1879 New Zealand general election

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.

28 August – 15 September 1879
All 88 seats in the New Zealand House of Representatives
Turnout	66.5%
First party Second party   Leader John Hall George Grey Party Conservative Independents Greyite Independents Leader since 1878 1877 Leader's seat Selwyn Thames Seats won 45 41 Popular vote N/A N/A Percentage N/A N/A Swing N/A N/A
Prime Minister before election George Grey Independent Subsequent Prime Minister John Hall Independent

Background

Formal 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]

The initial results showed a virtual deadlock with no clear winner. Inititially the opposition seemed to have won slightly more seats than the "Greyites" (supporters of Grey) but not enough to claim a majority outright.[19] However, after several days of negotiations a new ministry was formed by John Hall who had ensured support from 45 members, with 41 backing Grey and 2 Independent of either faction.[20][21] Upon Grey's rejection, James Macandrew was unanimously elected leader of the liberals and sought to oust Hall and form a new ministry, but was denied after Hall induced four Auckland liberals (known as the "Auckland rats") to cross the floor.[22]

George Grey was elected in both the Thames and the City of Christchurch electorates.[23] 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).[24] Richardson petitioned against Grey's return on technical grounds, as Grey had already been elected in the Thames electorate.[25][26] The electoral commission unseated Grey on 24 October,[27] 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.[28]

Laws were passed to confirm the results in three electorates where there was some doubt about the legitimacy of the results to confirm the winner (1879; the electorates were Marsden, Northern Maori and Western Maori);[29] and to clarify the law about electoral petitions (1880):[30]

