the price of land was the dominant election issue: the business strategy of the canterbury association was to sell land at a price that was sufficient to finance all the development that was necessary for the new settlement. the other two candidates, james fitzgerald and henry tancred, were therefore both proponents of a high land price. campbell on the other hand was in favour of setting a low price for land outside the canterbury block. hence there was a real possibility that vote splitting would result in neither tancred nor fitzgerald being elected.