13th New Zealand Parliament

The 13th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1896 general election in December of that year.

1896 general election

Main article: New Zealand general election, 1896

The 1896 general election was held on Wednesday, 4 December in the general electorates and on Thursday, 19 December in the Māori electorates, respectively. In the 1896 electoral redistribution, rapid population growth in the North Island required the transfer of three seats from the South Island to the north. Four electorates that previously existed were re-established (Geraldine, Manawatu, Motueka, and Taranaki), and three electorates were established for the first time (Ohinemuri, Hawera, and Pahiatua). A total of 74 MPs were elected; 34 represented North Island electorates, 36 represented South Island electorates, and the remaining four represented Māori electorates. 337,024 voters were enrolled and the official turnout at the election was 76.1%.

Sessions

The 13th Parliament sat for four sessions (there were two sessions in 1897), and was prorogued on 15 November 1899.

Session	Opened	Adjouned
first	6 April 1897	10 April 1897
second	23 September 1897	22 December 1897
third	24 September 1898	6 November 1898
fourth	23 September 1899	24 October 1899

Ministries

The Liberal Government of New Zealand had taken office on 24 January 1891. The Seddon Ministry under Richard Seddon had taken office in 1893 during the term of the 11th Parliament. The Seddon Ministry remained in power for the whole term of this Parliament and held power until Seddon's death on 10 June 1906.

Initial composition of the 13th Parliament

The table below shows the results of the 1896 general election:

Key

  Liberal     Independent     Independent Liberal     Opposition        Liberal-Labour

