10th New Zealand Parliament

Sessions

The 10th Parliament opened on 6 October 1887, following the 1887 general election. It sat for four sessions, and was prorogued on 3 October 1890.

Historical context

The Representation Act 1887 had major implication for the procedure of revising electoral boundaries. The revision task was transferred from committees formed by MPs to a permanent Representation Commission. The act specified that a country quota of 18% be applied to all designated districts that excluded boroughs with a population above 2,000 people, and that all electorates were to have the same nominal population within a tolerance of 750 people. It was also stipulated that electoral boundaries were to be reviewed after each New Zealand census.

In the 1887 electoral redistribution, although the Representation Commission was required through the Representation Act 1887 to maintain existing electorates "as far as possible", rapid population growth in the North Island required the transfer of three seats from the South Island to the north. Ten new electorates were created: , , , , , , , , , and . One former electorate, , was recreated.

Political parties had not been established yet; this only happened after the 1890 election. Anyone attempting to form an administration thus had to win support directly from individual MPs. This made first forming, and then retaining a government difficult and challenging.

Ministries

The second Stout-Vogel Ministry had been in power since 3 September 1884 until 8 October 1887, just after the 1887 general election to determine the composition of the 10th Parliament. The fourth Atkinson Ministry, known as the Scarecrow Ministry, lasted for the remainder of the term until 24 January 1891.

Initial composition of the 10th Parliament

95 seats were created across the electorates.

Changes during term

There were numerous changes during the term of the 5th Parliament.

Existing electorates

;Ashley Walker resigned in 1867. Henry Tancred won the subsequent 1867 by-election.

;Auckland West James Williamson resigned in 1867. He was succeeded by Patrick Dignan.

;Avon Ward resigned in 1867. He was succeeded by William Reeves, who himself resigned in 1868. William Rolleston won the subsequent 1868 by-election.

;Bruce Cargill resigned in 1870 and was succeeded by James Clark Brown.

;Caversham Burns resigned in 1870 and was succeeded by James McIndoe.

;City of Christchurch FitzGerald resigned in 1867 and was succeeded by William Travers, who himself resigned in 1870. William Sefton Moorhouse took the seat for the remaining months in 1870.

;City of Dunedin Paterson resigned in 1869 and was succeeded by Thomas Birch.

;City of Nelson Stafford resigned in 1868 and was succeeded by Nathaniel Edwards.

;Collingwood Richmond resigned in 1868 and was succeeded by Arthur Shuckburgh Collins.

;Kaiapoi Beswick resigned in 1867. He was succeeded by John Studholme.

;Manuherikia Baldwin resigned in 1867. He was succeeded by David Mervyn.

;Marsden Hull resigned in 1868. He was succeeded by John Munro.

;Mongonui Ball resigned in 1870. He was succeeded by Thomas Gillies on 30 March 1870.

;Mount Herbert Moorhouse was elected in the Mount Herbert electorate on 22 February 1866. He also stood in the Westland electorate and was returned 16 March 1866. He chose to represent Westland. A by-election was held on 27 July 1866 and Thomas Henry Potts was returned unopposed.

;New Plymouth Richardson resigned in 1867 and was succeeded by Harry Atkinson, who himself resigned in 1869. Thomas Kelly won the 1869 by-election.

;Newton Graham resigned in 1869 and was succeeded by Robert James Creighton.

;Northern Division Henderson resigned in 1867. The 6 July 1867 by-election was won by Thomas Macfarlane.

O'Neill resigned in 1869 and was succeeded by Henry Warner Farnall.

;Oamaru Campbell resigned in 1869 and was succeeded by Charles Christie Graham.

;Omata Atkinson resigned in 1867 and was succeeded in 1868 by Charles Brown, who himself resigned in 1870. Frederic Carrington was the successful candidate in the 1870 by-election.

;Parnell Whitaker resigned in 1867 and was succeeded by Charles Heaphy.

;Pensioner Settlements De Quincey resigned in 1867. The 5 August 1867 by-election was won by John Kerr. A second person, a Mr Jackson, was nominated, but the returning officer would not accept the nomination, as Jackson was not on the electoral roll. Thus, Kerr was declared elected unopposed.

;Picton Beauchamp resigned in 1867. He was succeeded by William Adams, who himself resigned in 1868. Courtenay Kenny won the 1868 by-election.

;Port Chalmers Dick, who was elected on 17 March 1866, resigned on 15 October 1866. He successfully contested the 15 December 1866 by-election, but resigned again on 26 April 1867. David Forsyth Main successfully contested the 1867 by-election.

;Raglan Newman resigned in 1867. He was succeeded by James Farmer.

;Rangitīkei Watt resigned in 1868. He was succeeded by William Fox, who won the 1868 by-election.

;Roslyn Hepburn resigned in 1868. He was succeeded by Henry Driver.

;Taieri Reid resigned in 1869. He was succeeded by Henry Howorth.

;Timaru Cox resigned in 1868. He was succeeded by Edward Stafford.

;Town of Lyttelton Hargreaves resigned in 1868. He was succeeded by John Thomas Peacock.

;Waikouaiti Murison resigned in 1868 and was succeeded by Robert Mitchell. Mitchell himself resigned in the following year and was replaced by Francis Rich.

;Waimea Oliver resigned in 1867. He was succeeded by Edward Baigent.

;Wallace McNeil resigned in 1869 and was succeeded by Cuthbert Cowan. Cowan himself resigned in the same year he got elected and was replaced by George Webster.

;Westland The electorate was abolished in 1867. A new electorate (Westland Boroughs) was established, and Moorhouse was transferred to it.

New electorate

;Westland Boroughs Westland Boroughs was established in 1867, and Moorhouse transferred to it. He resigned in 1868, and William Henry Harrison won the resulting by-election.

Māori electorates

The first elections for the new Māori electorates were held in 1868.

;Eastern Māori Tareha te Moananui was the first representative for the Eastern Māori electorate.

;Northern Māori Frederick Nene Russell was the first representative for the Northern Māori electorate.

;Southern Māori John Patterson was the first representative for the Southern Māori electorate.

;Western Māori Mete Paetahi was the first representative for the Western Māori electorate. --

Notes

References

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References

1. "General elections 1853-2005 - dates & turnout". Elections New Zealand.
2. (Issue 751, 21 April 1866). "The New Parliament". [[Otago Witness]].
3. (Volume XXV). "Election Intelligence". Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle.
4. (Issue 158, 21 March 1866). "Representation of Westland". West Coast Times.
5. (7 August 1866). "News of the Day". Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle.
6. (Volume XXIII). "Northern Division Election". [[Daily Southern Cross]].
7. (6 August 1867). "PENSIONER SETTLEMENTS ELECTION. RETURN OF MR. KERR.". [[Daily Southern Cross]].