James Yems (1812 – 10 September 1868) was a New Zealand auctioneer and politician. He came to Wellington on 24 May 1841 on, and in 1842 moved to Taranaki. Until 1845, Yems was a auctioneer, but then moved to South Australia. He returned to New Zealand later, and was elected to the Taranaki Provincial Council for New Plymouth in 1861, a position which he held until 1863.[1] On 26 January 1864 a meeting was held to replace Yems in the Provincial Council. Warwick Weston was elected unanimously.[2]
On 10 June 1861, there was a nomination meeting to decide the candidates for the 'Town of New Plymouth' ward of the Taranaki Provincial Council. 6 people were nominated, with there being 4 places available in the ward. The candidates proposed were incumbent and former MP Francis Gledhill, incumbent Edward Larwill Humphries,[3] provincial representative of 'Grey and Bell' George Yates Lethbridge,[4] Walt, later representative Warwick Weston,[5] and Yems. A show of hands conducted was in favour of Gledhill, Humphries, Watt, and Yems. However, Weston demanded a poll. The results on the poll were:[6]
| width=15 | Ranking | Party | width=175 | Name | width=100 | No. of votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | James Yems | 69 | ||||
| 2. | Francis Gledhill | 66 | ||||
| 3. | Edward Larwill Humphries | 63 | ||||
| 4. | George Yates Lethbridge | 43 |