1866 - Carter, C. R. Life and Recollections of a New Zealand Colonist Vol. II . [New Zealand sections only] - CHAPTER IV. REMARKABLE WELLINGTON EVENTS IN 1853...p 59-79

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CHAPTER IV.

WHEN the future historian of New Zealand, as a whole, or of Wellington in particular, shall have written the history of one or of both of these places, he will be found to dwell with more than usual gravity and emphasis on the important events which happened during 1853: a year most prolific in interesting and important occurrences. The year 1853 will long be noteworthy as the epoch during which the New Zea-

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land Constitution of 1852 was brought into operation --Sir George Grey reduced the price of land from. 20s. per acre to 10s. and 5s. per acre--great prosperity prevailed, consequent on the Australian gold diggings--the arrival of Edward Gibben Wakefield in Wellington occurred--the election of the first Wellington Superintendent (Dr. Featherston) took place-- and Sir George Grey and Lieutenant-Governor Eyre departed from New Zealand. The year 1853 was indeed a very eventful year, and may be chronicled as the commencement of that period of rapid increase in wealth, population, power, and importance to which New Zealand subsequently attained.

The prospect of the Constitution being brought into operation in the early part of 1853, gave rise to considerable political speculation and gossip in Wellington, and drew attention to the nature of the Constitution, and its apparent merits. I wrote at this time, in the Independent, a series of five letters, under the heading of "The Nature of our New Constitution, and how it may be worked for the general good."

About this time, something much more important than the publication of my letters occurred, to attract and engage the Wellington public. This was nothing less than the news (brought from Fort Cooper--now Lyttelton--by the brig Exchange, which arrived in Wellington February 13th, 1853), that the author of the "Art of Colonisation," and the founder of systematic colonisation, as carried out in the settlements founded by the New Zealand Company, in New

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Zealand, and generally known as the "Wakefield System," had arrived at Port Cooper, in the good ship, "Minerva'.' Yes, Mr. Edward Gibbon Wakefield, about whom, and about whose "sufficient price" for land we had heard so much, was now in the colony. Immediately prior to the arrival of Mr. E. G. Wakefield in the colony, Sir George Grey had commenced the inauguration of our new Constitution.

By the Constitution Act of 1852, it was enacted that such Constitution (of 1852) should be proclaimed in New Zealand "within six weeks after a copy of such Act shall have been received by such Governor;" the said Act to take effect from the date of its proclamation. The Act also authorised the Governor to define the boundaries of the provinces, constitute electoral districts, and make rules for the regulation of the elections, &c. In accordance with these provisions of the Act, Sir George Grey, by a proclamation dated the 17th of January, 1853, announced the Constitution "to take effect and come into operation" on the day of the date of such proclamation.

By a second proclamation, issued on the 28th of February following, he proclaimed the boundaries of the six provinces; and through a third proclamation, bearing the date of March 5th, he established electoral districts for the election of the Superintendent--of members to the House of Representatives--and of Provincial Councils. He fixed the number of members for the House of Representatives at thirty-seven, and for the Wellington Provincial Council at eighteen mem-

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bers. By the same proclamation he makes provision for constituting Returning Officers, issuing writs for electing members, regulating elections, and taking the poll, &c.

One day earlier than the date of the last-named proclamation,--namely, on the 4th day of March, 1853-- Sir George Grey, to the wonder and astonishment of even those whom anything which his Excellency did would hardly surprise, issued a proclamation, reducing the price of land in all parts of New Zealand (excepting in the special settlements of Otago, where the reserved land was £2 per acre, and in Canterbury, where the price was fixed at £3 per acre) to a fixed price of 10s, an acre for agricultural land outside hundreds, townships, &c.; and lands certified to be unavailable for agricultural purposes, "from their hilly or broken character," were to be offered at auction at an upset price of 5s. the acre. The lands thus reduced in price, and belonging to the Crown, had, up to this period, been sold at the New Zealand Company's fixed price of £1 per acre.

The general satisfaction which this bold measure appeared to give to the settlers at large on the one hand, and on the other, the perplexity and dismay which it caused amongst Governor Grey's opponents and the upholders of high-priced land, was something very interesting, and very amusing to a spectator on the spot. I may fairly say his Excellency had completely turned the tables on, and the laugh against, Mr. E. G. Wakefield, his disciples, and his land schemes in the future.

