- ^ "The Nelson Election". Nelson Evening Mail. Vol. XXX, no. 292. 10 December 1896. p. 2. Retrieved 21 July 2011.
- ^ "Electoral District of Oamaru". The Oamaru Mail. Vol. XXI, no. 6763. 10 December 1896. p. 3. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
- ^ "Pahiatua Electorate". Wairarapa Daily Times. Vol. XVI, no. 5498. 30 November 1896. p. 3. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
- ^ "David Buick : Member of Parliament for Palmerston North 1908–1918" (PDF). New Zealand Parliament. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
- ^ "Electoral District of Parnell". Auckland Star. Vol. XXVII, no. 284. 30 November 1896. p. 2. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
- ^ "Rangitikei Election". Vol. XVIII, no. 126. Feilding Star. 26 November 1896. p. 3. Retrieved 13 January 2014.
- ^ "Obituary". Vol. XIII, no. 3146. Feilding Star. 20 January 1917. p. 2. Retrieved 13 January 2014.
- ^ Rice, Geoffrey W. "Russell, George Warren". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
- ^ "Canterbury". Vol. XL, no. 8746. Colonist. 21 December 1896. p. 2. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
- ^ "Untitled". No. 5691. Christchurch: The Star. 9 October 1896. p. 1. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
- ^ "Electoral District of Thames". Thames Advertiser. Vol. XXVIII, no. 8607. 10 December 1896. p. 3. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
- ^ "Untitled". The Timaru Herald. Vol. LX, no. 2265. 10 December 1896. p. 1. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
- ^ "Notice of Nominations". Poverty Bay Herald. Vol. XXIII, no. 7788. 27 November 1896. p. 3. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
- ^ "Wairau". Auckland Star. Vol. XXVII, no. 305. 23 December 1896. p. 6. Retrieved 13 January 2014.
- ^ "Mr Buick as a Liberal". The Marlborough Express. Vol. XXXI, no. 272. 21 November 1896. p. 2. Retrieved 13 January 2014.
- ^ Traue, J. E. "Buick, Thomas Lindsay". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 23 December 2011.
- ^ "Electoral District of Waitaki". The Oamaru Mail. Vol. XXI, no. 6764. 11 December 1896. p. 3. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
- ^ "St Alban's Church (Anglican)". New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero. Heritage New Zealand. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
- ^ "Waitemata Electoral District". Auckland Star. Vol. XXVII, no. 283. 28 November 1896. p. 2. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
- ^ "The Waitemata Election". Auckland Star. Vol. XXVII, no. 256. 29 October 1896. p. 2. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
- ^ Cyclopedia Company Limited (1905). "The Rev. Thomas Neave". The Cyclopedia of New Zealand : Otago & Southland Provincial Districts. Christchurch: The Cyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
- ^ a b c "A Mistake in the Wellington Vote". The Evening Post. 10 December 1896. p. 6. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
- ^ "Electoral District of Westland". West Coast Times. No. 10438. 17 December 1896. p. 3. Retrieved 13 January 2014.
- ^ a b "Untitled". Poverty Bay Herald. Vol. XXIV, no. 7816. 4 January 1897. p. 2. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
- ^ "Untitled". Poverty Bay Herald. Vol. XXIII, no. 7810. 24 December 1896. p. 2. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
- ^ "Untitled". The Evening Post. Vol. LIII, no. 1. 2 January 1897. p. 4. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
References
- Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand parliamentary record, 1840–1984 (4 ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.
- Hamer, David A. (1988). The New Zealand Liberals: The Years of Power, 1891–1912. Auckland: Auckland University Press. ISBN 1 86940 014 3.