15th_New_Zealand_Parliament
15th New Zealand Parliament
Term of the Parliament of New Zealand
The 15th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1902 general election in November and December of that year.
| 15th Parliament of New Zealand | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||
| Overview | |||||
| Legislative body | New Zealand Parliament | ||||
| Term | 29 June 1903 – 30 October 1905 | ||||
| Election | 1902 New Zealand general election | ||||
| Government | Liberal Government | ||||
| House of Representatives | |||||
| Members | 80 | ||||
| Speaker of the House | Arthur Guinness | ||||
| Premier | Richard Seddon | ||||
| Leader of the Opposition | William Massey | ||||
| Legislative Council | |||||
| Members | 46 (at start) 41 (at end) | ||||
| Speaker of the Council | Charles Bowen — Richard Reeves acting 23 March - 30 June 1905 — Alfred Cadman until 23 March 1905 † — John Rigg acting 5 January - 7 July 1904 — William Walker until 5 January 1904† — Henry Miller until 9 July 1903 | ||||
| Sovereign | |||||
| Monarch | HM Edward VII | ||||
| Governor | HE Rt. Hon. THe Lord Plunket — HE Rt. Hon. The Earl of Ranfurly until 20 June 1904 | ||||
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The Representation Act 1900 had increased the membership of the House of Representatives from general electorates 70 to 76, and this was implemented through the 1902 electoral redistribution. In 1902, changes to the country quota affected the three-member electorates in the four main centres. The tolerance between electorates was increased to ±1,250 so that the Representation Commissions (since 1896, there had been separate commissions for the North and South Islands) could take greater account of communities of interest. These changes proved very disruptive to existing boundaries.[1] Six electorates were established for the first time: Courtenay, Newtown, Grey Lynn , Hurunui, Oroua, and Kaipara. Two electorates that previously existed were re-established: Mount Ida and Hutt.[2]
This boundary redistribution resulted in the abolition of three electorates:[2]
- Ashley, held by Richard Meredith
- Suburbs of Wellington, held by Thomas Wilford
- Waihemo, held by Thomas Mackenzie
The 1902 general election was held on Tuesday, 25 November in the general electorates and on Monday, 22 December in the Māori electorates, respectively.[3] A total of 80 MPs were elected; 38 represented North Island electorates, 38 represented South Island electorates, and the remaining four represented Māori electorates.[4] 415,789 voters were enrolled and the official turnout at the election was 76.7%.[3]
The 15th Parliament sat for three sessions, and was prorogued on 15 November 1905.[5]
| Session | Opened | Adjourned |
|---|---|---|
| first | 29 June 1903 | 24 November 1903 |
| second | 28 June 1904 | 8 November 1904 |
| third | 27 June 1905 | 31 October 1905 |
The Liberal Government of New Zealand had taken office on 24 January 1891.[6] The Seddon Ministry under Richard Seddon had taken office in 1893 during the term of the 11th Parliament.[7] The Seddon Ministry remained in power for the whole term of this Parliament and held power until Seddon's death on 10 June 1906.[8]
Start of term
| Party | Seats | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal || 47 | ||||||||
| Conservative || 19 | ||||||||
| Independent || 10 | ||||||||
| Other | 4 | |||||||
| Source[9] | ||||||||
The following are the results of the 1902 general election:
Key
Liberal Conservative Independent Liberal Liberal–Labour Independent
There were a number of changes during the term of the 15th Parliament.
By-elections
| Electorate and by-election | Date | Incumbent | Cause | Winner | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pahiatua | 1904 | 28 July | John O'Meara | Death | Bill Hawkins | ||
| City of Wellington | 1905 | 6 April | George Fisher | Death | Frank Fisher | ||
Defections
| Name | Year | Seat | From | To | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alfred Harding | 1905 | Kaipara | Conservative | New Liberal | ||
| Francis Fisher | 1905 | City of Wellington | Independent Liberal | |||
| George Laurenson | 1905 | Lyttelton | Liberal | |||
| Harry Bedford | 1905 | City of Dunedin | Independent Liberal | |||
| Tommy Taylor | 1905 | City of Christchurch | ||||
- McRobie 1989, pp. 67f.
- McRobie 1989, pp. 63–68.
- "General elections 1853–2005 - dates & turnout". Elections New Zealand. Archived from the original on 27 May 2010. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
- Scholefield 1950, p. 90.
- Scholefield 1950, p. 69.
- Scholefield 1950, p. 40.
- Scholefield 1950, pp. 40–41.
- Hamer, David. "Seddon, Richard John - Biography". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
- "1890–1993 general elections | Elections". Elections.nz. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
- "The General Election, 1902". National Library. 1903. pp. 1–4. Retrieved 8 February 2012.
- "The Elections". The Press. Vol. LIX, no. 11436. 21 November 1902. p. 2. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
- "Mr Charles Leech". Auckland Star. Vol. XXXIII, no. 281. 26 November 1902. p. 3. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
- "Electoral District of Napier". Hawke's Bay Herald. Vol. XXXVII, no. 12308. 1 December 1902. p. 3. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
- "Electoral District of Oamaru". The Oamaru Mail. Vol. XXVIII, no. 8060. 29 November 1902. p. 3. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
- "Page 18 Advertisements Column 1". Observer. Vol. XXIII, no. 10. 22 November 1902. p. 18. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
- McRobie, Alan (1989). Electoral Atlas of New Zealand. Wellington: GP Books. ISBN 0-477-01384-8.
- Scholefield, Guy (1950) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1949 (3rd ed.). Wellington: Govt. Printer.
- Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.