7th New Zealand Parliament

The 7th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the Parliament of New Zealand.

7th Parliament of New Zealand
← 6th Parliament 8th Parliament →
Overview
Legislative body	New Zealand Parliament
Term	24 September 1879 – 24 September 1881
Election	1879 New Zealand general election
Government	Hall ministry
House of Representatives
Members	88
Speaker of the House	Maurice O'Rorke
Premier	John Hall
Legislative Council
Members	48 (at start) 43 (at end)
Speaker of the Council	William Fitzherbert
Sovereign
Monarch	HM Victoria
Governor	HE Rt. Hon. Sir Arthur Hamilton-Gordon from 29 November 1880 — HE Rt. Hon. Sir Hercules Robinson until 9 September 1880

Elections for this term were held in 69 European electorates between 28 August and 15 September 1879. Elections in the four Māori electorates were held on 1 and 8 September of that year. A total of 88 MPs were elected. Parliament was prorogued in November 1881. During the term of this Parliament, two Ministries were in power.

Sessions

The 7th Parliament opened on 24 September 1879, following the 1879 general election. It sat for three sessions, and was prorogued on 8 November 1881.[1]

Session	Opened	Adjourned
first	24 September 1879	19 December 1879
second	28 May 1880	1 September 1880
third	9 June 1881	24 September 1881

Historical context

Political parties had not been established yet; this only happened after the 1890 election. Anyone attempting to form an administration thus had to win support directly from individual MPs. This made first forming, and then retaining a government difficult and challenging.[2]

Ministries

The Grey Ministry had been in power since 13 October 1877 during the term of the 6th Parliament. It lasted until 8 October 1879, when the Hall Ministry under Premier John Hall formed a new caucus. This ministry lasted until 21 April 1882, well into the term of the 8th Parliament.[3][4]

Initial composition of the 7th Parliament

88 seats were created across the electorates.[5]

