1912 in New Zealand

1912 In New Zealand

The 1911 General Election, the first contested by the Reform Party, left parliament in an indeterminate state, with Reform holding 38 seats, Liberal 36, Labour 1 and with 5 independents.

Liberal, who had been in government for the past 21 years, claimed that Reform did not have a mandate, since many of their seats were the smaller rural electorates, and the Liberals proceeded to form a government under Joseph Ward as per the previous two parliaments.

Such were the loyalties of the independent members that votes were often deadlocked and dependent upon the casting vote of the Speaker. As a result, Joseph Ward resigned on March 28, to be succeeded by agriculture minister Thomas Mackenzie. However, the government was defeated on the next occasion that parliament met, and the first Reform Government was formed under William Massey in July.