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Mr. E. G. Wakefield arrived in Wellington early in March, in the fine ship "Minerva"--the goddess of wisdom,--and was accompanied by his legal friend and assistant, Mr. Henry Sewell, whom he styled "a rare constitutional lawyer." With Mr. Wakefield came an address from the settlers of Canterbury, to the Governor, breathing a spirit of good will towards his Excellency, and which its promoters and originators, Henry John Tancred and others, had "hoped would conduce to a harmonious co-operation between Sir George Grey and his opponents of long standing." 1 Well might Mr. E. G. Wakefield--who, in this case, might be considered to be the bearer of an olive branch from the settlers of Canterbury to the Governor--feel annoyed on his arrival in Wellington, to find Sir George Grey had unburied the "war hatchet," and that he was prepared to set him at defiance. No sooner had the arrival of Mr. E. G. Wakefield become generally known in Wellington, than an "Address of welcome" was prepared, which received the signatures of over 150 of the principal inhabitants of the town, and was presented to him on the 10th of March. On the 15th of the same month he made a feeling and suitable reply to this address. 2

In the meantime, all, or nearly all, friendliness of feeling between the Governor and Mr. E. G. Wakefield and his friends, had passed away. Sir George Grey's proclamation of March 4th, which so materially re-

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duced the price of land, was considered by them, and by most other persons acquainted with the subject, as an unwarrantable assumption of power; a power which, by the Constitution, belonged to the General Assembly, clearly and distinctly. It is true that the Governor was authorized by "certain powers delegated to him by one of Her Majesty's principal Secretaries of State," in accordance with the clauses 72 and 79 of the Constitution Act: to make regulations for "the sale, letting, disposal, and occupation" of the "waste lands," "until the said General Assembly shall otherwise enact." Or rather to speak in more rational and definite terms: he had authority to make temporary regulations in respect of the "waste lands," during the space of time that would intervene between the date of the "Letters Patent," or "Instructions," 3 containing the delegation of power to enable him to do so, and the first meeting of the General Assembly.

I, myself, am persuaded that it was never contemplated or intended by the framers of the Constitution Act, or by the Parliament which made it law, that Governor Grey would, or should anticipate the legislation on the waste lands, by the New Zealand Parliament, in the wholesale way he did,--otherwise, it is my firm conviction he would not have been entrusted with the discretionary power committed to him, and having its origin in the Constitution Act of 1852.

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Let this constitutional view of the question be as it may, it must be admitted that Governor Grey's "cheap land proclamation" was popular with the masses--the settlers at large--and conferred an immense benefit on the colony, 4 particularly on the province of Wellington, where immigration and the sale of land were entirely at a stand still. As for my opinion about the matter, I considered it was a great boon to the colony, and as such I hailed it, and spoke of it; and I even felt grateful for what Governor Grey had done in lowering the price of land. It must be borne in mind that, at this time, grave suspicions were attached to the political conduct of Mr. E. G. Wakefield and his party. It was generally believed they would secure seats in the House of Representatives, and succeed, for a time, in perpetuating a high priced land system, which had become obnoxious to the colony at large. Governor Grey evidently saw this, and, at the risk of doing an illegal act, and of

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being considered as usurping the powers of the General Assembly, he sent forth his proclamation of March the 4th. I think it will be conceded that he felt, by so doing, he was conferring a great boon on the colony. It must also, on the other hand, be admitted that the circumstances of any colony must be of a very anomalous character to justify such a course of action as that which Governor Grey adopted.

It is a very questionable proceeding, even to do a great good, by means of an illegal act. The end to be attained does not always justify the means employed.

