1897 Wellington Suburbs by-election

The Wellington Suburbs by-election of 1897 was a by-election held on 23 April 1897 during the 13th New Zealand Parliament in the urban lower North Island electorate of Wellington Suburbs.

1897 Wellington Suburbs by-election
23 April 1897
Turnout3,933
 
Candidate Charles Wilson Arthur Atkinson
Party Liberal Conservative
Popular vote 2,036 1,897
Percentage 51.76 48.23
Member before election

Thomas Wilford
Liberal

 Elected Member

Charles Wilson
Liberal

Background

Thomas Wilford won the Wellington Suburbs seat in the 1896 election for the Liberal Party. However, he was subsequently declared guilty of corrupt electoral practices after an electoral petition was lodged after it was revealed he exceeded the £200 campaign spending limit which had been introduced for the election. As a result, the election was declared void.[1]

The subsequent by-election for Wilford's seat was a two-way contest. Academic Charles Wilson contested the seat in the interests of the Liberal Government and Arthur Richmond Atkinson stood on behalf of the opposition. Wilson was successful in retaining the electorate for the Liberals, with a slightly reduced majority.[2]

Results

The following table gives the election results:

1897 Wellington Suburbs by-election[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal Charles Wilson 2,036 51.76
Conservative Arthur Richmond Atkinson 1,897 48.23
Majority 139 3.53
Turnout 3,933

Wilson retired in 1899 when the next general election was held, and Wilford won the seat back on behalf of the Liberal Party.[3] Two years later, Wilson was appointed as the first chief librarian of the Parliamentary library. Some saw this as controversial and merely a reward by the Liberal Government for his prior services to the Liberal Party.[4]

Notes
  1. Wilson 1985, p. 245.
  2. "The Wellington Suburbs Election". Press. LIV (9710). 24 April 1897. p. 8. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
  3. Wilson 1985, pp. 245f.
  4. "Charles Wilson". Ministry for Culture and Heritage. 20 December 2012. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
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References
  • 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)


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