Early Local Body Elections
Probably the first notable election held in the new colony was the election of the first Wellington Town council pursuant to the Municipal Corporations Act in October 1842. It was open to all "Burgessers". These were undoubtedly male only, though it is not clear whether it was only Europeans who were permitted to vote and what age restrictions that applied. Notably there did not seem to have been a property requirement. In place of that was a one pound poll tax. This led to accusations of vote buying by those wealthy enough to pay for the registration of indigent electors, however the practice was so prevalent all those candidates who were ultimately successful used the tactic. In contrast to later national elections this local election also saw the emergence of a nascent working class party under the auspices of the Working Men's Association and the Mechanic's Institute.
Read more about this topic: History Of Voting In New Zealand
Famous quotes containing the words early, local, body and/or elections:
“Here is this vast, savage, howling mother of ours, Nature, lying all around, with such beauty, and such affection for her children, as the leopard; and yet we are so early weaned from her breast to society, to that culture which is exclusively an interaction of man on man,a sort of breeding in and in, which produces at most a merely English nobility, a civilization destined to have a speedy limit.”
—Henry David Thoreau (18171862)
“This is the only wet community in a wide area, and is the rendezvous of cow hands seeking to break the monotony of chuck wagon food and range life. Friday night is the big time for local cowboys, and consequently the calaboose is called the Friday night jail.”
—Administration in the State of Texa, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)
“The body is but a pair of pincers set over a bellows and a stewpan and the whole fixed upon stilts.”
—Samuel Butler (18351902)
“In my public statements I have earnestly urged that there rested upon government many responsibilities which affect the moral and spiritual welfare of our people. The participation of women in elections has produced a keener realization of the importance of these questions and has contributed to higher national ideals. Moreover, it is through them that our national ideals are ingrained in our children.”
—Herbert Hoover (18741964)