Town of Christchurch by-election, 1856

Town of Christchurch by-election, 1856

18 November 1856 (1856-11-18)

Candidate Richard Packer Party Independent

MP before election Henry Sewell Independent Elected MP Richard Packer Independent

The Town of Christchurch by-election, 1856 was a by-election held in the Town of Christchurch electorate during the 2nd New Zealand Parliament, on 18 November 1856.

The by-election was caused by the resignation of incumbent MP Henry Sewell and was won by Richard Packer.^[1] Packer had been invited to stand for election in the 1855 election, but he had declined the requisition because of the popularity of Sewell, the incumbent.^[2] Sewell resigned on 16 August 1856, the final day of the first session of the 2nd New Zealand Parliament.^[3][4] This was in preparation of his departure for England. Sewell was a member of the first Stafford Ministry and had agreed with Stafford to remain in Auckland, where the seat of Parliament was at the time, so that Stafford could attend to business in his home town Nelson for one or two months.^[5] Sewell left at the end of October from Auckland on the William Denny for England via Sydney, i.e. he did not return to Canterbury first.^[6]

The by-election was held on Tuesday, 18 November 1856.^[7] The Lyttelton Times, one of two newspapers in Canterbury at the time, merely reported that there was a general lack of excitement about the election.^[8] The lack of reporting of the voting suggests that Packer was elected unopposed; an advertised writ would confirm whether nomination day was the same as the date recorded for the election (the two only fall on the same day if there is only one candidate), but no writ appears in the Lyttelton Times. It is likely that the writ was advertised in Joseph Brittan's Canterbury Standard, as that newspaper was printed in Christchurch.

Packer served in the 2nd New Zealand Parliament until his resignation on 28 December 1859.^[7] The resulting by-election was contested by the publican and political novice Michael Hart, and by Sewell, who had returned from England. Hart accused Packer of having been a locum tenens (i.e. a place holder) for Sewell.^[9] This may or may not have been true, but at the very least, it could not have easily been arranged before Packer's election, as Sewell had not returned from Auckland before his return to England.^[6]

Notes

References

• McIntyre, W. David (1980). The Journal of Henry Sewell 1853–7. II. Christchurch: Whitcoulls Publishers. ISBN 0-7233-0625-7. 
• Scholefield, Guy (1950) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1949 (3rd ed.). Wellington: Govt. Printer. 

