1875 Wairau by-election

Arthur Seymour was a prominent politician in the Marlborough Province. Seymour was a member of the Marlborough Provincial Council almost continuously during its existence from 1860 to 1876. He was the leader of the Picton Party that managed to have the provincial buildings for Marlborough built in Picton instead of Blenheim. Seymour was Superintendent of Marlborough in 1864 and 1865, and when he was succeeded by William Henry Eyes, the capital seat was moved to Blenheim.[1][2] The reason for Seymour's 1865 resignation was his appointment to the Legislative Council. Seymour in turn resigned from the Legislative Council in 1872 so that he could contest the 1872 Wairau by-election caused by Eyes' resignation from the House of Representatives; Seymour won the election.[3] In 1870, Seymour had commenced his second period as Superintendent for Marlborough Province.[1]

Seymour resigned from the House of Representatives in May 1875 to visit England, mainly to see his ailing father while he (his father) was still alive. Seymour informed the public at a meeting on 6 May that he had resigned from Parliament.[4] Seymour stated that he would offer himself as a parliamentary candidate upon his return, and the meeting endorsed this intention.[4] It was the first time that a Superintendent who visited England did not resign that role.[5] Ward was present at Seymour's meeting at after Seymour had spoken, Ward announced his candidacy for the upcoming by-election. Just as Ward finished his speech, Moorhouse walked into the meeting and addressed those present for an hour, also announcing his candidacy.[4]

Joseph Ward was a surveyor by trade, and he became a significant runholder who at one point had 50,000 sheep. He joined provincial politics in 1853 when the provinces were set up. For the first five years, he represented the Wairau electorate in the Nelson Provincial Council. The Marlborough Province split off from Nelson, Ward was elected onto the Marlborough Provincial Council and had continuous representation until the abolition of the provincial system in 1876.[6] Ward also contested the 1872 Wairau by-election, but he lost against Seymour.[3] For both Ward and Seymour, this had been their first attempt of getting elected to the House of Representatives. Seymour supported Ward's candidacy and asked the electors to support Ward and not "a stranger".[7]

William Sefton Moorhouse was a senior politician who had held many important roles, but he had no connection with Marlborough.[8][4] Moorhouse was a member of the 1st New Zealand Parliament, and by 1875, he had represented five different electorates in Canterbury and on the West Coast.[9] Moorhouse had twice been Superintendent of Canterbury Province and had the Lyttelton Rail Tunnel built,[8] something that he stressed to the Wairau electors, who were keen for the railway to finally reach Blenheim.[4] Moorhouse, who was in ongoing financial difficulty, had not contested the 1871 election, but had instead taken the job of registrar in the Crown Lands Department in Wellington, and he was made registrar general shortly afterwards. At the end of 1874, he won election as Mayor of Wellington, a role that he still held when he announced himself a candidate for the Wairau by-election.[8]