# 21st New Zealand Parliament

The 21st New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. It was elected at the 1922 general election in December of that year.

## 1922 general election

The 1922 general election was held on Monday, 6 December in the Māori electorates and on Tuesday, 7 December in the general electorates, respectively. A total of 80 MPs were elected; 45 represented North Island electorates, 31 represented South Island electorates, and the remaining four represented Māori electorates. 700,111 voters were enrolled and the official turnout at the election was 88.7%.

## Sessions

The 21st Parliament sat for four sessions (there were two sessions in 1923), and was prorogued on 14 October 1925.
| Session | Opened | Adjourned |
| first | 7 February 1923 | 17 February 1923 |
| second | 14 June 1923 | 29 August 1923 |
| third | 26 June 1924 | 6 November 1924 |
| fourth | 25 June 1925 | 1 October 1925 |

## Party standings
### Start of Parliament

| Party | Leader(s) | Seats at start |
| Reform Party | William Massey | 37 |
| Liberal Party | Thomas Wilford | 22 |
| Labour Party | Harry Holland | 17 |
| Independents | Independents | 4 |

### End of Parliament

| Party | Leader(s) | Seats at end |
| Reform Party | Gordon Coates | 37 |
| Liberal Party | George Forbes | 22 |
| Labour Party | Harry Holland | 17 |
| Independents | Independents | 4 |

## Ministries

The second Massey Ministry led by William Massey of the Reform Party had come to power in August 1919. Massey ruled until his death on 10 May 1925. Francis Bell had been acting Prime Minister during Massey's illness and took on the temporary leadership following Massey's death. Bell led the Bell Ministry from 14 to 30 May 1925, when the Reform Party elected Gordon Coates as its leader. The Coates Ministry was in place for the remainder of the parliamentary term and for the duration of the 22nd Parliament.
Reform had a narrow margin of three votes in the house if Liberal and Labour combined as they did when the house resumed in February 1923 (but Bell, Witty and Isitt voted with Massey). Hence the Government could not introduce any controversial legislation, and Massey said it was "hell most of the time".

