1900 Otaki by-election

Otaki by-election of 1900
Turnout	62.35%
Member before election; Henry Augustus Field; Liberal	Elected Member ; William Hughes Field; Liberal

The Otaki by-election of 1900 was a by-election during the 14th New Zealand Parliament. The election was held on 6 January following the death of Henry Augustus Field, and was won by his brother William Hughes Field.

Background

The Otaki electorate became vacant following the death on 8 December of Henry Augustus Field, two days after the 1899 election.^[1] Before candidates had announced themselves, it was reported that Kennedy Macdonald was considering standing for the Liberal Party.^[2] The barrister Edwin George Jellicoe was also mentioned as a possible candidate.^[2]^[3] It was reported that it was likely that the brother of the deceased, William Hughes Field, would be asked to stand for the Liberal Party.^[2] The president of the Eighty Club, T. Dwan, was mentioned as a possible candidate for the opposition.^[2] The barrister Charles Morison, who had contested the 1899 general election, was a likely candidate again.^[4]^[5] William Field consented just after his brother's funeral, and the Liberal Party confirmed that had Field not been their candidate, they would have stood W. Ross of Upper Hutt as their candidate.^[4]

The deadline for nomination of candidates was 30 December 1899.^[6] In the end, only two candidates were nominated: William Field for the Liberal Party, and Charles Morison in the interests of the opposition.^[5]^[7]

The by-election was held on 6 January and was won by Field's brother William,^[8] who during the campaign showed that he was inexperienced in politics.^[9]

Results

The following table gives the election results:

1900 Otaki by-election^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William Hughes Field	1,755	52.44
	Conservative	Charles Morison	1,592	47.56	+2.09
Majority			163	4.87	−4.18
Turnout			3,347	62.35	−0.45
Registered electors			5,368

Notes

^ Wilson 1985, p. 195.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Second Edition". The Evening Post. Vol. LVIII, no. 140. 11 December 1899. p. 6. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
^ Cyclopedia Company Limited (1897). "Barristers And Solicitors". The Cyclopedia of New Zealand : Wellington Provincial District. Wellington: The Cyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
^ ^a ^b "Second Edition". The Evening Post. Vol. LVIII, no. 142. 13 December 1899. p. 6. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
^ ^a ^b "Mr. C.B. Morison, K.C." The Evening Post. Vol. XCIX, no. 6. 7 January 1920. p. 6. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
^ "Notice of Polling Day". The Evening Post. Vol. LVIII, no. 153. 28 December 1899. p. 6. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
^ "The Otaki Election". The Evening Post. Vol. LIX, no. 1. 2 January 1900. p. 5. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
^ Wilson 1985, p. 196.
^ "Evening Post". The Evening Post. Vol. LVIII, no. 149. 21 December 1899. p. 4. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
^ "The Otaki Seat". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. XXXVII, no. 11265. 8 January 1900. p. 5. Retrieved 5 February 2015.

References

Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.

[FOOTNOTEWilson1985195-1] Wilson 1985, p. 195.

[possible_candidates-2] "Second Edition". The Evening Post. Vol. LVIII, no. 140. 11 December 1899. p. 6. Retrieved 6 February 2015.

[3] Cyclopedia Company Limited (1897). "Barristers And Solicitors". The Cyclopedia of New Zealand : Wellington Provincial District. Wellington: The Cyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 22 November 2013.

[Field_confirmed-4] "Second Edition". The Evening Post. Vol. LVIII, no. 142. 13 December 1899. p. 6. Retrieved 6 February 2015.

[EP_obit-5] "Mr. C.B. Morison, K.C." The Evening Post. Vol. XCIX, no. 6. 7 January 1920. p. 6. Retrieved 3 February 2015.

[6] "Notice of Polling Day". The Evening Post. Vol. LVIII, no. 153. 28 December 1899. p. 6. Retrieved 5 February 2015.

[7] "The Otaki Election". The Evening Post. Vol. LIX, no. 1. 2 January 1900. p. 5. Retrieved 5 February 2015.

[FOOTNOTEWilson1985196-8] Wilson 1985, p. 196.

[Field_campaign_speech-9] "Evening Post". The Evening Post. Vol. LVIII, no. 149. 21 December 1899. p. 4. Retrieved 3 February 2015.

[NZH_results-10] "The Otaki Seat". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. XXXVII, no. 11265. 8 January 1900. p. 5. Retrieved 5 February 2015.

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v t e « (1853–1890) « By-elections in New Zealand in the Liberal Party era (1891–1911) » (1912–1938) »
11th Parliament	Northern Maori, 1891 Egmont, 1891 Newton, 1891 Te Aroha, 1891 Waikato, 1891 City of Christchurch, 1891 City of Wellington, 1892 Bruce, 1892 Rangitikei, 1892 Inangahua, 1893 Wanganui, 1893 Thames, 1893 City of Auckland, 1893
12th Parliament	Waitemata, 1894 Tuapeka, 1894 City of Auckland, 1895 City of Christchurch, 1896
13th Parliament	Wellington Suburbs, 1897 Awarua, 1897 City of Dunedin, 1897 City of Wellington, 1898 Mataura, 1898 Tuapeka, 1898 City of Wellington, 1899
14th Parliament	Otaki, 1900 City of Auckland, 1900 Waihemo, 1900 Northern Maori, 1901 City of Christchurch, 1901 Patea, Jul 1901 Patea, Nov 1901 Caversham, 1901
15th Parliament	Pahiatua, 1904 City of Wellington, 1905
16th Parliament	Westland, 1906 Manukau, 1906 Taranaki, 1907 Tuapeka, 1908
17th Parliament	Thames, 1909 Northern Maori, 1909 Rangitikei, 1909 Auckland East, 1910 Christchurch North, 1911