1884 Selwyn by-election

1884 Selwyn by-election

←  1883 by-election 15 February 1884 (1884-02-15) 1884 general  →
Turnout	795
Candidate Edward Wakefield John McLachlan Party Independent Independent Popular vote 479 316 Percentage 60.25% 39.75%
MP before election Edward Lee Independent Elected MP Edward Wakefield Independent

The Selwyn by-election of 1884 was a by-election held on 15 February 1884 during the 8th New Zealand Parliament in the rural Canterbury electorate of Selwyn.

The by-election was caused by the death, on 18 December 1883, of the previous member of parliament Edward Lee, who had won the previous by-election in April 1883. ^[1]

The by-election was contested by John McLachlan and Edward Wakefield, the latter winning the show of hands at the nomination meeting. ^[2] The election was won by Wakefield, with 479 votes to 316. ^{[3] [4]}

Results

The following table gives the election results:

1884 Selwyn by-election ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Edward Wakefield	479	60.25
	Independent	John McLachlan	316	39.75
Majority			163	20.50
Turnout			795		+177

McLachland won the polling booth at Leeston by one vote, but Wakefield won the other booths at Brookside, Southbridge and Dunsandel. ^[3] At the 1884 general election on 22 July, Wakefield was returned unopposed in Selwyn. ^[5]

Notes

1. Wilson 1985, p. 212.
2. "Selwyn Election". The Press . Vol. XL, no. 5739. 9 February 1884. p. 3. Retrieved 5 May 2012.
3. "Selwyn Election". The Press . Vol. XL, no. 5755. 28 February 1884. p. 3. Retrieved 5 May 2012.
4. Wilson 1985, p. 242.
5. "The General Election, 1884". National Library. 1884. p. 2. Retrieved 17 March 2012.

References

• Wilson, Jim (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand parliamentary record, 1840–1984 (4 ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC   154283103.