Member	Electorate	Affiliation[31]	MP's term	Election date
William Montgomery	Akaroa	Greyite	Third	1 September[32]
William Sefton Moorhouse	Ashley	Conservative	Sixth	11 September[32]
William Speight	Auckland East	Greyite	First	10 September[33]
William John Hurst	Auckland West	Greyite	First	6 September[34]
James Wallis	Auckland West	Greyite	Second	6 September[35]
William Rolleston	Avon	Conservative	Fourth	28 August[36]
William Murray	Bruce	Conservative	Third	9 September[37]
James Bickerton Fisher	Buller	Greyite	First	9 September[38]
William Barron	Caversham	Greyite	First	9 September[39]
Alfred Saunders	Cheviot	Conservative	Third	6 September[40]
Samuel Paull Andrews	Christchurch	Greyite	First	10 September[41]
George Grey^a	Christchurch	Greyite	Third	10 September[42]
Edward Cephas John Stevens	Christchurch	Conservative	Third	10 September[33]
John Davies Ormond	Clive	Conservative	Fifth	10 September[43]
James William Thomson	Clutha	Greyite	Third	11 September[44]
Edward George Wright	Coleridge	Conservative	First	15 September[45]
William Gibbs	Collingwood	Conservative	Third	11 September[46]
Thomas Dick	City of Dunedin	Conservative	Third	2 September[47]
Richard Oliver	City of Dunedin	Conservative	Second	2 September[43]
William Downie Stewart	City of Dunedin	Conservative	Second	2 September[48]
Vincent Pyke	Dunstan	Greyite	Third	3 September[49]
Allan McDonald	East Coast	Greyite	First	5 September[50]
Joseph Tole	Eden	Greyite	Second	5 September[51]
Harry Atkinson	Egmont	Conservative	Fifth	5 September[41]
Benjamin Harris	Franklin	Greyite	First	11 September[52]
Ebenezer Hamlin	Franklin	Conservative	Second	11 September[53]
Edward Wakefield	Geraldine	Conservative	Second	9 September[35]
John Studholme	Gladstone	Conservative	Fourth	15 September[48]
Robert Trimble	Grey and Bell	Conservative	First	8 September[51]
Richard Reeves	Grey Valley	Greyite	Second	5 September[54]
Edward Masters	Grey Valley	Greyite	First	5 September[55]
James Fisher	Heathcote	Greyite	Second	8 September[38]
Richard Seddon	Hokitika	Greyite	First	5 September[56]
Robert Reid	Hokitika	Greyite	First	5 September[54]
Thomas Mason	Hutt	Conservative	First	9 September[57]
James Walker Bain	Invercargill	Conservative	First	1 September[39]
Charles Christopher Bowen	Kaiapoi	Conservative	Third	5 September[58]
Harry Allwright	Lyttelton	Greyite	First	4 September[10]
Walter Woods Johnston	Manawatu	Conservative	Third	6 September[59]
William Henry Colbeck	Marsden	Greyite	First	11 September[60]
James Shanks	Mataura	Greyite	Second	29 August[56]
John Lundon	Mongonui and Bay of Islands	Greyite	First	10 September[61]
Richmond Hursthouse	Motueka	Conservative	Second	2 September[62]
Cecil de Lautour	Mount Ida	Greyite	Second	30 August[47]
Fred Sutton	Napier	Conservative	Second	8 September[48]
William Russell	Napier	Conservative	Second	8 September[40]
Albert Pitt	City of Nelson	Conservative	First	6 September[63]
Acton Adams	City of Nelson	Conservative	Second	6 September[10]
Andrew Richmond	Nelson SuburbsSuburbs of Nelson	Conservative	Fifth	8 September[36]
Thomas Kelly	New Plymouth	Conservative	Fourth	6 September[64]
William Swanson	Newton	Greyite	Third	2 September[48]
Maurice O'Rorke	Onehunga	Greyite	Fifth	9 September[43]
Frederick Moss	Parnell	Greyite	Second	4 September[37]
Courtney Kenny	Picton	Conservative	Fourth	30 August[64]
James Macandrew	Port Chalmers	Greyite	Seventh	5 September[65]
William Jarvis Willis	Rangitikei	Conservative	First	3 September[66]
Patrick McCaughan	Riverton	Independent	First	6 September[65]
Seymour Thorne George	Rodney	Greyite	Second	8 September[46]
Henry Driver	Roslyn	Conservative	Fourth	5 September[67]
John Hall	Selwyn	Conservative	Fourth	29 August[53]
James Fulton	Taieri	Conservative	First	9 September[46]
George Grey^a	Thames	Greyite	Third	2 September[42]
John Sheehan	Thames	Greyite	Third	2 September[56]
Richard Turnbull	Timaru	Conservative	Second	6 September[51]
William Gisborne	Totara	Greyite	Third	29 August[46]
James Clark Brown	Tuapeka	Greyite	Fourth	6 September[68]
George Ireland	Waikaia	Independent	First	8 September[62]
John Blair Whyte	Waikato	Conservative	First	8 September[69]
George McLean	Waikouaiti	Conservative	Third	6 September[70]
Joseph Shephard	Waimea	Conservative	Second	5 September[15][16]
Frederick Alexander Whitaker	Waipa	Conservative	First	10 September[69]
Henry Bunny	Wairarapa	Greyite	Fifth	4 September[71]
George Beetham	Wairarapa	Conservative	Second	4 September[72]
Arthur Seymour	Wairau	Conservative	Third	8 September[56]
Samuel Shrimski	Waitaki	Greyite	Second	5 September[73]
Thomas William Hislop	Waitaki	Conservative	Second	5 September[74]
Reader Wood	Waitemata	Greyite	Fifth	9 September[45]
Hugh Finn	Wakatipu	Greyite	First	12 September[38]
Henry Hirst	Wallace	Conservative	First	4 September[74]
John Bryce	Wanganui	Conservative	Fourth	5 September[68]
John Ballance	Wanganui	Greyite	Third	5 September[39]
William Hutchison	City of Wellington	Greyite	First	5 September[62]
William Levin	City of Wellington	Conservative	First	5 September[61]
Alfred Brandon	Wellington Country	Conservative	Sixth	11 September[68]
Henare Tomoana	X-01Eastern Maori	Conservative	Second	8 September[51]
Hone Tawhai	X-02Northern Maori	Greyite	First	8 September[75]
Ihaia Tainui	X-03Southern Maori	Greyite	Second	8 September[75]
Wiremu Te Wheoro	X-04Western Maori	Greyite	First	8 September[69]

^a George Grey was unseated on petition in Christchurch, as he had already been elected in the Thames electorate[76]

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.[77][78] The Hall Ministry stayed in power until 21 April 1882, i.e. some months after the next general election.[78]

