title: 1875 Rangitikei by-election
text: # 1875 Rangitikei by-election
  
  The 1875 Rangitikei by-election was a by-election held on 24 April 1875 during the 5th New Zealand Parliament in the Rangitikei electorate on the West Coast of the North Island.
  
  The by-election was held because of the resignation of sitting member of parliament and previous Premier William Fox on 11 March 1875 in order to pay an extended visit to England.
  
  This election saw John Ballance narrowly win the seat by just seven votes over his main opponent, William Hogg Watt who had represented the Rangitikei electorate from 1866 to 1868 when he resigned. Conservative George Hutchison also ran. He was the son of William Hutchison a former mayor of Wellington and Member of Parliament, though performed poorly.
  
  ## Results
  
  The following table gives the election results:
  
  1875 Rangitikei by-election :
  
  | Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
  | - | - | - | - | - |
  | | Independent | John Ballance | 112 | 45.90 |
  | | Independent | William Hogg Watt | 105 | 43.03 |
  | | Independent | George Hutchison | 27 | 11.06 |
  | Majority | Majority | Majority | 7 | 2.86 |
  | Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 244 | |
  