The City of Wellington by-election 1858 was a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

held in the multi-member electorate during the

2nd New Zealand Parliament The 2nd New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament, Parliament of New Zealand. It opened on 15 April 1856, following New Zealand's 1855 New Zealand general election, 1855 election. It was dissolved on 5 November 1860 in prep ...

, on 27 July 1858. The by-election was caused by the resignation of two of the three incumbent MPs

Isaac Featherston Isaac Earl Featherston (21 March 1813 – 19 June 1876) was a New Zealand politician, and was known for his advocacy for the establishment of New Zealand self-government, and the importance of the provincial governments. Early life and family ...

and

William Fitzherbert William Fitzherbert may refer to: *Saint William of York, Archbishop of York *William Fitzherbert (New Zealand politician) (1810–1891), New Zealand politician * Sir William FitzHerbert, 1st Baronet (1748–1791), of Derbyshire *William Fitzherb ...

, and was won by Featherston and William Rhodes. Featherston resigned in order to return to England, but then decided to remain in New Zealand while Rhodes resigned to contest the which he subsequently won. On nomination day (26 July) Featherston, Rhodes, Jerningham Wakefield and William Bowler were nominated, and after a show of hands in favour of Rhodes and Featherston a poll was demanded by Wakefield and Bowler. Featherston and Rhodes were subsequently elected the following day.

Results

References

Wellington 1858 1858 elections in New Zealand 1850s in Wellington July 1858 events Politics of the Wellington Region {{NewZealand-election-stub