## Initial composition of the 21st Parliament

The results of the 1922 election were as follows:
Key
Reform  Liberal  Labour  Independent Liberal  Independent
Electorate results for the 1922 New Zealand general election :
| Electorate | Incumbent | Incumbent | Winner | Winner | Majority | Runner up | Runner up |
| General electorates ||||||||
| Ashburton | | William Nosworthy | William Nosworthy | William Nosworthy | 1,482 | | Henry Manwell Jones |
| Avon | | Dan Sullivan | Dan Sullivan | Dan Sullivan | 2,036 | | George Warren Russell |
| Awarua | | John Hamilton | | Philip De La Perrelle | 51 | | John Hamilton |
| Auckland Central | | Bill Parry | Bill Parry | Bill Parry | 1,003 | | Albert Glover |
| Auckland East | | Clutha Mackenzie | | John A. Lee | 751 | | Clutha Mackenzie |
| Auckland West | | Michael Joseph Savage | Michael Joseph Savage | Michael Joseph Savage | 1,349 | | John Farrell |
| Bay of Islands | | Vernon Reed | | Allen Bell | 188 | | Vernon Reed |
| Bay of Plenty | | Kenneth Williams | Kenneth Williams | Kenneth Williams | Uncontested | Uncontested | Uncontested |
| Buller | | Harry Holland | Harry Holland | Harry Holland | 1,541 | | John Menzies |
| Chalmers | | James Dickson | James Dickson | James Dickson | 679 | | Joseph Stephens |
| Christchurch East | | Henry Thacker | | Tim Armstrong | 1,094 | | Henry Thacker |
| Christchurch North | | Leonard Isitt | Leonard Isitt | Leonard Isitt | 1,950 | | John Archer |
| Christchurch South | | Ted Howard | Ted Howard | Ted Howard | 3,140 | | H C Lane |
| Clutha | | Alexander Malcolm | | John Edie | 120 | | Alexander Malcolm |
| Dunedin Central | | Charles Statham | Charles Statham | Charles Statham | 723 | | John Gilchrist |
| Dunedin North | | Jim Munro | Jim Munro | Jim Munro | 55 | | James Clark |
| Dunedin West | | Thomas Sidey | Thomas Sidey | Thomas Sidey | 1,281 | | John McManus |
| Dunedin South | | William Downie Stewart | William Downie Stewart | William Downie Stewart | 1,727 | | C M Moss |
| Eden | | James Parr | James Parr | James Parr | 675 | | Rex Mason |
| Egmont | | Oswald Hawken | Oswald Hawken | Oswald Hawken | 372 | | D L A Astbury |
| Ellesmere | | Heaton Rhodes | Heaton Rhodes | Heaton Rhodes | 732 | | J C Free |
| Franklin | | William Massey | William Massey | William Massey | 2,750 | | Joseph Rea |
| Grey Lynn | | Fred Bartram | Fred Bartram | Fred Bartram | 1,407 | | William John Holdsworth |
| Gisborne | | Douglas Lysnar | Douglas Lysnar | Douglas Lysnar | 500 | | George Wildish |
| Hamilton | New electorate | New electorate | | Alexander Young | 2,043 | | Arthur Shapton Richards |
| Hawke's Bay | | Hugh Campbell | | Gilbert McKay | 317 | | Andrew Hamilton Russell |
| Hurunui | | George Forbes | George Forbes | George Forbes | 1,198 | | S Andrew |
| Hutt | | Thomas Wilford | Thomas Wilford | Thomas Wilford | 802 | | David Pritchard |
| Invercargill | | Josiah Hanan | Josiah Hanan | Josiah Hanan | 993 | | J Armstead |
| Kaipara | | Gordon Coates | Gordon Coates | Gordon Coates | 2,464 | | Robert Hornblow |
| Kaiapoi | | David Jones | | David Buddo | 65 | | David Jones |
| Lyttelton | | James McCombs | James McCombs | James McCombs | 614 | | Robert Macartney |
| Manawatu | | Edward Newman | | Joseph Linklater | 1,505 | | F D Whibley |
| Manukau | | Frederic Lang | | Bill Jordan | 209 | | Frederic Lang |
| Marsden | | Francis Mander | | Alfred Murdoch | 136 | | William Jones |
| Masterton | | George Sykes | George Sykes | George Sykes | 556 | | A. C. Holmes |
| Mataura | | George Anderson | George Anderson | George Anderson | 1,041 | | David McDougall |
| Motueka | | Richard Hudson | Richard Hudson | Richard Hudson | 538 | | R Patterson |
| Napier | | Vigor Brown | | Lew McIlvride | 763 | | John Mason |
| Oamaru | | Ernest Lee | | John MacPherson | 14 | | Ernest Lee |
| Ohinemuri | | Hugh Poland | Hugh Poland | Hugh Poland | 939 | | Stephen Allen |