Member	Electorate	Affiliation[6]	MP's term	Election date
William Montgomery	Akaroa	Greyite	Third	1 September[7]
William Sefton Moorhouse	Ashley	Conservative	Sixth	11 September[7]
William Speight	Auckland East	Greyite	First	10 September[8]
William John Hurst	Auckland West	Greyite	First	6 September[9]
James Wallis	Auckland West	Greyite	Second	6 September[10]
William Rolleston	Avon	Conservative	Fourth	28 August[11]
William Murray	Bruce	Conservative	Third	9 September[12]
James Bickerton Fisher	Buller	Greyite	First	9 September[13]
William Barron	Caversham	Greyite	First	9 September[14]
Alfred Saunders	Cheviot	Conservative	Third	6 September[15]
Samuel Paull Andrews	Christchurch	Greyite	First	10 September[16]
George Grey^a	Christchurch	Greyite	Third	10 September[17]
Edward Cephas John Stevens	Christchurch	Conservative	Third	10 September[8]
John Davies Ormond	Clive	Conservative	Fifth	10 September[18]
James William Thomson	Clutha	Greyite	Third	11 September[19]
Edward George Wright	Coleridge	Conservative	First	15 September[20]
William Gibbs	Collingwood	Conservative	Third	11 September[21]
Thomas Dick	City of Dunedin	Conservative	Third	2 September[22]
Richard Oliver	City of Dunedin	Conservative	Second	2 September[18]
William Downie Stewart	City of Dunedin	Conservative	Second	2 September[23]
Vincent Pyke	Dunstan	Greyite	Third	3 September[24]
Allan McDonald	East Coast	Greyite	First	5 September[25]
Joseph Tole	Eden	Greyite	Second	5 September[26]
Harry Atkinson	Egmont	Conservative	Fifth	5 September[16]
Benjamin Harris	Franklin	Greyite	First	11 September[27]
Ebenezer Hamlin	Franklin	Conservative	Second	11 September[28]
Edward Wakefield	Geraldine	Conservative	Second	9 September[10]
John Studholme	Gladstone	Conservative	Fourth	15 September[23]
Robert Trimble	Grey and Bell	Conservative	First	8 September[26]
Richard Reeves	Grey Valley	Greyite	Second	5 September[29]
Edward Masters	Grey Valley	Greyite	First	5 September[30]
James Fisher	Heathcote	Greyite	Second	8 September[13]
Richard Seddon	Hokitika	Greyite	First	5 September[31]
Robert Reid	Hokitika	Greyite	First	5 September[29]
Thomas Mason	Hutt	Conservative	First	9 September[32]
James Walker Bain	Invercargill	Conservative	First	1 September[14]
Charles Christopher Bowen	Kaiapoi	Conservative	Third	5 September[33]
Harry Allwright	Lyttelton	Greyite	First	4 September[34]
Walter Woods Johnston	Manawatu	Conservative	Third	6 September[35]
William Henry Colbeck	Marsden	Greyite	First	11 September[36]
James Shanks	Mataura	Greyite	Second	29 August[31]
John Lundon	Mongonui and Bay of Islands	Greyite	First	10 September[37]
Richmond Hursthouse	Motueka	Conservative	Second	2 September[38]
Cecil de Lautour	Mount Ida	Greyite	Second	30 August[22]
Fred Sutton	Napier	Conservative	Second	8 September[23]
William Russell	Napier	Conservative	Second	8 September[15]
Albert Pitt	City of Nelson	Conservative	First	6 September[39]
Acton Adams	City of Nelson	Conservative	Second	6 September[34]
Andrew Richmond	Suburbs of Nelson	Conservative	Fifth	8 September[11]
Thomas Kelly	New Plymouth	Conservative	Fourth	6 September[40]
William Swanson	Newton	Greyite	Third	2 September[23]
Maurice O'Rorke	Onehunga	Greyite	Fifth	9 September[18]
Frederick Moss	Parnell	Greyite	Second	4 September[12]
Courtney Kenny	Picton	Conservative	Fourth	30 August[40]
James Macandrew	Port Chalmers	Greyite	Seventh	5 September[41]
William Jarvis Willis	Rangitikei	Conservative	First	3 September[42]
Patrick McCaughan	Riverton	Independent	First	6 September[41]
Seymour Thorne George	Rodney	Greyite	Second	8 September[21]
Henry Driver	Roslyn	Conservative	Fourth	5 September[43]
John Hall	Selwyn	Conservative	Fourth	29 August[28]
James Fulton	Taieri	Conservative	First	9 September[21]
George Grey^a	Thames	Greyite	Third	2 September[17]
John Sheehan	Thames	Greyite	Third	2 September[31]
Richard Turnbull	Timaru	Conservative	Second	6 September[26]
William Gisborne	Totara	Greyite	Third	29 August[21]
James Clark Brown	Tuapeka	Greyite	Fourth	6 September[44]
George Ireland	Waikaia	Independent	First	8 September[38]
John Blair Whyte	Waikato	Conservative	First	8 September[45]
George McLean	Waikouaiti	Conservative	Third	6 September[46]
Joseph Shephard	Waimea	Conservative	Second	5 September[47][48]
Frederick Alexander Whitaker	Waipa	Conservative	First	10 September[45]
Henry Bunny	Wairarapa	Greyite	Fifth	4 September[49]
George Beetham	Wairarapa	Conservative	Second	4 September[50]
Arthur Seymour	Wairau	Conservative	Third	8 September[31]
Samuel Shrimski	Waitaki	Greyite	Second	5 September[51]
Thomas William Hislop	Waitaki	Conservative	Second	5 September[52]
Reader Wood	Waitemata	Greyite	Fifth	9 September[20]
Hugh Finn	Wakatipu	Greyite	First	12 September[13]
Henry Hirst	Wallace	Conservative	First	4 September[52]
John Bryce	Wanganui	Conservative	Fourth	5 September[44]
John Ballance	Wanganui	Greyite	Third	5 September[14]
William Hutchison	City of Wellington	Greyite	First	5 September[38]
William Levin	City of Wellington	Conservative	First	5 September[37]
Alfred Brandon	Wellington Country	Conservative	Sixth	11 September[44]
Henare Tomoana	Eastern Maori	Conservative	Second	8 September[26]
Hone Tawhai	Northern Maori	Greyite	First	8 September[53]
Ihaia Tainui	Southern Maori	Greyite	Second	8 September[53]
Wiremu Te Wheoro	Western Maori	Greyite	First	8 September[45]

^a George Grey was unseated on petition in Christchurch, as he had already been elected in the Thames electorate[54]

Changes during term

There were a number of changes during the term of the 7th Parliament.

