1893 City of Auckland by-election

The City of Auckland by-election of 1893 was a by-election held on 4 August 1893 during the 11th New Zealand Parliament in the urban upper North Island electorate of the City of Auckland.

1893 City of Auckland by-election
4 August 1893
Turnout3,020
 
Candidate Alfred Cadman William Lee Rees
Party Liberal Liberal
Popular vote 1,888 1,132
MP before election

William Lee Rees
Liberal

 Elected MP

Alfred Cadman
Liberal

Background

In 1893, William Lee Rees accused Alfred Cadman, the Member for Thames, of using his position as Minister for Native Affairs for his own personal benefit. Cadman then sued Rees for libel but the trial proved inconclusive. The jury in the libel case found that "the letters of Mr Rees to the Premier were defamatory, and that the defamatory matter was not only not fair and bona fide comment on the acts and conduct of the plaintiff, but that it was not true", however they only awarded damages of £1 which "implied [Cadman's] acts and conduct were yet not above suspicion."[1]

On 11 July 1893 while in the debating chamber of New Zealand's parliament Cadman challenged Rees to vacate his seat and contest the subsequent by-election against him.[2] Rees accepted the challenge although Cadman was ultimately successful.[3][4]

Results

The following table gives the election results:

1893 City of Auckland by-election[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Alfred Cadman 1,888 62.51
Liberal William Lee Rees 1,132 37.48
Majority 751 24.86
Turnout 3,020

A by-election was later held in Thames for Cadman's newly vacant seat.

References
  1. "Otago Daily Times". 26 June 1893. Retrieved 14 October 2016 – via Papers Past.
  2. "Oamaru Mail". 12 July 1893. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  3. "The Cadman-Rees Contest". Otago Witness. No. 2057. 27 July 1893. Retrieved 1 April 2016 – via Papers Past.
  4. Butterworth, Graham. "Cadman, Alfred Jerome". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
  5. "Auckland Election". Hawera & Normanby Star. Vol. XXVI, no. 2497. 5 August 1893. p. 2. Retrieved 1 April 2016.


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