{"story":["The general election of 5 December 1890 was the first in which no one could vote in more than one general electoral district. It took place against a background of strikes and economic depression, and a radical land policy was the main theme of the campaign led by John Ballance, a Whanganui newspaper proprietor who had led the opposition since July 1889. The result was not clear until Parliament met in early 1891. When the premier, Harry Atkinson, resigned after being defeated in the House in January 1891, Ballance formed the country's first Liberal government; NZHistory dates his premiership from 24 January 1891. His first cabinet included Richard Seddon, John McKenzie, Joseph Ward and William Pember Reeves.","Before leaving office Atkinson had arranged the appointment of seven members to the Legislative Council, the upper house, to block the new government, and the council rejected major Liberal measures. Ballance asked the governor to appoint his own nominees. The question went to the Colonial Office in London, which ruled in his favour in late 1892, settling that the governor had to accept ministers' advice on such appointments. As colonial treasurer Ballance replaced the property tax with land and income taxes, and his government passed the Land Act 1892 and the Land for Settlements Act 1892. A record budget surplus in 1892, coming as the economy improved, began the public's association of Ballance, 'the Rain-Maker', with the return of prosperity. He also set up the Liberal Federation, the first attempt at a nationwide party organisation in New Zealand. Te Ara describes the Liberals as having become the country's first 'modern' political party. Ballance died of cancer on 27 April 1893.","Seddon, a former West Coast publican and miners' advocate, outmanoeuvred Robert Stout for the leadership and was premier until his death on 10 June 1906, winning five consecutive elections. The minister of lands, John McKenzie, introduced a graduated land tax and lease-in-perpetuity tenure and established the state's right of compulsory purchase. In 1893 the government bought the 90,000-acre (about 36,400-hectare) Cheviot Hills estate in North Canterbury and divided it into 54 small farms and a township. NZHistory says that in the 1890s over a million acres were acquired and turned into 7000 small farms. Under the Government Advances to Settlers Act 1894 the state offered advances to settlers. Reeves, the first minister of labour in the British Empire, carried the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1894, which introduced compulsory arbitration in industrial disputes and encouraged the formation of industrial unions.","In 1893 New Zealand became the first country in the world to give women the vote (see Women win the vote). Ballance had long supported the reform; Seddon had opposed it, and had to accept it when the Legislative Council passed it. The Old-age Pensions Act, which became law on 1 November 1898, gave a small means-tested pension to people aged at least 65 and was the first such scheme funded entirely from general taxation (see Old-age pensions introduced). It specifically excluded 'Chinese or other Asiatics', and Seddon promoted legislation to stop further Chinese migration. Seddon's views shaped the Workers' Dwellings Act 1905, and Te Ara notes that the pensions and workers' dwellings anticipated the welfare state. NZHistory says the Liberal government was widely seen as making New Zealand 'the social laboratory of the world'.","The land reforms came at Māori expense. Between 1892 and 1900 the Liberal government acquired 3.15 million acres (1.3 million hectares) of Māori land and made it available to Pākehā settlers. Seddon, native minister from 1893 to 1899, used his powers of persuasion to obtain Māori consent to land sales, and NZHistory says many of McKenzie's policies were aimed at making Māori-owned land available for sale. After Seddon's death William Hall-Jones held office until Ward returned from Europe, and in 1912, after the government had needed the Speaker's casting vote to survive a confidence vote, Thomas Mackenzie replaced Ward. In July 1912 disillusioned Liberals voted with William Massey's Reform opposition to end 21 years of Liberal government. Seddon's statue outside Parliament Buildings has come, in Te Ara's words, 'to represent the authority of the state in New Zealand'."],"sources":[{"title":"John Ballance","url":"https://nzhistory.govt.nz/people/john-ballance","publisher":"NZHistory, Manatū Taonga"},{"title":"Ballance, John","url":"https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/2b5/ballance-john","publisher":"Te Ara — the Encyclopedia of New Zealand"},{"title":"Death of Premier John Ballance","url":"https://nzhistory.govt.nz/death-of-premier-john-ballance","publisher":"NZHistory, Manatū Taonga"},{"title":"First 'one man one vote' election","url":"https://nzhistory.govt.nz/first-general-election-held-under-one-man-one-vote-principle","publisher":"NZHistory, Manatū Taonga"},{"title":"Seddon, Richard John","url":"https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/2s11/seddon-richard-john","publisher":"Te Ara — the Encyclopedia of New Zealand"},{"title":"Richard Seddon","url":"https://nzhistory.govt.nz/people/richard-seddon","publisher":"NZHistory, Manatū Taonga"},{"title":"John McKenzie","url":"https://nzhistory.govt.nz/people/john-mckenzie","publisher":"NZHistory, Manatū Taonga"},{"title":"William Pember Reeves","url":"https://nzhistory.govt.nz/people/william-pember-reeves","publisher":"NZHistory, Manatū Taonga"},{"title":"Thomas Mackenzie","url":"https://nzhistory.govt.nz/people/thomas-mackenzie","publisher":"NZHistory, Manatū Taonga"},{"title":"William Massey","url":"https://nzhistory.govt.nz/people/william-massey","publisher":"NZHistory, Manatū Taonga"},{"title":"Subdividing Cheviot Hills - roadside stories","url":"https://nzhistory.govt.nz/media/video/subdividing-cheviot-hills-roadside-stories","publisher":"NZHistory, Manatū Taonga"},{"title":"Old-age Pensions Act becomes law","url":"https://nzhistory.govt.nz/old-age-pensions-act-passes-into-law","publisher":"NZHistory, Manatū Taonga"},{"title":"Liberal Party","url":"https://nzhistory.govt.nz/keyword/liberal-party","publisher":"NZHistory, Manatū Taonga"},{"title":"History – Liberal to Labour","url":"https://teara.govt.nz/en/history/page-5","publisher":"Te Ara — the Encyclopedia of New Zealand"},{"title":"Political parties – The party system develops, 1891 to 1935","url":"https://teara.govt.nz/en/political-parties/page-1","publisher":"Te Ara — the Encyclopedia of New Zealand"},{"title":"Farming in the economy – Refrigeration and sheep farming","url":"https://teara.govt.nz/en/farming-in-the-economy/page-3","publisher":"Te Ara — the Encyclopedia of New Zealand"}]}