By-elections in New Zealand in the pre-party era (1853–1890)   » (1891–1911) »
1st Parliament	Nelson, 1854 Waimea, 1854 City of Auckland, 1854
2nd Parliament	Motueka and Massacre Bay, 1856 Christchurch Country, 1856 Grey and Bell, 1856 Christchurch, 1856 Hutt, 1856 Auckland, 1858 Pensioner Settlements, 1858 Southern Division, 1858 Grey and Bell, 1858 Waimea, 1858 Wairau, 1858 Town of Lyttelton, 1858 Akaroa, 1858 Dunedin Country, 1858 Wairarapa and Hawkes Bay, 1858 Wellington, 1858 Wellington Country, 1858 Hutt, 1858 Dunedin, 1859
Supplementary elections, 1859	Cheviot Marsden Wairarapa Wallace
2nd Parliament (continued)	Waimea, 1859 Christchurch, 1860 Suburbs of Auckland, Jan 1860 Suburbs of Auckland, Apr 1860 Suburbs of Auckland, Aug 1860 Dunedin Country, 1860 Christchurch Country, 1860 Auckland, 1860 Omata, 1860 County of Hawke, 1860 Northern Division, 1860 Grey and Bell, 1860
3rd Parliament	Grey and Bell, 1861 Suburbs of Nelson, 1861 Napier, 1861 Wanganui, 1861 Dunedin, 1862 New Plymouth, 1862 Ellesmere, 1862 Avon, 1862 Heathcote, 1862 Auckland West, 1862 Bruce, 1862 Hampden, 1862
Supplementary elections, 1863	Dunedin and Suburbs North Gold Fields
3rd Parliament (continued)	Dunedin and Suburbs South, 1863 Hampden, 1863 Kaiapoi, 1863 Dunedin and Suburbs North, 1863 New Plymouth, 1863 Heathcote, 1863 Akaroa, 1863 Franklin, 1864 New Plymouth, 1864 Waimea, 1864 Bruce, 1865 Raglan, 1865 Parnell, 1865 New Plymouth, 1865 Gold Fields, 1865 Rangitiki, 1865 Omata, 1865 Wairarapa, 1865
4th Parliament	Mount Herbert, 1866 Port Chalmers, 1866 Dunedin, 1867 City of Christchurch, 1867 Avon, 1867 Manuherikia, 1867 Wanganui, 1867 New Plymouth, 1867 Auckland West, 1867 Raglan, 1867 Parnell, 1867 Port Chalmers, 1867 Waimea, 1867 Lyttelton, 1867 Kaiapoi, 1867 Picton, 1867 Pensioner Settlements, 1867 Ashley, 1867 Collingwood, 1868 Westland Boroughs, 1868
Supplementary elections, 1868	Westland North Westland South
First Māori elections	Eastern Maori Northern Maori Southern Maori Western Maori
4th Parliament (continued)	Avon, 1868 Picton, 1868 Rangitiki, 1868 Franklin, 1868 Waikouaiti, 1868 Lyttelton, 1868 Timaru, 1868 Nelson, 1868 Marsden, 1869 Roslyn, 1869 Dunedin, 1869 Newton, 1869 Waikouaiti, 1869 New Plymouth, 1869 Wallace, 1869 Oamaru, 1869 Taieri, 1869 Bruce, 1870 Mongonui, 1870 Caversham, 1870 Parnell, 1870 Riverton, 1870 City of Christchurch, 1870
5th Parliament	Auckland West, 1871 Roslyn, 1871 Wairau, 1872 Waikato, 1872 Wakatipu, 1872 Rodney, 1872 Nelson, 1872 Waikouaiti, 1872 Coleridge, 1872 Heathcote, 1872 Caversham, 1872 Egmont 1872 Suburbs of Nelson, 1873 Lyttelton, 1873 Invercargill, 1873 Waikouaiti, 1873 Mongonui and Bay of Islands, 1873 Wakatipu, 1873 Collingwood, 1873 Franklin, 1874 Akaroa, 1874 Dunedin, 1874 Waitemata, 1874 Waitemata,1874 Kaiapoi, 1875 Auckland West, 1875 Rangitikei, 1875 Waikouaiti, 1875 Wairau, 1875 Wallace, 1875 Caversham, 1875
6th Parliament	Auckland West, 1876 Wanganui, 1876 Napier, 1877 Wellington, 1877 Totara, 1877 City of Auckland West, 1877 Wairarapa, 1877 Wellington, 1878 Timaru, 1878 Port Chalmers, 1878 Franklin, 1878 Cheviot, 1878 Grey Valley, 1878 Hokitika, 1878 Dunedin, 1878 Taieri, 1878 Invercargill, 1878 Waipa, 1878 Roslyn, 1878 Gladstone, 1879 Mataura, 1879 Nelson, 1879 Auckland West, 1879 Coleridge, 1879 Hutt, 1879 Eastern Maori, 1879 Southern Maori, 1879 Dunedin, 1879
7th Parliament	Rangitikei, 1880 Waitaki, 1880 Waikaia, 1880 Suburbs of Nelson, 1881 Southern Maori, 1881 Nelson, 1881 Grey Valley, 1881
8th Parliament	Franklin North, 1882 Wakanui, 1882 Stanmore, 1882 Peninsula, 1883 Selwyn, 1883 Inangahua, 1883 Bruce, 1883 Selwyn, 1884 Thorndon, 1884 Kaiapoi, 1884 East Coast, 1884
9th Parliament	Oamaru, 1885 Tauranga, 1885 Waimea, 1885 Southern Maori, 1885 Wakanui, 1885 Bruce, 1885 Sydenham, 1886 Dunedin Central, 1886 Waitemata, 1886 Western Maori, 1886 Heathcote, 1887 Port Chalmers, 1887 Te Aro, 1887 Northern Maori, 1887 Avon, 1887
10th Parliament	Ashley, 1888 Lincoln, 1889 Nelson, 1889 Christchurch North, 1889 Oamaru, 1889 Waipa, 1889 East Coast, 1889 Timaru, 1890