17th New Zealand Parliament
The 17th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1908 general election in November and December of that year.
| 17th Parliament of New Zealand | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||
| Overview | |||||
| Legislative body | New Zealand Parliament | ||||
| Term | 10 June 1909 – 28 October 1911 | ||||
| Election | 1908 New Zealand general election | ||||
| Government | Liberal Government | ||||
| House of Representatives | |||||
 | |||||
| Members | 80 | ||||
| Speaker of the House | Arthur Guinness | ||||
| Prime Minister | Joseph Ward | ||||
| Leader of the Opposition | William Massey | ||||
| Legislative Council | |||||
| Members | 45 (at start) 38 (at end) | ||||
| Speaker of the Council | Charles Bowen | ||||
| Sovereign | |||||
| Monarch | HM George V — HM Edward VII until 6 May 1910 | ||||
| Governor | HE Rt. Hon. The Lord Islington from 22 June 1910 — HE Rt. Hon. THe Lord Plunket until 8 June 1910 | ||||
1908 general election
The Second Ballot Act 1908 was used for the 1908 general election. The first ballot was held on Tuesday, 17 November in the general electorates. 22 second ballots were held one week later on 24 November, and in one large rural electorate (Bay of Plenty), two weeks were allowed before the second ballot was held on 1 December. The Second Ballot Act did not apply to the four Māori electorates and the election was held on Wednesday, 2 December.[1] A total of 80 MPs were elected; 41 represented North Island electorates, 35 represented South Island electorates, and the remaining four represented Māori electorates.[2] 537,003 voters were enrolled and the official turnout at the election was 79.8%.[1]
Sessions
The 17th Parliament sat for four sessions (there were two sessions in 1909), and was prorogued on 20 November 1911.[3]
| Session | Opened | Adjourned |
|---|---|---|
| first | 10 June 1909 | 16 June 1909 |
| second | 7 October 1909 | 28 December 1909 |
| third | 28 June 1910 | 3 December 1910 |
| fourth | 27 July 1911 | 28 October 1911 |
Ministries
The Liberal Government of New Zealand had taken office on 24 January 1891.[4] Joseph Ward formed the Ward Ministry on 6 August 1906.[5][6] The Ward Ministry remained in power until Ward's resignation as Prime Minister in 1912.[5][7]
Initial composition of the 17th Parliament
The following are the results of the 1908 general election:
Key
Liberal Conservative Ind. Labour League Independent Liberal Liberal–Labour Independent
Table footnotes:
- † in Majority column depicts electorates in which a second ballot was held.
- Harry Ell was previously associated with the Liberal Party.
- For some biographical details of James Kerr refer to his father's article
- The affiliation of many of the Māori candidates is unknown or uncertain; note that the Second Ballot Act 1908 did not apply to Māori constituencies.
By-elections during 17th Parliament
There were a number of changes during the term of the 17th Parliament.
| Electorate and by-election | Date | Incumbent | Cause | Winner | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thames | 1909 | 4 February | James McGowan | Appointed to Legislative Council | Edmund Taylor | ||
| Northern Maori | 1909 | 20 March | Hone Heke Ngapua | Death | Te Rangi Hīroa | ||
| Rangitikei | 1909 | 16 September | Arthur Remington | Death | Robert Smith | ||
| Auckland East | 1910 | 16 June | Frederick Baume | Death | Arthur Myers | ||
| Christchurch North | 1911 | 17 August | Tommy Taylor | Death | Leonard Isitt | ||
| Name | Year | Seat | From | To | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| William Hughes Field | 1909 | Otaki | Independent | Reform | ||
| Francis Fisher | 1910 | Wellington Central | ||||
| David McLaren | Wellington East | Ind. Labour League | Labour | |||
Notes
- "General elections 1853–2005 - dates & turnout". Elections New Zealand. Archived from the original on 27 May 2010. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
- Scholefield 1950, p. 90.
- Scholefield 1950, p. 69.
- Scholefield 1950, p. 40.
- Scholefield 1950, pp. 42–43.
- Hall-Jones, John. "Hall-Jones, William 1851-1936". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
- Bassett, Michael. "Ward, Joseph George". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
- "The General Election, 1908". National Library. 1909. pp. 1–34. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
References
- Scholefield, Guy (1950) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1949 (3rd ed.). Wellington: Govt. Printer.