Governor Grey persisted in his course, as he was wont to do. Through the exertions of Mr. Sewell, and others, an injunction to restrain Mr. Dillon Bell (then land Commissioner for Wellington), from selling land under the proclamation of March 4th, was applied for through Sydney Stephens, judge of the Supreme Court at Wellington. The injunction was granted, but this was of no avail, the Governor's legal advisers declared the proclamation of March 4th legal; and so the sale of land, at the reduced prices, continued as it does to this day,

No sooner was the price of land reduced, than discussion, speculation, and agitation arose as to how persons in humble position and with very limited means the working classes--were to take advantage of the new regulations, so as to secure to them freehold land in the shape of small farms. Various were the plans suggested by different parties; but as yet the land for these purposes had to be purchased from the

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natives. Wellington citizens took the matter up warmly, particularly Joseph Masters, a cooper, keeping a small shop on the beach, who, in a prominent manner, brought the matter directly before the public, in a series of homely-written letters in the Independent. I was very favourable to the scheme (as I had been in London), of forming an association to promote the settlement of the interior by a rural population, composed of individuals who would personally cultivate the soil.

Mr. Masters, who was a sturdy settler, and very anxious to see the working people possessed of small farms, was somewhat illiterate, and injudicious in the choice of his language, and was therefore likely, if left to himself, to make as many enemies as friends, and he accordingly consulted me and several others, and I agreed to assist him. The first thing to be done, before we agitated for small farms, was to procure the land. For this purpose myself, Mr. Masters, and, I think, one or two others, formed ourselves into a deputation, and waited on Governor Grey, who received us courteously and affably. We asked for certain blocks in the Wairarapa Valley to be purchased, which he kindly promised to do, and which he did by soon after going personally to the Wairarapa, negociating for the purchase of the first land ever bought in the Wairarapa, and leaving the Commissioner, Mr. D. McLean, to complete the purchase of other blocks, which he did, and on which were planted the settlements of Masterton and Greytown.

On the 18th of March, 1863, a first preliminary

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public meeting was called at the "Crown and Anchor," on the beach, for the purpose of forming a Small Farm Association. I was asked to take the chair, but declined. William Allen was then elected as chairman, and I consented to act as secretary. A provisional committee was formed to draw up rules and regulations, consisting of Messrs. Masters, Allen, Carter, Luxford, and Braithwaite, and thus originated the Small Farm Association, which saved the beautiful valley of the Wairarapa from being little better than a waste, tenanted by "run-holders," and which enabled any man to purchase 40 acres of good suburban land, and 100 acres of rural land, adjacent thereto, at 10s. per acre. Both the suburban and rural lands were to be near a town, which latter was to consist of 100 allotments, of one acre each, to be sold to each member of the association, at 20s. per acre. The town lands were purchased by the association from the Government at 10s. per acre. Each member was bound to reside three months on his selected land, or expend £30 in improvements on it; and not part with his interest in it for twelve months. The non-fulfilment of these conditions involved the forfeiture of his town acre. The conditions, generally speaking, were adhered to, and the Association was well supported, but as our regulations were not legally binding on the members, some (very few) of our members who joined us under false pretences, and did not want to settle on the land, but to speculate on it, and make money out of it, sorely perplexed and troubled us, and when we forfeited their

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town acres, threatened us with legal proceedings to upset all we had done, which I dare say they might have accomplished if they had had the courage to expose their own mendacity and our weakness. Eventually a considerable amount of unpleasantness arose from Mr. Allen, our chairman, who was also our treasurer, neglecting from time to time to account for the receipt and disbursement of the monies he had received on account of the Association. And, certainly, had I at first known the trouble, expense and annoyance that I should have to put up with on this account, and from the frivolous and vexatious objections afterwards made by Mr. Masters, I should not (except as a matter of duty) have accepted the appointment. Mr. Masters also very soon betook himself to his land at Masterton, so that Messrs. Jackson and Renall, the two remaining and active working members of the permanent committee, had, with myself, to complete the work. They appointed me to wind up the affairs of the Association, and also nominated me trustee (by letter, dated June 11th, 1858), for the purpose of conveying--to each purchaser of forty acres--one town acre. I duly received the appointment as trustee from Governor Browne, and at great labour and responsibility executed the trust to the best of my ability and judgment.

After Sir George Grey's departure from Wellington and the colony, Dr. Featherston and his Government contributed, more than any other body, of men to the consolidation, completion, and welfare of the Small

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Farm Settlements. The first of the Small farm townships was called Greytown, in compliment to Sir George Grey; and the second, at the suggestion of Mr. Allen--who made an active and useful chairman --was called Masterton.

