The 11th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
of New Zealand.
Elections for this term were held in 4
Māori electorates
In New Zealand politics, Māori electorates, colloquially known as the Māori seats, are a special category of electorate that give reserved positions to representatives of Māori in the New Zealand Parliament. Every area in New Zealand is ...
and 62 European electorates on 27 November and 5 December 1890, respectively. A total of 74 MPs were elected – a reduction on the 95 MPs of the
previous Parliament.
Sessions
The 11th Parliament opened on 23 January 1891, following the
1890 general election. It sat for four sessions (with two sessions in 1891), and was prorogued on 8 November 1893.
Party standings
Start of Parliament
End of Parliament
Historical context
In December 1887, the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
voted to reduce its membership from general electorates from 91 to 70. The 1890 electoral redistribution used the same 1886 census data used for the 1887 electoral redistribution. In addition, three-member electorates were introduced in the four main centres. This resulted in a major restructuring of electorates, with 12 new electorates created. Of those, four electorates were created for the first time: , , , and . The remaining eight electorates had previously existed and were re-created through the 1890 electoral redistribution: , , , , , , , and .
The 11th Parliament was most significant, as following the 1890 general election, it marked the beginning of party politics in New Zealand with the formation of the
Liberal Government Liberal government may refer to:
Australia
In Australian politics, a Liberal government may refer to the following governments administered by the Liberal Party of Australia:
* Menzies Government (1949–66), several Australian ministries under S ...
, which was to enact major welfare, labour and electoral reforms, including giving the vote to women.
Ministries
The
fourth Atkinson Ministry, known as the ''
Scarecrow Ministry'', had been the government. The election had returned several "Independent" or "Labour" members as well as the Liberals. Some of Atkinson's conservative colleagues proposed schemes that would keep him in office, but Atkinson, who had been Premier on and off for 14 years, announced that the house would be called on 23 January 1891 to decide. On 21 January Atkinson told his colleagues that he was retiring on doctor's orders, resigned his seat and was sworn into the
Legislative Council, and appointed Speaker. When
William Rolleston
William Rolleston (19 September 1831 – 8 February 1903) was a New Zealand politician, public administrator, educationalist and Canterbury provincial superintendent.
Early life
Rolleston was born on 19 September 1831 at Maltby, Yorkshire as th ...
lost the ministerial nomination for Speaker,
Edwin Mitchelson announced the resignation of the government. The Governor asked
John Ballance
John Ballance (27 March 1839 – 27 April 1893) was an Irish-born New Zealand politician who was the 14th premier of New Zealand, from January 1891 to April 1893, the founder of the Liberal Party (the country's first organised political part ...
to form a government, which he did on 24 January. It was found to have a majority in the house. After a week of debate, the house went into recess until June.
Atkinson was appointed to the Council with six colleagues, on 20 or 22 January 1891. He was widely regarded as having stacked the council before leaving office. There was a 5000-signature petition against the appointments, but they were approved by the Governor,
The Earl of Onslow
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
. The seven appointments on 20 or 22 January to the Council were Atkinson himself plus
Charles Bowen,
James Fulton,
Charles Johnston,
John Davies Ormond
John Davies Ormond (31 May 1831 – 6 October 1917) was a New Zealand politician whose positions included Superintendent of Hawke's Bay Province, Minister of Public Works and member of the New Zealand Legislative Council.
He represe ...
,
William Downie Stewart Sr
William Downie Stewart (15 May 1842 – 25 November 1898) was a 19th-century New Zealand politician and a lawyer.
Early life
Stewart was born in Blair Drummond near Stirling in Scotland. His parents were Alexander Stewart and Mary (née Downie ...
and
John Blair Whyte
John Blair Whyte (1840 – 21 July 1914) was a Member of Parliament and Mayor in the Waikato region of New Zealand.
Political career
Whyte began his political career in 1877, when he became a member of the first Waikato County Council. Sub ...
.
Ballance had considerable difficulty in achieving reform of the Legislative Council, with new appointments to be for seven years rather than life, and he had major disagreements with the Governor. Ballance's victory is seen as establishing an important precedent in the relationship between Governor and Prime Minister.
The
Ballance Ministry was the beginning of the
Liberal Government Liberal government may refer to:
Australia
In Australian politics, a Liberal government may refer to the following governments administered by the Liberal Party of Australia:
* Menzies Government (1949–66), several Australian ministries under S ...
, which lasted until 1912.
John Ballance
John Ballance (27 March 1839 – 27 April 1893) was an Irish-born New Zealand politician who was the 14th premier of New Zealand, from January 1891 to April 1893, the founder of the Liberal Party (the country's first organised political part ...
died suddenly on 27 April 1893 and whilst Ballance had favoured
Robert Stout
Sir Robert Stout (28 September 1844 – 19 July 1930) was a New Zealand politician who was the 13th premier of New Zealand on two occasions in the late 19th century, and later Chief Justice of New Zealand. He was the only person to hold both ...
as his successor, the caucus selected
Richard Seddon
Richard John Seddon (22 June 1845 – 10 June 1906) was a New Zealand politician who served as the List of prime ministers of New Zealand, 15th Prime Minister of New Zealand, premier (prime minister) of New Zealand from 1893 until his death. ...
instead. The
Seddon Ministry
The Liberal Government of New Zealand was the first responsible government in New Zealand politics organised along party lines. The government formed following the founding of the Liberal Party and took office on 24 January 1891, and governed Ne ...
was in power from 1 May 1893 until 10 June 1906, when Seddon in turn died.
Initial composition of the 11th Parliament
74 seats were created across 66 electorates.
While the Liberal party was the only established party structure at the time, many independent conservative MPs coalesced as a semi-formal conservative opposition under the leadership of
John Bryce
John Bryce (14 September 1833 – 17 January 1913) was a New Zealand politician from 1871 to 1891 and Minister of Native Affairs from 1879 to 1884. In his attitudes to Māori land questions, he favoured strict legal actions against Māori oppo ...
. Due to the loose nature of this grouping it is difficult to determine the affiliation of some Independent MPs.
Table footnotes:
Changes during 11th Parliament
There were a number of changes during the term of the 11th Parliament.
Notes
References
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*{{Cite book , last=Wilson , first=James Oakley , title=New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 , publisher=V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer , year=1985 , edition=4th , location=Wellington , oclc=154283103 , orig-year=First published in 1913
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