The 12th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the
New Zealand Parliament
The New Zealand Parliament ( mi, Pāremata Aotearoa) is the unicameral legislature of New Zealand, consisting of the King of New Zealand (King-in-Parliament) and the New Zealand House of Representatives. The King is usually represented by hi ...
. It was elected at the
1893 general election in November and December of that year.
1893 general election
In the 1892 electoral redistribution, population shift to the
North Island required the transfer of one seat from the
South Island to the north. The resulting ripple effect saw every electorate established in 1890 have its boundaries altered, and 14 new electorates were established. Of those, eight electorates were established for the first time: , , , , , , , and . The remaining six electorates had existed before, and they were re-established for the 12th Parliament: , , , , , and .
The 1893 general election was held on Tuesday, 28 November in the general electorates and on Wednesday, 20 December in the
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 ...
, respectively.
A total of 74
MPs were elected; 30 represented
North Island electorates, 40 represented
South Island electorates, and the remaining four represented Māori electorates. 302,997 voters were enrolled and the official turnout at the election was 75.3%.
Sessions
The 12th Parliament sat for three sessions, and was prorogued on 14 November 1896.
Overview of seats
Ministries
The
Liberal Government of New Zealand
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 N ...
had taken office on 24 January 1891.
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 ...
, who had been leading the Ballance Ministry, had died on 27 April 1893 and had been succeeded by the Seddon Ministry under
Richard Seddon
Richard John Seddon (22 June 1845 – 10 June 1906) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 15th premier (prime minister) of New Zealand from 1893 until his death. In office for thirteen years, he is to date New Zealand's longest-se ...
. The Seddon Ministry remained in power for the whole term of this Parliament and held power until Seddon's death on 10 June 1906.
Initial composition of the 12th Parliament
74 seats were created across 66 electorates. 62 electorates returned a single member and four electoral districts had three representatives each.
The Liberal party was the only established party structure at the time, many independent conservative MPs coalesced as a semi-formal Opposition under the leadership of
William Russell.
By-elections during 12th Parliament
There were a number of changes during the term of the 12th Parliament.
Notes
References
*
*
*{{cite book , last= Wilson , first= James Oakley , title= New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 , edition= 4th , orig-year=First published in 1913 , year= 1985 , publisher=V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer , location= Wellington , oclc= 154283103
External links
Roll of Members of the House of Representatives in 1894
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