Suburbs of Wellington by-election, 1897

Suburbs of Wellington by-election, 1897

23 April 1897
Turnout	3,933
100x120px Candidate Charles Wilson Arthur Atkinson Party Liberal Independent Popular vote 2,036 1,897
MP before election Thomas Wilford Liberal Elected MP Charles Wilson Liberal

The Suburbs of Wellington by-election of 1897 was a by-election held on 23 April 1897 during the 13th New Zealand Parliament in the urban lower North Island electorate of the Suburbs of Wellington.

Background

Thomas Wilford won the Wellington Suburbs seat in the 1896 election for the Liberal Party. However, he was subsequently declared guilty of corrupt electoral practices after an electoral petition was lodged after it was revealed he exceeded the £200 campaign spending limit which had been introduced for the election. As a result, the election was declared void.

The subsequent by-election for Wilford's seat was a two way contest. Academic Charles Wilson contested the seat in the interests of the Liberal Government and Arthur Richmond Atkinson stood on behalf of the opposition. Wilson was successful in retaining the electorate for the Liberals, with a slightly reduced majority.

Results

The following table gives the election results:

Suburbs of Wellington by-election, 1897

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Charles Wilson	2,036	51.76
	Opposition	Arthur Richmond Atkinson	1,897	48.23
Majority			139	3.53
Turnout			3,933

Wilson retired in 1899 when the next general election was held, and Wilford won the seat back on behalf of the Liberal Party. Two years later, Wilson was appointed as the first chief librarian of the Parliamentary library. Some saw this as controversial and merely a reward by the Liberal Government for his prior services to the Liberal Party.