Christchurch City East for 1871–1875. He moved to Wellington in 1855 to be near his sick father, and represented the City of Wellington in the Provincial Council from 1857 to 1861. He stood in the 1875 election in the electorate, where six candidates were contesting three available positions, but he came fifth and was thus defeated. He had a financial interest in the earliest daily newspapers. Because of his increasing alcoholism his behaviour was very erratic and he was an embarrassment to his supporters. He was one of the MPs sometimes locked in small rooms at Parliament by Whips to keep them sober enough to vote in critical divisions, though in 1872 this was defeated when political opponents lowered a bottle of whisky down the chimney to him. Gradually over the next few years he dissipated his wealth and substance and destroyed his health. He died, penniless, in Ashburton, New Zealand in 1879. References External links |- 1820 births 1879 deaths Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Members of the Wellington Provincial Council Members of the Canterbury Association Unsuccessful candidates in the 1875–1876 New Zealand general election People from London English emigrants to New Zealand New Zealand MPs for South Island electorates New Zealand MPs for Christchurch electorates People educated at Bruce Castle School Alumni of King's College London 19th-century New Zealand politicians Jerningham