13th Parliament of New Zealand | |||||
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Overview | |||||
Legislative body | New Zealand Parliament | ||||
Term | 6 April 1897 – 23 October 1899 | ||||
Election | 1896 New Zealand general election | ||||
Government | Liberal Government | ||||
House of Representatives | |||||
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Members | 74 | ||||
Speaker of the House | Maurice O'Rorke | ||||
Premier | Richard Seddon | ||||
Leader of the Opposition | William Russell | ||||
Legislative Council | |||||
Members | 47 (at start) 46 (at end) | ||||
Speaker of the Council | Henry Miller | ||||
Sovereign | |||||
Monarch | HMVictoria | ||||
Governor | HE Rt. Hon. The Earl of Ranfurly |
The 13th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1896 general election in December of that year.
The 1896 general election was held on Wednesday, 4 December in the general electorates and on Thursday, 19 December in the Māori electorates, respectively.[1] In the 1896 electoral redistribution, rapid population growth in the North Island required the transfer of three seats from the South Island to the north. Four electorates that previously existed were re-established (Geraldine, Manawatu, Motueka, and Taranaki), and three electorates were established for the first time (Ohinemuri, Hawera, and Pahiatua).[2] A total of 74 MPs were elected; 34 represented North Island electorates, 36 represented South Island electorates, and the remaining four represented Māori electorates.[3] 337,024 voters were enrolled and the official turnout at the election was 76.1%.[1]
The 13th Parliament sat for four sessions (there were two sessions in 1897), and was prorogued on 15 November 1899.[4]
Session | Opened | Adjourned |
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first | 6 April 1897 | 10 April 1897 |
second | 23 September 1897 | 22 December 1897 |
third | 24 June 1898 | 6 November 1898 |
fourth | 23 June 1899 | 24 October 1899 |
Affiliation | Members | ||
---|---|---|---|
At election | At dissolution | ||
Liberal | 37 | 35 | |
Liberal–Labour | 4 | 4 | |
Government total | 41 | 39 | |
Conservative | 27 | 29 | |
Independent | 4 | 4 | |
Independent Liberal | 2 | 2 | |
Opposition total | 33 | 35 | |
Total | 74 | 74 | |
Working government majority | 8 | 4 |
The Liberal Government of New Zealand had taken office on 24 January 1891.[5] The Seddon Ministry under Richard Seddon had taken office in 1893 during the term of the 11th Parliament.[6] The Seddon Ministry remained in power for the whole term of this Parliament and held power until Seddon's death on 10 June 1906.[7]
The table below shows the results of the 1896 general election:
Key
Liberal Conservative Independent Liberal Liberal–Labour Independent
Table footnotes:
There were a number of changes during the term of the 13th Parliament.
Electorate and by-election | Date | Incumbent | Cause | Winner | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Suburbs of Wellington | 1897 | 23 April | Thomas Wilford | Election declared void | Charles Wilson | ||
Awarua | 1897 | 5 August | Sir Joseph Ward | Bankruptcy | Sir Joseph Ward | ||
City of Dunedin | 1897 | 13 October | Henry Fish | Death | Alexander Sligo | ||
City of Wellington | 1898[65] | 9 March | Sir Robert Stout | Resignation | John Duthie | ||
Mataura | 1898 | 26 May | George Richardson | Bankruptcy | Robert McNab | ||
Tuapeka | 1898 | 2 November | William Larnach | Death | Charles Rawlins | ||
City of Wellington | 1899 | 25 July | John Hutcheson | Resignation | John Hutcheson |