19th New Zealand Parliament

The 19th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It opened on 24 June 1915, following the 1914 election. It was dissolved on 27 November 1919 in preparation for 1919 election.

19th Parliament of New Zealand
← 18th Parliament 20th Parliament →
Overview
Legislative body	New Zealand Parliament
Term	24 June 1915 – 5 November 1919
Election	1914 New Zealand general election
Government	Reform Government
House of Representatives
Members	80
Speaker of the House	Frederic Lang
Prime Minister	William Massey
Leader of the Opposition	Joseph Ward
Legislative Council
Members	37 (at start) 39 (at end)
Speaker of the Council	Sir Walter Carncross from 1 November 1918 — Charles Johnson until 13 June 1918† — Charles Bowen until 4 July 1915
Leader of the Council	Sir Francis Bell
Sovereign
Monarch	HM George V
Governor-General as Governor until 28 June 1917	HE Rt. Hon. The Earl of Liverpool

Sessions

The 19th Parliament opened on 24 June 1915, following the 1914 general election. It sat for six sessions (with two sessions in 1918), and was dissolved on 27 November 1919.^[1]

Session	Opened	Ended	Prorogued
first	24 June 1915	12 October 1915	15 October 1915
second	9 May 1916	8 August 1916	9 August 1916
third	28 June 1917	1 November 1917	2 November 1917
fourth	9 April 1918	15 April 1918	17 April 1918
fifth	24 October 1918	9 December 1918	12 December 1918
sixth	28 August 1919	5 November 1919	7 November 1919

Historical context

The 19th Parliament was the second term of the Reform Party government, which had been elected in the 1911 election. William Massey, the leader of the Reform Party, remained Prime Minister.^[2] The Liberal Party, led by former Prime Minister Joseph Ward, was technically the main opposition party, although for the majority of the term, the Liberals were part of a war-time coalition with Reform. Two small left-wing parties, the Social Democratic Party and the loosely grouped remnants of the United Labour Party, also held seats, and there was one left-wing independent (John Payne). During the 19th Parliament, the Social Democrats and most of the United Labour Party merged to form the modern Labour Party.

Party standings

There were 616,043 electors on the European roll, with 521,525 (84.66%) voting, including 5,618 informal votes.^[3] Turnout including Maori voters was 540,075. The following table shows votes at and party strengths immediately after the 1914 election:^{[citation needed]}

1914–1916

Party		Leader(s)	Seats at start
	Reform Party	William Massey	40
	Liberal Party	Joseph Ward	34
	United Labour Party	Alfred Hindmarsh	3
	Social Democrat Party	James McCombs	2
	Independents		1

1916–1919

Party		Leader(s)	Seats at end
	Reform Party	William Massey	39
	Liberal Party	Joseph Ward	34
	Labour Party	Alfred Hindmarsh, then Harry Holland	5
	Independents		2

Members

Initial MPs

76 general and 4 Māori electorates existed for the 19th Parliament.

The following are the results of the 1914 general election:

Key

  Liberal   Reform   United Labour   Social Democrat   Independent Labour   Independent

Electorate results for the 1914 New Zealand general election^[4]

