In September 1891 the Elections and Qualifications Committee conducted a re-count of the 1891 Canterbury election. There were 4 seats available. Joseph Carruthers had been comfortably re-elected at the head of the poll with 7,231 votes, 19.8%. The following 4 candidates were separated by 105 votes, with John Wheeler defeating James Eve for the final seat with a margin of 5 votes. The next best candidate, John Grant was a further 487 behind, with 3,857 votes, 10.6%.[1]
The committee declared that John Wheeler had not been elected the member for Canterbury, however no by-election was conducted. Instead the committee declared that James Eve based on its own count of the result.[1] [2]
| Date | Event | |
|---|---|---|
| 17 June 1891 | 1891 Canterbury election | |
| 24 June 1891 | Petition lodged by James Eve.[3] | |
| 14 July 1891 | John Wheeler sworn in as member for Canterbury | |
| 16 July 1891 | Elections and Qualifications Committee appointed. | |
| 29 July 1864 | Petition referred to the Elections and Qualifications Committee. | |
| 2 September 1891 | Elections and Qualifications Committee declared that James Eve had been elected. |
|-| | | colspan="2" | gain 1 from