Electorate results for the New Zealand general election, 1896

Electorate	Incumbent		Winner		Majority	Runner up
General electorates
Ashburton		John McLachlan		Edward George Wright	242		John McLachlan
Ashley		Richard Meredith			372		Henry Fear Reece
Auckland, City of		Thomas Thompson			2,516		Arthur Rosser
		Charles Button		James Job Holland	1,622
		William Crowther		William Crowther	1,328
Avon		William Tanner			457		George McIntyre
Awarua		Joseph Ward			783		Cuthbert Cowan
Bay of Islands		Robert Houston			627		John Press
Bay of Plenty		William Kelly		William Herries	132		William Kelly
Bruce		James Allen			1,059		William Auld
Buller		Roderick McKenzie		Patrick O'Regan	292		James Colvin
Caversham		Arthur Morrison			1,178		Thomas Sidey
Christchurch, City of		Charles Lewis			6,570		William Whitehouse Collins
		George Smith			5,940
		William Whitehouse Collins		Tommy Taylor	5,445
Clutha		Thomas Mackenzie		James Thomson	903		John Edie
Dunedin, City of		William Hutchison		Scobie Mackenzie	2,132		David Pinkerton
		David Pinkerton		John A. Millar	547
		William Earnshaw		Henry Fish	378
Eden		Edwin Mitchelson		John Bollard	214		Jackson Palmer
Egmont		Felix McGuire		Walter Symes	270		William Monkhouse
Ellesmere		William Montgomery, Jr.			564		Frederick Arthur Anson
Franklin		Benjamin Harris		William Massey	474		Benjamin Harris
Geraldine	(new electorate)			Frederick Flatman	211		Arthur Rhodes
Grey		Arthur Guinness			1,777		Robert Francis Bell
Hawera	(new electorate)			Felix McGuire	36		Benjamin Robbins
Hawke's Bay		William Russell			833		Alfred Fraser
Invercargill		James Whyte Kelly			578		John Sinclair
Kaiapoi		David Buddo		Richard Moore	259		David Buddo
Lyttelton	(new electorate)			John Joyce	446		William Jacques
Manawatu	(new electorate)			John Stevens	71		Robert Bruce
Manukau		Maurice O'Rorke			215		Frank Buckland
Masterton		Alexander Hogg			263		Donald John Cameron
Marsden		Robert Thompson			402		Alfred H Mason
Mataura		Robert McNab		George Richardson	201		Robert McNab
Motueka	(new electorate)			Roderick McKenzie	126		Richmond Hursthouse
Napier		Samuel Carnell		Douglas Maclean	747		Samuel Carnell
Nelson		John Graham			343		Jesse Piper
Oamaru		Thomas Duncan			771		James Dickson Sievwright
Ohinemuri	(new electorate)			Alfred Cadman	2,037		Edwin Edwards
Otaki		James Wilson		Henry Augustus Field	408		Alfred Newman
Pahiatua	(new electorate)			John O'Meara	30		Robert Manisty
Palmerston		Frederick Pirani			50		David Buick
Parnell		Frank Lawry			470		Samuel Vaile
Patea		George Hutchison			605		Arthur Remington
Rangitikei		John Stevens		Frank Lethbridge	271		Walter A L Bailey
Riccarton		George Warren Russell		William Rolleston	391		George Warren Russell
Selwyn		Alfred Saunders		Cathcart Wason	182		Alfred Saunders
Taieri		Walter Carncross			554		John Graham
Taranaki	(new electorate)			Henry Brown	97		Edward Metcalf Smith
Thames		James McGowan			323		Edmund Taylor
Timaru		William Hall-Jones			640		Francis Henry Smith
Tuapeka		William Larnach			21		Charles Rawlins
Waiapu		James Carroll			368		Cecil Fitzroy
Waihemo		John McKenzie			554		John Duncan
Waikato		Alfred Cadman		Frederic Lang	1,012		Edward Walker
Waipawa		Charles Hall		George Hunter	211		Charles Hall
Waikouaiti		James Green		Edmund Allen	761		John J Ramsay
Wairarapa		Walter Clarke Buchanan			333		J. T. Marryat Hornsby
Wairau		Lindsay Buick		Charles H. Mills	58		Lindsay Buick
Waitaki		William Steward			999		Duncan Sutherland
Waitemata		William Massey		Richard Monk	171		Heathcote Jackman
Wakatipu		William Fraser			335		James George
Wallace		James Mackintosh		Michael Gilfedder	116		Rev. Thomas Neave
Wanganui		Archibald Willis		Gilbert Carson	84		Archibald Willis
Wellington, City of		Robert Stout		Robert Stout	475		Arthur Richmond Atkinson
		Francis Bell		John Hutcheson	580
		John Duthie		George Fisher	28
Wellington Suburbs		Alfred Newman		Thomas Wilford	252		Thomas William Hislop
Westland		Richard Seddon			1,883		Joseph Grimmond
Māori electorates
Eastern Maori		Wi Pere			1,744		Tamati Tautuhi
Northern Maori		Hone Heke			1,316		Eparaima Te Mutu Kapa
Southern Maori		Tame Parata			113		Thomas Ellison
Western Maori		Ropata Te Ao		Henare Kaihau	731		Ropata Te Ao

Table footnotes:

By-elections during 13th Parliament

There were a number of changes during the term of the 13th Parliament.

Electorate and by-election		Date	Incumbent		Cause	Winner
Suburbs of Wellington	1897	23 April		Thomas Wilford	Election declared void		Charles Wilson
Awarua	1897	5 August		Joseph Ward	Bankruptcy		Joseph Ward
City of Dunedin	1897	13 October		Henry Fish	Death		Alexander Sligo
City of Wellington	1898	9 March		Robert Stout	Resignation		John Duthie
Mataura	1898	26 May		George Richardson	Bankruptcy		Robert McNab
Tuapeka	1898	2 November		William Larnach	Death		Charles Rawlins
City of Wellington	1899	25 July		John Hutcheson	Resignation		John Hutcheson

References

• McRobie 1989, p. 63.
• Scholefield 1950, p. 90.
• Scholefield 1950, p. 69.
• Scholefield 1950, p. 40.
• Scholefield 1950, pp. 40–41.