Electorate	Incumbent		Winner		Majority	Runner up
General electorates
Ashburton		William Nosworthy			157		William Maslin
Auckland Central		Albert Glover			2,302		Michael Joseph Savage
Auckland East		Arthur Myers			2,507		Arthur Holmes
Auckland West		James Bradney		Charles Poole	1,411		James Bradney
Awarua		Joseph Ward			1,226		John Hamilton
Avon		George Russell			1,073		Dan Sullivan
Bay of Islands		Vernon Reed			108		Peter Buck
Bay of Plenty		William MacDonald			965		Kenneth Williams
Bruce		James Allen			693		Charles Smith
Buller		James Colvin			2,195		George Powell
Chalmers		Edward Clark		James Dickson	686		William Mason
Christchurch East		Thomas Davey		Henry Thacker	1,890		Hiram Hunter
Christchurch North		Leonard Isitt			1,217		Henry Toogood[5]
Christchurch South		Harry Ell			2,333		Gains Whiting
Clutha		Alexander Malcolm			1,009		John Jenkinson
Dunedin Central		Charles Statham			12		Jim Munro
Dunedin North		George Thomson		Andrew Walker	322		George Thomson
Dunedin South		Thomas Sidey			2,697		Thomas Dalton
Dunedin West		John A. Millar		William Downie Stewart	345		John Johnson
Eden		John Bollard		James Parr	2,456		William Tuck
Egmont		Charles Wilkinson			894		David Astbury
Ellesmere		Heaton Rhodes			273		James Free
Franklin		William Massey			2,928		Arthur Glass
Gisborne		James Carroll			1,249		Harry de Lautour
Grey		Paddy Webb			980		Henry Michel
Grey Lynn		John Payne			89		Murdoch McLean
Hawke's Bay		Hugh Campbell		Robert McNab	40		Hugh Campbell
Hurunui		George Forbes			1,486		William Banks
Hutt		Thomas Wilford			943		Albert Samuel
Invercargill		Josiah Hanan			1,590		John Lillicrap
Kaiapoi		David Buddo			1,181		David Jones
Kaipara		Gordon Coates			1,118		Richard Hoe
Lyttelton		James McCombs			1,598		Malcolm Miller
Manukau		Frederic Lang			1,224		John McLarin
Marsden		Francis Mander			940		Edmund Purdie
Masterton		George Sykes			193		Alexander Hogg
Mataura		George Anderson			174		William Mehaffey
Motueka		Roderick McKenzie		Richard Hudson	602		Roderick McKenzie
Napier		Vigor Brown			2,215		George William Venables[6]
Nelson		Harry Atmore		Thomas Field	90		Harry Atmore
Oamaru		Ernest Lee			338		John MacPherson
Ohinemuri		Hugh Poland			100		Joseph Clark
Oroua		David Guthrie			1,119		John Morrison
Otago Central		Robert Scott			999		William Bodkin
Otaki		John Robertson		William Field	640		John Robertson
Pahiatua		James Escott			683		John Mathews
Palmerston		David Buick			1,109		Jim Thorn
Parnell		James Dickson			1,172		Jeremiah Sullivan
Patea		George Pearce			118		William Morrison
Raglan		Richard Bollard			1,448		William Thompson
Rangitikei		Edward Newman			903		Robert Hornblow
Riccarton		George Witty			1,215		Bertram Bunn
Selwyn		William Dickie			1,227		George Sheat
Stratford		John Hine			637		Bill Hawkins
Taranaki		Henry Okey			201		Daniel Hughes
Taumarunui		Charles Wilson		William Jennings	205		Charles Wilson
Tauranga		William Herries			1,992		Ralph Stewart
Temuka		Thomas Buxton		Charles Talbot	407		Charles Kerr
Thames		Thomas Rhodes			515		Edmund Taylor
Timaru		James Craigie			1,110		Frank Smith
Waikato		Alexander Young			2,193		Alexander Scholes
Waimarino		Robert Smith			1,995		Hugh Speed
Waipawa		George Hunter			138		Albert Jull
Wairarapa		Walther Buchanan		J. T. Marryat Hornsby	60		Walter Buchanan
Wairau		Richard McCallum			369		John Duncan
Waitaki		Francis Smith		John Anstey	156		Norton Francis
Waitemata		Alexander Harris			1,013		Henry Cromwell Tewsley[7]
Wanganui		Bill Veitch			852		Frederick Pirani
Wakatipu		William Fraser			897		Joseph Stephens[8]
Wallace		John Thomson			881		Alexander Rodger
Wellington Central		Francis Fisher		Robert Fletcher	2,329		Francis Fisher
Wellington East		Alfred Newman			48		David McLaren
Wellington North		Alexander Herdman			2,655		William Turnbull
Wellington South		Alfred Hindmarsh			1,215		John Luke
Wellington Suburbs and Country		William Bell		Robert Wright	1,002		Frank Moore
Westland		Tom Seddon			826		Arthur Paape
Māori electorates
Eastern Maori		Sir Āpirana Ngata			2,825		Hetekia Pere
Northern Maori		Te Rangi Hīroa		Taurekareka Henare	176		Hemi te Paa
Southern Maori		Taare Parata			238		Teone Matapura Erihana
Western Maori		Māui Pōmare		Māui Pōmare	2,107		Hema te Ao

By-elections during the 19th Parliament

There were a number of changes during the term of the 19th Parliament.

