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1889 East Coast by-election

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1889 East Coast by-election

← 1887 general 13 December 1889 (1889-12-13) 1890 general →
Turnout1,300
 
Candidate Alexander Arthur William Lee Rees
Party Independent Liberal
Popular vote 676 624
Percentage 52.00% 48.00%

MP before election

Andrew Graham
Independent

Elected MP

Alexander Arthur
Independent

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.

Background

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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

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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

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The following table gives the election result:

1889 East Coast by-election[4]
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

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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]

References

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  1. ^ "Resignation of Mr Graham". Lyttelton Times. Vol. LXXII, no. 8930. 22 October 1889. p. 5.
  2. ^ "Bankruptcy – Estate of Andrew Graham". Poverty Bay Herald. Vol. XVI, no. 5610. 4 November 1889. p. 2.
  3. ^ "East Coast Election". Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette. Vol. III, no. 391. 14 December 1889. p. 2.
  4. ^ "The East Coast Election". The Press. Vol. XLVI, no. 7425. 17 December 1889. p. 5.
  5. ^ Scholefield, Guy (1925) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record (3rd ed.). Wellington: Govt. Printer. p. 107.
  6. ^ Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. p. 251. OCLC 154283103.