1899 City of Wellington by-election

The 25 July 1899 City of Wellington by-election was caused by the resignation of incumbent MP John Hutcheson over the Marine Scandal.^[1] Hutcheson, along with MP Frederick Pirani had accused Premier Richard Seddon and Minister of Marine William Hall-Jones amongst others, of using influence to obtain Mariners certificates for unqualified candidates in contravention of the recent Shipping and Seamen's Act.^[2] When the Marine Commission report ^[3] declared that the charges were unfounded Hutcheson resigned in order to exonerate himself by means of a by-election win.

1899 Wellington by-election

← 1896 general 25 July 1899 1899 general →
Turnout	77.26%
Candidate John Hutcheson Edwin G. Jellicoe Party Liberal–Labour Independent Popular vote 6,945 4,971 Percentage 58.28 41.72
Member before election John Hutcheson Liberal–Labour Elected Member John Hutcheson Liberal–Labour

1896 election result

General election, 1896 results: City of Wellington^[4]

1896 New Zealand general election^[5][6][7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal–Labour	John Hutcheson	6,410	48.68
	Independent	Robert Stout	6,305	47.88
	Liberal	George Fisher	5,858	44.49
	Conservative	Arthur Atkinson	5,830	44.27
	Liberal	Charles Wilson	5,569	42.29
	Conservative	Andrew Agnew Stuart Menteath	5,559	42.22
	Liberal	Francis Fraser	1,811	13.75
	Independent	Justinian John Kivern Powell	185	1.40
	Liberal	Arthur Warburton	91	0.69
Majority			28 1	0.21
Total votes			37,618
Turnout			13,168[8]2	68.21
Registered electors			19,304[9]

¹ Majority is difference between lowest winning poll (Fisher, 5859) and highest losing poll (Atkinson, 5831)

² Turnout is total number of voters - as voters had three votes each total votes cast was higher (37,624)

1899 by-election result

The following table gives the election results:

1899 City of Wellington by-election^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal–Labour	John Hutcheson	6,945	58.28
	Independent	Edwin George Jellicoe[10]	4,971	41.72
Majority			1,974	16.57
Turnout			11,916

See also

1898 City of Wellington by-election

Notes

1. McLintock, A. H., ed. (22 April 2009) [First published in 1966]. ""Marine Scandal", 1899". An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand. Ministry for Culture and Heritage / Te Manatū Taonga. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
2. "Shipping and Seamen's Act Amendment Act 1894 (58 VICT 1894 No 62)". Parliamentary Counsel Office. 1894. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
3. "Marine Commission: Commission to Inquire into Certain Matters Relating to the Marine Department". National Library of New Zealand. 1899. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
4. "The Wellington Election". Clutha Leader. Vol. XXVI, no. 1319. 28 July 1899. p. 5. Retrieved 26 August 2011.
5. "A Mistake in the Wellington Vote". The Evening Post. 10 December 1896. p. 6. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
6. "Page 1 Advertisements Column 3". The Evening Post. 28 November 1896. p. 1. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
7. "List of Candidates". Hawera & Normanby Star. Vol. XXXIII, no. 3411. 2 December 1896. p. 2. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
8. "The Wellington Election". Clutha Leader. 28 July 1899. p. 5. Retrieved 26 August 2011.
9. McRobie 1989, p. 63.
10. 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.

References

• McRobie, Alan (1989). Electoral Atlas of New Zealand. Wellington: GP Books. ISBN 0-477-01384-8.