Electorate and by-election		Date	Incumbent		Cause	Winner
Dunedin Central	1915	3 February		Charles Statham	Resignation		Charles Statham
Bay of Islands	1915	8 June		Vernon Reed	Election declared void[9]		William Stewart
Taumarunui	1915	15 June		William Jennings	Election declared void[10]		William Jennings
Pahiatua	1916	17 August		James Escott	Death		Harold Smith
Hawke's Bay	1917	8 March		Robert McNab	Death		John Findlay
Bay of Islands	1917	17 March		William Stewart	Resignation		Vernon Reed
Grey	1917	24 November		Paddy Webb	Resignation		Paddy Webb
Wellington North	1918	12 February		Alexander Herdman	Resignation		John Luke
Southern Maori	1918	21 February		Taare Parata	Death		Hopere Uru
Grey	1918	29 May		Paddy Webb	Imprisonment		Harry Holland
Wellington Central	1918	3 October		Robert Fletcher	Death		Peter Fraser
Taranaki	1918	10 October		Henry Okey	Death		Sydney Smith
Palmerston	1918	19 December		David Buick	Death		Jimmy Nash
Wellington South	1918	19 December		Alfred Hindmarsh	Death		Bob Semple

Summary of changes

Party changes

• Thomas Rhodes, the Liberal Party MP for Thames, changed affiliation to the Reform Party in 1915.
• The Social Democratic Party and the loose United Labour Party grouping merged to form the modern Labour Party on 7 July 1916. One ULP member, Bill Veitch, rejected the merger, and carried on as an independent.

Deaths

• James Escott (Reform, Pahiatua) died on 28 July 1916.
  • 1916 Pahiatua by-election – won by Harold Smith (Reform)
• Robert McNab (Liberal, Hawkes Bay) died on 3 February 1917.
  • 1917 Hawkes Bay by-election – won by John Findlay (Liberal)
• Taare Parata (Liberal, Southern Maori) died on 8 January 1918.
  • 1918 Southern Maori by-election – won by Hopere Uru (Independent)
• Robert Fletcher (Liberal, Wellington Central) died on 4 September 1918.
  • 1918 Wellington Central by-election – won by Peter Fraser (Labour)
• Henry Okey (Reform, Taranaki) died on 13 September 1918
  • 1918 Taranaki by-election – won by Sydney Smith (Independent aligned with Liberals)
• Alfred Hindmarsh (Labour, Wellington South) died on 13 November 1918.
  • 1918 Wellington South by-election – won by Bob Semple (Labour)
• David Buick (Reform, Palmerston) died on 18 November 1918.
  • 1918 Palmerston by-election – won by Jimmy Nash (Reform)
• James Colvin (Liberal, Buller) died on 29 October 1919.
  • Seat remained vacant, as it was only two months until the general election.

Resignations

• William Stewart (Reform, Bay of Islands) resigned in March 1917. Stewart won the seat in a by-election when the victory of another Reform candidate, Vernon Reed, had been overturned, and Stewart's resignation opened the way for Reed to return via another by-election.
  • 1915 Bay of Islands by-election – won by William Stewart (Reform)
  • 1917 Bay of Islands by-election – won by Vernon Reed (Reform)
• Paddy Webb (Labour, Grey) resigned in November 1917. He then challenged the government to fight the resulting by-election on the issue of conscription, which Webb opposed. The government declined the challenge, and did not contest the by-election.
  • 1917 Grey by-election – won by Paddy Webb (Labour)
• Alexander Herdman (Reform, Wellington North) resigned in February 1918. Herdman, as Attorney-General, had just appointed himself to a judicial position, and was resigning in order to take up this role.
  • 1918 Wellington North by-election – won by John Luke (Reform)

Expulsions

• William Thomas Jennings (Liberal Party, Taumarunui) lost his seat in May 1915 when his election the previous year was declared void.
  • 1915 Taumarunui by-election – won by William Thomas Jennings (Liberal)
• Vernon Reed (Reform, Bay of Islands) lost his seat in May 1915 when his election the previous year was declared void. (His successor later resigned, allowing Reed to reclaim the seat).
  • 1915 Bay of Islands by-election – won by William Stewart (Reform)
• Paddy Webb (Labour, Grey) lost his seat in April 1918, having been jailed for refusing military service. (He had previously fought and won a by-election on the issue).
  • 1918 Grey by-election – won by Harry Holland (Labour)