The 1888 Ashley by-election 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 on 25 July 1888 in the electorate during the

10th New Zealand Parliament The 10th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the Parliament of New Zealand. Elections for this term were held in 4 Māori electorates and 91 European electorates on 7 and 26 September 1887, respectively. A total of 95 MPs were elected. Parliame ...

. The by-election was caused by the death on 3 July of the incumbent MP

William Fisher Pearson William Fisher Pearson (1854 – 3 July 1888) was a 19th-century Member of Parliament in New Zealand. Pearson was educated at Christ's College, Christchurch. He worked for the Bank of New Zealand for several years. His work there impresse ...

. The three initial candidates, in the order of them announcing themselves, were

John Verrall John Weedon Verrall (June 17, 1908April 15, 2001) was an American composer of contemporary classical music. Life Prior to his University studies, Verrall studied composition with Donald Ferguson, followed by studies with R. O. Morris in London ...

John Ollivier John Ollivier (25 March 1812 – 31 July 1893) was a Member of Parliament in New Zealand, but was better known for his membership of the Canterbury Provincial Council. He was the second chairman of the Christchurch Town Council. Early lif ...

, and Marmaduke Dixon. Ollivier resigned from the contest on 17 July and at the same time, it became known that

Alfred Saunders Alfred Saunders (12 June 1820 – 28 October 1905) was a 19th-century New Zealand politician. Early life Saunders was born in 1820 in Market Lavington, the youngest son of Mary and Amram Saunders. He was educated in Market Lavington and at a B ...

would become a candidate. At the nomination meeting, Dixon won the show of hands. The by-election had a close result and was won by

, with Dixon in third place just nine votes behind.

Results

The following table gives the election result:

Notes

References

* By-elections in New Zealand 1888 elections in New Zealand Politics of Christchurch {{NewZealand-election-stub