James Whyte Kelly (1855 – 15 December 1938) was a 19th-century New Zealand politician, initially of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

but later an

Independent Liberal Independent Liberal is a description allowed in politics to denote party affiliation. It is used to designate a politician as a liberal, yet independent of the official Liberal Party of a country. Those parties were the Liberal Party of Canada, ...

Biography

Kelly was born in 1855 at

Carluke Carluke (; gd, Cathair MoLuaig) is a town that lies in the heart of the Lanarkshire countryside in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, northwest of Lanark and southeast of Wishaw. Carluke is largely a commuting town, with a variety of small stores ...

South Lanarkshire gd, Siorrachd Lannraig a Deas , image_skyline = , image_flag = , image_shield = Arms_slanarkshire.jpg , image_blank_emblem = Slanarks.jpg , blank_emblem_type = Council logo , image_map ...

, Scotland. He became an orphan aged 14. He learned the trade of a tailor, and married Elizabeth Millar, the daughter of James Millar of

Motherwell Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lanarks ...

in Lanarkshire. The couple emigrated in 1875 on the ''Aldergrove'' to New Zealand, landing in

Port Chalmers Port Chalmers is a town serving as the main port of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand. Port Chalmers lies ten kilometres inside Otago Harbour, some 15 kilometres northeast of Dunedin's city centre. History Early Māori settlement The origi ...

Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...

. They later moved south to

Invercargill Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of t ...

. He represented the

electorate in 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 ...

from

1890 Events January–March * January 1 ** The Kingdom of Italy establishes Eritrea as its colony, in the Horn of Africa. ** In Michigan, the wooden steamer ''Mackinaw'' burns in a fire on the Black River. * January 2 ** The steamship ...

. He was in favour of land nationalisation and progressive taxes. In 1895, he broke away from the Liberal Party and became an Independent Liberal. He was defeated in the 1899 election. Kelly died on 15 December 1938.

References

1855 births 1938 deaths New Zealand Liberal Party MPs Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for South Island electorates People from Carluke Scottish emigrants to New Zealand 19th-century New Zealand politicians Unsuccessful candidates in the 1899 New Zealand general election Colony of New Zealand people {{NewZealand-Liberal-politician-stub