Notes

1. Wilson 1985, p. 177.
2. McRobie 1989, p. 43.
3. "Representation Act 1875 (39 Victoriae 1875 No 77)". Parliamentary Counsel Office. Retrieved 5 April 2012.
4. "Special Parliamentary Telegram". Otago Daily Times (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.
8. "Key dates in New Zealand electoral reform". Elections New Zealand. Archived from the original on 9 November 2011. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
9. "General elections 1853–2005 – dates & turnout". Elections New Zealand. Archived from the original on 14 November 2014. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
10. Scholefield 1950, p. 92.
11. "The General Election". The Star (3551). 28 August 1879. p. 2. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
12. "The First Election". Auckland Star. X (2924). 28 August 1879. p. 3. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
13. Scholefield 1950, pp. 142, 149.
14. Scholefield 1950, pp. 142, 144, 147.
15. "Waimea Nomination". Nelson Evening Mail. XIV (201). 5 September 1879. p. 2. Retrieved 7 July 2011.
16. "Electoral District of Waimea". Colonist. XXII (2598). 9 September 1879. p. 2. Retrieved 7 July 2011.
17. Wilson (1985) page 285
18. "The Electors of New Zealand". The Star (3596). 20 October 1879. p. 3. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
19. "The New Parliament". Patea Mail. V (460). 20 September 1879. p. 2. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
20. "The Political Situation". The Evening Post. XVIII (79). 30 September 1879. p. 2. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
21. "The Elections Decided". Wanganui Herald. XII (9508). 8 September 1879. p. 2. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
22. Hall, David Oswald William (1966), "Macandrew, James", An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, edited by A. H. McLintock, retrieved 25 September 2016
23. "General Election News". XII (9511). Wanganui Herald. 11 September 1879. p. 2. Retrieved 16 March 2010.
24. "The Christchurch Election". The Star (3563). 11 September 1879. p. 3. Retrieved 19 March 2010.
25. "The Timaru Herald : Thursday, October 30, 1879". The Timaru Herald. XXXI (1594). 30 October 1879. p. 2. Retrieved 20 March 2010.
26. "The Christchurch Election". The Star (3608). 3 November 1879. p. 3. Retrieved 20 March 2010.
27. "Sir George Grey unseated for Christchurch". The Timaru Herald. XXXI (1590). 25 October 1879. p. 2. Retrieved 20 March 2010.
28. "Parliamentary". VI (934). Poverty Bay Herald. 27 October 1879. p. 2. Retrieved 20 March 2010.
29. "Elections Validation Act, 1879". New Zealand Law online.
30. "Electoral Petitions Act, 1880". New Zealand Law online.
31. "The New Parliament". Wanganui Chronicle. XXI (4143). 18 September 1879. p. 2. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
32. Scholefield 1950, p. 127.
33. Scholefield 1950, p. 140.
34. Scholefield 1950, p. 115.
35. Scholefield 1950, p. 145.
36. Scholefield 1950, p. 136.
37. Scholefield 1950, p. 128.
38. Scholefield 1950, p. 106.
39. Scholefield 1950, p. 94.
40. Scholefield 1950, p. 137.
41. Scholefield 1950, p. 93.
42. Scholefield 1950, p. 110.
43. Scholefield 1950, p. 130.
44. Scholefield 1950, p. 143.
45. Scholefield 1950, p. 149.
46. Scholefield 1950, p. 108.
47. Scholefield 1950, p. 103.
48. Scholefield 1950, p. 141.
49. Scholefield 1950, p. 133.
50. Scholefield 1950, p. 122.
51. Scholefield 1950, p. 144.
52. Scholefield 1950, p. 112.
53. Scholefield 1950, p. 111.
54. Scholefield 1950, p. 134.
55. Scholefield 1950, p. 126.
56. Scholefield 1950, p. 138.
57. Scholefield 1950, p. 125.
58. Scholefield 1950, p. 96.
59. Scholefield 1950, p. 117.
60. Scholefield 1950, p. 101.
61. Scholefield 1950, p. 120.
62. Scholefield 1950, p. 116.
63. Scholefield 1950, p. 132.
64. Scholefield 1950, p. 118.
65. Scholefield 1950, p. 121.
66. Scholefield 1950, p. 148.
67. Scholefield 1950, p. 104.
68. Scholefield 1950, p. 97.
69. Scholefield 1950, p. 147.
70. Scholefield 1950, p. 124.
71. Scholefield 1950, p. 98.
72. Scholefield 1950, p. 95.
73. Scholefield 1950, p. 139.
74. Scholefield 1950, p. 114.
75. Scholefield 1950, p. 142.
76. Wilson 1985, p. 201.
77. Scholefield 1950, p. 37.
78. Wilson 1985, p. 57.

References

• McRobie, Alan (1989). Electoral Atlas of New Zealand. Wellington: GP Books. ISBN 0-477-01384-8.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Scholefield, Guy (1950) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1949 (3rd ed.). Wellington: Govt. Printer.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)