1884 Selwyn by-election

New Zealand by-election

← 1883 by-election

15 February 1884 (1884-02-15)

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

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

References

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