4th New Zealand Parliament

The 4th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the Parliament of New Zealand.

Elections for this term were held in 61 electorates between 12 February and 6 April 1866 to elect 70 MPs. Parliament was prorogued in late 1870. During the term of this Parliament, two Ministries were in power. During this term, four Māori electorates were first established in 1867, and the first elections held in 1868.

Sessions
The 4th Parliament opened on 30 June 1866, following the 1866 general election. It sat for five sessions, and was prorogued on 6 December 1875.

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.

The 4th Parliament sat during the time of the New Zealand Wars, with the Second Taranaki War proceeding at the beginning of this Parliament's term. The Central Otago Gold Rush was coming to an end, but the West Coast Gold Rush had only just begun.

The capital had moved from Auckland to Wellington in 1865. Parliament was meeting in the Provincial Council buildings. With the increase in the number of Members of Parliament to 70, conditions became very crowded. The original building "grew like topsy" until the end of the 19th century, and was consumed by fire on 11 December 1907.

In 1868, the first elections were held in the four Māori electorates that were created in the previous year.

Ministries
A few months before the 1866 general elections, Edward Stafford became Premier for the second time. On 16 October 1865, the second Stafford Ministry was formed. This lasted well into the term of the 4th Parliament on 28 June 1869.

The premiership changed back to William Fox. The third Fox Ministry was in place from 28 June 1869 to 10 September 1872, well into the term of the 5th Parliament.

Electorates
61 electorates were used for the 1866 elections. This was a significant increase from the 43 electorates used in the previous (1860–1861) election, and resulted from the Representation Act 1865. The bill had its third reading and was assented in October 1865.

Initial composition of the 4th Parliament
70 seats were created across the 61 electorates. The City of Wellington electorate was the only three-member electorate, and seven electorates were represented by two members. The remaining 53 electorates were represented by a single member.

Changes during term
There were numerous changes during the term of the 4th Parliament.

Existing electorates
Walker resigned in 1867. Henry Tancred won the subsequent 1867 by-election.
 * Ashley

James Williamson resigned in 1867. He was succeeded by Patrick Dignan.
 * Auckland West

Ward resigned in 1867. He was succeeded by William Reeves, who himself resigned in 1868. William Rolleston won the subsequent 1868 by-election.
 * Avon

Cargill resigned in 1870 and was succeeded by James Clark Brown.
 * Bruce

Burns resigned in 1870 and was succeeded by James McIndoe.
 * Caversham

FitzGerald resigned in 1867 and was succeeded by William Travers, who himself resigned in 1870. William Sefton Moorhouse took the seat for the remaining months in 1870.
 * City of Christchurch

Paterson resigned in 1869 and was succeeded by Thomas Birch.
 * City of Dunedin

Stafford resigned in 1868 and was succeeded by Nathaniel Edwards.
 * City of Nelson

Richmond resigned in 1868 and was succeeded by Arthur Shuckburgh Collins.
 * Collingwood

Beswick resigned in 1867. He was succeeded by John Studholme.
 * Kaiapoi

Baldwin resigned in 1867. He was succeeded by David Mervyn.
 * Manuherikia

Hull resigned in 1868. He was succeeded by John Munro.
 * Marsden

Ball resigned in 1870. He was succeeded by Thomas Gillies on 30 March 1870.
 * Mongonui

Moorhouse was elected in the Mount Herbert electorate on 22 February 1866. He also stood in the Westland electorate and was returned 16 March 1866. He chose to represent Westland. A by-election was held on 27 July 1866 and Thomas Potts was returned unopposed.
 * Mount Herbert

Richardson resigned in 1867 and was succeeded by Harry Atkinson, who himself resigned in 1869. Thomas Kelly won the 1869 by-election.
 * New Plymouth

Graham resigned in 1869 and was succeeded by Robert James Creighton.
 * Newton

Henderson resigned in 1867. The 6 July 1867 by-election was won by Thomas Macfarlane.
 * Northern Division

O'Neill resigned in 1869 and was succeeded by Henry Warner Farnall.

Campbell resigned in 1869 and was succeeded by Charles Christie Graham.
 * Oamaru

Atkinson resigned in 1867 and was succeeded in the 1868 by-election by Charles Brown, who himself resigned in 1870. Frederic Carrington was the successful candidate in the 1870 by-election.
 * Omata

Whitaker resigned in 1867 and was succeeded by Charles Heaphy.
 * Parnell

De Quincey resigned in 1867. The 5 August 1867 by-election was won by John Kerr. A second person, a Mr Jackson, was nominated, but the returning officer would not accept the nomination, as Jackson was not on the electoral roll. Thus, Kerr was declared elected unopposed.
 * Pensioner Settlements

Beauchamp resigned in 1867. He was succeeded by William Adams, who himself resigned in 1868. Courtney Kenny won the 1868 by-election.
 * Picton

Dick, who was elected on 17 March 1866, resigned on 15 October 1866. He successfully contested the 15 December 1866 by-election, but resigned again on 26 April 1867. David Forsyth Main successfully contested the 1867 by-election.
 * Port Chalmers

Newman resigned in 1867. He was succeeded by James Farmer.
 * Raglan

Watt resigned in 1868. He was succeeded by William Fox, who won the 1868 by-election.
 * Rangitīkei

Hepburn resigned in 1868. He was succeeded by Henry Driver.
 * Roslyn

Reid resigned in 1869. He was succeeded by Henry Howorth.
 * Taieri

Cox resigned in 1868. He was succeeded by Edward Stafford.
 * Timaru

Hargreaves resigned in 1867. He was succeeded by George Macfarlan, who won the 1867 by-election. Macfarlan died on 9 October 1868 and was succeeded by John Thomas Peacock in a 2 November 1868 by-election.
 * Town of Lyttelton

Murison resigned in 1868 and was succeeded by Robert Mitchell. Mitchell himself resigned in the following year and was replaced by Francis Rich.
 * Waikouaiti

Oliver resigned in 1867. He was succeeded by Edward Baigent.
 * Waimea

McNeil resigned in 1869 and was succeeded by Cuthbert Cowan. Cowan himself resigned in the same year he got elected and was replaced by George Webster.
 * Wallace

The Westland Representation Act 1867 introduced changes to the Waimea and Westland electorates. Their areas were reassigned and four electorates formed. Waimea lost some area, but continued to exist. Westland was abolished in 1867. A new electorate (Westland Boroughs) was established, and Moorhouse was transferred to it. Other new electorates, for which by-elections were to be held, were Westland North and Westland South.
 * Westland

New electorate
Westland Boroughs was established through the Westland Representation Act 1867, and Moorhouse transferred to it. He resigned in 1868, and William Henry Harrison won the resulting 1868 by-election.
 * Westland Boroughs

Westland North was established through the Westland Representation Act 1867. Timothy Gallagher was its first representative, elected in the 9 April 1868 by-election. He resigned on 13 May 1870 and was succeeded by Thomas Kynnersley following a 2 July 1870 by-election.
 * Westland North

Westland South was established through the Westland Representation Act 1867. Edmund Barff was its representative, elected in the 6 April 1868 by-election.
 * Westland South

Māori electorates
The first elections for the new Māori electorates were held in 1868.

Tāreha Te Moananui was the first representative for the Eastern Maori electorate.
 * Eastern Maori

Frederick Nene Russell was the first representative for the Northern Maori electorate.
 * Northern Maori

John Patterson was the first representative for the Southern Maori electorate.
 * Southern Maori

Mete Kīngi Paetahi was the first representative for the Western Maori electorate.
 * Western Maori