1889 East Coast by-election
New Zealand by-election
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1889 East Coast by-election was a by-election held on 13 December 1889 in the East Coast electorate during the 10th New Zealand Parliament.
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13 December 1889
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| Turnout | 1,300 | |||||||||||||||
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Background
The by-election was caused by the resignation of the incumbent MP Andrew Graham on 21 October 1889.[1] Graham was in financial difficulty and was later declared bankrupt, which he ascribed to mismanagement of his business whilst he was on a trip to Scotland.[2]
Campaign
He was replaced by Alexander Creighton Arthur, a local runholder. Lawyer William Lee Rees, who contested the seat twice before unsuccessfully, again stood and came second. Rees was the Liberal Party's selected candidate.[3]
Results
The following table gives the election result:
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Alexander Creighton Arthur | 676 | 52.00 | ||
| Liberal | William Lee Rees | 624 | 48.00 | ||
| Majority | 52 | 4.00 | |||
| Turnout | 1,300 | ||||
Aftermath
Arthur served as MP for East Coast for only one year and was defeated in 1890 by William Kelly.[5] Rees did not recontest the seat in 1890 and instead stood in the City of Auckland electorate and was successful.[6]
