# 1899 New Zealand general election

The 1899 New Zealand general election was held on 6 and 19 December in the European and Māori electorates, respectively, to elect 74 MPs to the 14th session of the New Zealand Parliament. The election was again won by the Liberal Party, and Richard Seddon remained Prime Minister.

## 1896 electoral redistribution

The last electoral redistribution was undertaken in 1896 for the 1896 election, and the same electorates were used again. 34 seats were located in the North Island, 36 were in the South Island, and the remaining four were Māori electorates. Since the 1890 electoral redistribution, the four main centres had electorates with three seats each.

## The election

The 1899 election was held on Wednesday, 6 December in the general electorates, and on Tuesday, 19 December in the Māori electorates to elect a total of 74 MPs to the 14th Parliament. A total number of 373,744 (77.6%) voters turned out to vote. In three electorates there was only one candidate, and they were thus returned unopposed. Two of those were Liberal candidates: Richard Seddon in the Westland electorate, and John McKenzie in the Waihemo electorate. The third was an opposition representative, William Russell, who stood in the Hawke's Bay electorate.
Two candidates died during the election campaign. A third, Henry Augustus Field, died two days after having been re-elected in the Otaki electorate.

## Results
### Party totals

The following table gives party strengths and vote distribution according to Wilson (1985), who records Maori representatives as Independents prior to the 1905 election.
Election results :
| Party | Candidates | Total votes | Percentage | Seats won | Change |
| Liberal | 86 | 204,331 | 52.71 | 49 | +10 |
| Conservative | 69 | 141,758 | 36.67 | 19 | -7 |
| Independent | 43 | 41,540 | 10.72 | 6 | -3 |

### Votes summary

Popular Vote
Liberal
52.71%
Conservative
36.67%
Independents
10.72% :
Parliament seats
Liberal
66.22%
Conservative
25.67%
Independents
8.11% :