By-election	Electorate	Date	Incumbent	Reason	Winner
1880	Rangitikei	8 May	William Jarvis Willis	Resignation	William Fox
1880	Waitaki	16 June	Thomas William Hislop	Resignation	George Jones
1880	Waikaia	21 September	George Ireland	Death	Horace Bastings
1881	Suburbs of Nelson	11 January	Andrew Richmond	Death	Arthur Collins
1881	Southern Maori	1 March	Ihaia Tainui	Resignation	Hori Kerei Taiaroa
1881	City of Nelson	7 June	Acton Adams	Resignation	Henry Levestam
1881	Grey Valley	16 June	Edward Masters	Resignation	Thomas S. Weston

Notes

1. Scholefield 1950, p. 68.
2. King 2003, p. ?.
3. King 2003, p. 534.
4. Scholefield 1950, p. 37.
5. "General elections 1853-2005 - dates & turnout". Elections New Zealand. Archived from the original on 27 May 2010. Retrieved 6 June 2010.
6. "The New Parliament". Wanganui Chronicle. XXI (4143). 18 September 1879. p. 2. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
7. Scholefield 1950, p. 127.
8. Scholefield 1950, p. 140.
9. Scholefield 1950, p. 115.
10. Scholefield 1950, p. 145.
11. Scholefield 1950, p. 136.
12. Scholefield 1950, p. 128.
13. Scholefield 1950, p. 106.
14. Scholefield 1950, p. 94.
15. Scholefield 1950, p. 137.
16. Scholefield 1950, p. 93.
17. Scholefield 1950, p. 110.
18. Scholefield 1950, p. 130.
19. Scholefield 1950, p. 143.
20. Scholefield 1950, p. 149.
21. Scholefield 1950, p. 108.
22. Scholefield 1950, p. 103.
23. Scholefield 1950, p. 141.
24. Scholefield 1950, p. 133.
25. Scholefield 1950, p. 122.
26. Scholefield 1950, p. 144.
27. Scholefield 1950, p. 112.
28. Scholefield 1950, p. 111.
29. Scholefield 1950, p. 134.
30. Scholefield 1950, p. 126.
31. Scholefield 1950, p. 138.
32. Scholefield 1950, p. 125.
33. Scholefield 1950, p. 96.
34. Scholefield 1950, p. 92.
35. Scholefield 1950, p. 117.
36. Scholefield 1950, p. 101.
37. Scholefield 1950, p. 120.
38. Scholefield 1950, p. 116.
39. Scholefield 1950, p. 132.
40. Scholefield 1950, p. 118.
41. Scholefield 1950, p. 121.
42. Scholefield 1950, p. 148.
43. Scholefield 1950, p. 104.
44. Scholefield 1950, p. 97.
45. Scholefield 1950, p. 147.
46. Scholefield 1950, p. 124.
47. "Waimea Nomination". Nelson Evening Mail. XIV (201). 5 September 1879. p. 2. Retrieved 7 July 2011.
48. "Electoral District of Waimea". Colonist. XXII (2598). 9 September 1879. p. 2. Retrieved 7 July 2011.
49. Scholefield 1950, p. 98.
50. Scholefield 1950, p. 95.
51. Scholefield 1950, p. 139.
52. Scholefield 1950, p. 114.
53. Scholefield 1950, p. 142.
54. Wilson 1985, p. 201.

References

• Cyclopedia Company Limited (1902). The Cyclopedia of New Zealand : Auckland Provincial District. Christchurch. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
• Cyclopedia Company Limited (1903). "Southland". The Cyclopedia of New Zealand : Otago & Southland Provincial Districts. Christchurch. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
• Cyclopedia Company Limited (1906). "Present And Past Members Of Parliament". The Cyclopedia of New Zealand : Nelson, Marlborough & Westland Provincial Districts. Christchurch. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
• Cyclopedia Company Limited (1908). "Former Members Of The House Of Representatives". The Cyclopedia of New Zealand : Taranaki, Hawke's Bay & Wellington Provincial Districts. Christchurch. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
• King, Michael (2003). The Penguin History of New Zealand (20 ed.). Auckland: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-301867-1.
• Scholefield, Guy (1950) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1949 (3rd ed.). Wellington: Govt. Printer.
• Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)