1889 East Coast by-election

1889 East Coast by-election

← 1887 general 13 December 1889 (1889-12-13) 1890 general →
Turnout1,300
 
Candidate Alexander Arthur William Lee Rees
Party Independent Liberal
Popular vote 676 624
Percentage 52.00% 48.00%

MP before election

Andrew Graham
Independent

Elected MP

Alexander Arthur
Independent

The 1889 East Coast by-election was a by-election held on 13 December 1889 in the East Coast electorate during the 10th New Zealand Parliament.

Background

The by-election was caused by the resignation of the incumbent MP Andrew Graham on 21 October 1889.[1] Graham was in financial difficulty and was later declared bankrupt, which he ascribed to mismanagement of his business whilst he was on a trip to Scotland.[2]

Campaign

He was replaced by Alexander Creighton Arthur, a local runholder. Lawyer William Lee Rees, who contested the seat twice before unsuccessfully, again stood and came second. Rees was the Liberal Party's selected candidate.[3]

Results

The following table gives the election result:

1889 East Coast by-election[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Alexander Creighton Arthur 676 52.00
Liberal William Lee Rees 624 48.00
Majority 52 4.00
Turnout 1,300

Aftermath

Arthur served as MP for East Coast for only one year and was defeated in 1890 by William Kelly.[5] Rees did not recontest the seat in 1890 and instead stood in the City of Auckland electorate and was successful.[6]

References

  1. ^ "Resignation of Mr Graham". Lyttelton Times. Vol. LXXII, no. 8930. 22 October 1889. p. 5.
  2. ^ "Bankruptcy – Estate of Andrew Graham". Poverty Bay Herald. Vol. XVI, no. 5610. 4 November 1889. p. 2.
  3. ^ "East Coast Election". Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette. Vol. III, no. 391. 14 December 1889. p. 2.
  4. ^ "The East Coast Election". The Press. Vol. XLVI, no. 7425. 17 December 1889. p. 5.
  5. ^ Scholefield, Guy (1925) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record (3rd ed.). Wellington: Govt. Printer. p. 107.
  6. ^ Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. p. 251. OCLC 154283103.