### Electorate results

Seventy-four MPs were elected across sixty-two single-member, and four three-member electorates. The table below show the results of the 1899 general election:
Key
Liberal  Conservative  Independent Liberal  Liberal–Labour  Independent
Electorate results for the 1899 New Zealand general election :
| Electorate | Incumbent | Winner | Winner | Majority | Runner up | Runner up |
| General electorates ||||||||
| Ashburton | Edward George Wright | | John McLachlan | 802 | | Charles John Harper |
| Ashley | Richard Meredith | Richard Meredith | Richard Meredith | 751 | | Thomas Caverhill |
| Auckland, City of | Thomas Thompson | | William Joseph Napier | 1,440 | | James Job Holland |
| Auckland, City of | James Job Holland | | William Crowther | 938 | | James Job Holland |
| Auckland, City of | William Crowther | | George Fowlds | 94 | | James Job Holland |
| Avon | William Tanner | William Tanner | William Tanner | 148 | | Arthur Rhodes |
| Awarua | Joseph Ward | Joseph Ward | Joseph Ward | 1,732 | | W. T. Murray |
| Bay of Islands | Robert Houston | Robert Houston | Robert Houston | 67 | | Norman Alexander McLeod |
| Bay of Plenty | William Herries | William Herries | William Herries | 132 | | David Lundon |
| Bruce | James Allen | James Allen | James Allen | 364 | | Crawford Anderson |
| Buller | Patrick O'Regan | | James Colvin | 552 | | Patrick O'Regan |
| Caversham | Arthur Morrison | Arthur Morrison | Arthur Morrison | 1,108 | | William Henry Warren |
| Christchurch, City of | Charles Lewis | | William Whitehouse Collins | 1,760 | | Tommy Taylor |
| Christchurch, City of | George Smith | | Charles Lewis | 418 | | Tommy Taylor |
| Christchurch, City of | Tommy Taylor | | Harry Ell | 221 | | Tommy Taylor |
| Clutha | James William Thomson | James William Thomson | James William Thomson | 497 | | Finlay McLeod |
| Dunedin, City of | Alexander Sligo | | John A. Millar | 2,319 | | Scobie Mackenzie |
| Dunedin, City of | John A. Millar | | James Arnold | 1,564 | | Scobie Mackenzie |
| Dunedin, City of | Scobie Mackenzie | | Alfred Richard Barclay | 637 | | Scobie Mackenzie |
| Eden | John Bollard | John Bollard | John Bollard | 4 | | Malcolm Niccol |
| Egmont | Walter Symes | Walter Symes | Walter Symes | 268 | | William Monkhouse |
| Ellesmere | William Montgomery | | Heaton Rhodes | 104 | | William Montgomery |
| Franklin | William Massey | William Massey | William Massey | 1,180 | | W Findlay Wilson |
| Geraldine | Frederick Flatman | Frederick Flatman | Frederick Flatman | 1,556 | | Charles Nicholson McIntosh |
| Grey | Arthur Guinness | Arthur Guinness | Arthur Guinness | 786 | | Michael Hannan |
| Hawera | Felix McGuire | Felix McGuire | Felix McGuire | 55 | | Charles E. Major |
| Hawke's Bay | William Russell | William Russell | William Russell | Uncontested | Uncontested | Uncontested |
| Invercargill | James Kelly | | Josiah Hanan | 4,640 | | James Kelly |
| Kaiapoi | Richard Moore | | David Buddo | 481 | | Richard Moore |
| Lyttelton | John Joyce | | George Laurenson | 1,813 | | William Jacques |
| Manawatu | John Stevens | John Stevens | John Stevens | 148 | | Robert Bruce |
| Manukau | Maurice O'Rorke | Maurice O'Rorke | Maurice O'Rorke | 1,031 | | John Edward Taylor |
| Marsden | Robert Thompson | Robert Thompson | Robert Thompson | 1,314 | | George Alderton |
| Masterton | Alexander Hogg | Alexander Hogg | Alexander Hogg | 1,191 | | Charles Cockburn-Hood |
| Mataura | Robert McNab | Robert McNab | Robert McNab | 159 | | Irven Willis Raymond |
| Motueka | Roderick McKenzie | Roderick McKenzie | Roderick McKenzie | 1,066 | | Walter Moffatt |
| Napier | Douglas Maclean | | Alfred Fraser | 38 | | Douglas Maclean |
| City of Nelson | John Graham | John Graham | John Graham | 581 | | Richmond Hursthouse |
| Oamaru | Thomas Young Duncan | Thomas Young Duncan | Thomas Young Duncan | 1,254 | | John Andrew MacPherson |
| Ohinemuri | Alfred Cadman | | Jackson Palmer | 295 | | Edward Moss |
| Otaki | Henry Field | Henry Field | Henry Field | 305 | | Charles Morison |
| Pahiatua | John O'Meara | John O'Meara | John O'Meara | 369 | | Harold Smith |
| Palmerston | Frederick Pirani | Frederick Pirani | Frederick Pirani | 515 | | William Wood |
| Parnell | Frank Lawry | Frank Lawry | Frank Lawry | 840 | | Hugh Campbell |
| Patea | George Hutchison | George Hutchison | George Hutchison | 129 | | Arthur Remington |
| Rangitikei | Frank Lethbridge | Frank Lethbridge | Frank Lethbridge | 532 | | James Jervis Bagnall |
| Riccarton | William Rolleston | | George Russell | 1 | | William Rolleston |
| Selwyn | Cathcart Wason | | Charles Hardy | 140 | | John Rennie |
| Taieri | Walter Carncross | Walter Carncross | Walter Carncross | 460 | | Alexander Campbell Begg |
| Taranaki | Henry Brown | | Edward Smith | 127 | | Henry Brown |
| Thames | James McGowan | James McGowan | James McGowan | 1,184 | | Henry Greenslade |
| Timaru | William Hall-Jones | William Hall-Jones | William Hall-Jones | 2,275 | | James Stephen Keith |
| Tuapeka | Charles Rawlins | | James Bennet | 386 | | Charles Rawlins |
| Waiapu | James Carroll | James Carroll | James Carroll | 1,329 | | Cecil Fitzroy |
| Waihemo | John McKenzie | John McKenzie | John McKenzie | Uncontested | Uncontested | Uncontested |
| Waikato | Frederic Lang | Frederic Lang | Frederic Lang | 322 | | John Hosking |
| Waikouaiti | Edmund Allen | Edmund Allen | Edmund Allen | 332 | | John White |
| Waipawa | George Hunter | | Charles Hall | 557 | | George Hunter |
| Wairarapa | Walter Clarke Buchanan | | J. T. Marryat Hornsby | 156 | | Walter Clarke Buchanan |
| Wairau | Charles Mills | Charles Mills | Charles Mills | 1,373 | | Walter Clifford |
| Waitaki | William Steward | William Steward | William Steward | 1,427 | | John Campbell |
| Waitemata | Richard Monk | Richard Monk | Richard Monk | 450 | | Charles Newman |
| Wakatipu | William Fraser | William Fraser | William Fraser | 169 | | James Kelly |
| Wallace | Michael Gilfedder | Michael Gilfedder | Michael Gilfedder | 219 | | Allen Carmichael |
| Wanganui | Gilbert Carson | | Archibald Willis | 709 | | Gilbert Carson |
| Wellington, City of | John Hutcheson | John Hutcheson | John Hutcheson | 1,116 | | Kennedy Macdonald |
| Wellington, City of | Robert Stout | | Arthur Atkinson | 383 | | Kennedy Macdonald |
| Wellington, City of | George Fisher | George Fisher | George Fisher | 122 | | Kennedy Macdonald |
| Suburbs of Wellington | Charles Wilson | | Thomas Wilford | 536 | | Alfred Newman |
| Westland | Richard Seddon | Richard Seddon | Richard Seddon | Uncontested | Uncontested | Uncontested |
| Māori electorates ||||||||
| Eastern Maori | Wi Pere | Wi Pere | Wi Pere | 907 | | Mohi Te Ātahīkoia |
| Northern Maori | Hone Heke | Hone Heke | Hone Heke | 1,086 | | Eparaima Te Mutu Kapa |
| Southern Maori | Tame Parata | Tame Parata | Tame Parata | 168 | | Taituha Hape |
| Western Maori | Henare Kaihau | Henare Kaihau | Henare Kaihau | 1,812 | | Tureiti Te Heuheu Tukino V |
Table footnotes:
* ↑ Note that in many newspapers, Keith is labelled as belonging to the opposition
* ↑ Not to be confused with James Whyte Kelly, who was defeated that election in the Invercargill electorate
* ↑ Note that the affiliation of many Māori candidates is not known.