| Oroua | | David Guthrie | David Guthrie | David Guthrie | 43 | | John Cobbe |
| Nelson | | Harry Atmore | Harry Atmore | Harry Atmore | 2,164 | | Albert Gilbert |
| Otaki | | William Hughes Field | William Hughes Field | William Hughes Field | 58 | | G. H. M. McClure |
| Pahiatua | | Archibald McNicol | | Alfred Ransom | 59 | | Archibald McNicol |
| Palmerston | | Jimmy Nash | Jimmy Nash | Jimmy Nash | 1,067 | | Joe Hodgens |
| Parnell | | James Samuel Dickson | James Samuel Dickson | James Samuel Dickson | 2,324 | | S M Wren |
| Patea | | Edwin Dixon | | James Randall Corrigan | 151 | | Edwin Dixon |
| Raglan | | Richard Bollard | Richard Bollard | Richard Bollard | 776 | | S C G Lye |
| Rangitikei | | Billy Glenn | Billy Glenn | Billy Glenn | 1,007 | | F P Brady |
| Riccarton | | George Witty | George Witty | George Witty | 235 | | Bert Kyle |
| Roskill | | Vivian Potter | Vivian Potter | Vivian Potter | 2,007 | | Alfred Hall-Skelton |
| Rotorua | | Frank Hockly | Frank Hockly | Frank Hockly | 404 | | Cecil Clinkard |
| Stratford | | Robert Masters | Robert Masters | Robert Masters | 363 | | John Hine |
| Taranaki | | Sydney George Smith | Sydney George Smith | Sydney George Smith | 134 | | Charles Bellringer |
| Tauranga | | William Herries | William Herries | William Herries | 1,440 | | Laurence Johnstone |
| Temuka | | Thomas Burnett | Thomas Burnett | Thomas Burnett | 407 | | Thomas Herbert Langford |
| Thames | | Thomas William Rhodes | Thomas William Rhodes | Thomas William Rhodes | 790 | | W A Allan |
| Timaru | | James Craigie | | Frank Rolleston | 288 | | Percy Vinnell |
| Waikato | | Alexander Young | | Frederick Lye | 44 | | J T Johnson |
| Waimarino | | Robert William Smith | | Frank Langstone | 887 | | Robert William Smith |
| Waipawa | | George Hunter | George Hunter | George Hunter | 1,076 | | John Joshua Langridge |
| Wairarapa | | Alex McLeod | Alex McLeod | Alex McLeod | 698 | | John Wiltshire Card |
| Waitemata | | Alexander Harris | Alexander Harris | Alexander Harris | 1,271 | | Frank Henry Burbush |
| Wairau | | Richard McCallum | | William Girling | 186 | | Richard McCallum |
| Waitaki | | John Bitchener | John Bitchener | John Bitchener | | | William Paul |
| Waitomo | | William Thomas Jennings | | John Rolleston | 25 | | William Thomas Jennings |
| Wakatipu | | James Horn | James Horn | James Horn | 1,637 | | J Ritchie |
| Wallace | | Adam Hamilton | | John Charles Thomson | 205 | | Adam Hamilton |
| Wanganui | | Bill Veitch | Bill Veitch | Bill Veitch | 1,072 | | John Coull |
| Wellington Central | | Peter Fraser | Peter Fraser | Peter Fraser | 4,202 | | William Bennett |
| Wellington North | | John Luke | John Luke | John Luke | 375 | | Harry Combs |
| Wellington East | | Alfred Newman | | Alec Monteith | 473 | | Thomas Forsyth |
| Wellington South | | George Mitchell | | Robert McKeen | 422 | | George Mitchell |
| Wellington Suburbs | | Robert Wright | Robert Wright | Robert Wright | 291 | | Alexander Croskery |
| Westland | | Tom Seddon | | James O'Brien | 487 | | Tom Seddon |
| Māori electorates ||||||||
| Eastern Maori | | Āpirana Ngata | Āpirana Ngata | Āpirana Ngata | 1,501 | | Taranaki Kanara te Uamairangi |
| Northern Maori | | Taurekareka Henare | Taurekareka Henare | Taurekareka Henare | 1,441 | | Nau Parone Kawiti |
| Southern Maori | | Henare Uru | Henare Uru | Henare Uru | 87 | | Peter MacDonald |
| Western Maori | | Māui Pōmare | Māui Pōmare | Māui Pōmare | 798 | | Ngarangi Katitia |

## By-elections during 21st Parliament

There were a number of changes during the term of the 21st Parliament.
| Electorate and by-election | Electorate and by-election | Date | Incumbent | Cause | Winner |
| Tauranga | 1923 | 28 March | William Herries | Death | Charles Macmillan |
| Oamaru | 1923 | 1 May | John MacPherson | Election declared void | John Macpherson |
| Franklin | 1925 | 17 June | William Massey | Death | Ewen McLennan |