I must now return to Mr. E. G. Wakefield, who, from being a popular man on his landing, was now somewhat fallen in public estimation, in consequence of his vigorous and trenchant opposition to Governor Grey--whom he accused of "sucking his brains"-- and decried for having issued the proclamation of March 4th. That an adverse change of feeling in the public mind had taken place towards him, was evidenced by a counter address, or memorial--signed by fifty-six of the persons who had originally signed the "Address of Welcome" to him,--being got up and published. 5 This memorial stated in effect that the signers of it wished it to be understood, that in signing the "Address of Welcome," they did so, not because they agreed or sympathized with Mr. Wakefield in his political opinions or land theories, but simply because they desired to welcome him to Wellington. My name figured on this list.

At this time, Mr. E. G. Wakefield was a fine, fresh looking, elderly man--the beau ideal of a quiet country gentleman--with fair complexion; stature middle height; shoulders broad; and body inclined to corpulency.

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He was a plausible and an effective speaker, generally pleasantly so, often pungent. His style of speaking was conversational and persuasive rather than vigorous. His health was delicate, his feelings sensitive, and, I fear, that when disappointed in his expectations, or when he chose to consider himself ill-treated, he shut himself up from general society and the outer world, and imagined himself, or made it appear, that he was in a worse state of health than he really was.

He was a very able and intellectual man, whose ambition aimed at being the unseen hand to direct other men's political movements. He appeared to me to have but little regard--in pol tics--fer the feelings of others, and not to be at all scrupulous about the means he employed to attain his ends. These failings were his misfortune, for men with minds and opinions of their own, soon found out that to be his disciple amounted to being his puppet. He was not always sincere in what he said; he was fond of working in the dark, behind the scenes, and sometimes shrunk from the consequences of his own acts, and the humiliation of defeat. With all his faults, I believe he was naturally a kind-hearted man; in private, one could not help liking him, who had done so much for New Zealand, and come so far to live and die in it. 6 He will ever be favourably remem-

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bered as the founder of that "Wakefield system of Colonization," which established the settlement of South Australia, and which made the islands of New Zealand into a compact and flourishing colony,--and which, let us fervently hope, is yet destined to become the "United Kingdom" of the South Pacific Ocean.

Mr. Wakefield, finding his popularity on the wane, and the public becoming distrustful of his motives, now began giving lectures at Wellington and the Hutt, on land and its monopoly, &c. One evening, on the 25th of April, 1853, he called a meeting at Baron Alsdorfs Hotel, to state how far he was favourable to small farm settlements, now the rage at Wellington. At this meeting, of mostly working men, he could hardly get a hearing, when I stepped forward and procured him one, for which he appeared grateful. He then stated how glad he should be to select about 4,000 acres of land (with "compensation scrip" he then owned) for a small farm settlement near Wellington, to assist in the formation of which would give him employment and pleasure, and that he would re-sell the land at 10s. per acre. This sounded well, and a committee, of which I formed one, was named to carry it out. Another meeting was held the day after (April 26th), at the Aglionby Arms, in the Hutt, to hear Mr. Wakefield deliver a lecture, or rather a speech, "on the formation of a new township for the working classes." Mr. Renall, a Hutt settler, and a farmer and miller by occupation, was in the chair. I attended this meeting, when Mr. Wakefield introduced me to the audience by the following remarks:--

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At the conclusion of the above I was called upon by the chairman, to speak, which I did, and amongst other things, suggested that the Hutt should elect a member to the small farm committee formed on the previous night; this was done by the unanimous election of Mr. Renall, the chairman; (some of the members of this committee were afterwards absorbed in that of "the Small Farm Association.") The committee, thus constituted, met several times at the house of Mr. Wakefield in Wellington; but nothing practical arose out of these meetings, beyond the fact that we spent several pleasant evenings there. We found, however, that he was not sincere in his professions of using his scrip for the benefit of the working classes. In fact, he afterwards sold it to a private gentleman.

Undaunted by his want of success in some things, or by the rebuffs he met with in others, Mr. Wakefield

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continued to scheme and contrive--not in Wellington but at the Hutt--where he did it so cleverly and so successfully, by broaching a scheme for compensating the Hutt settlers for their losses in the Maori war, by grants of public land, that he became all-powerful, and gained immense influence over them. One day he called upon me in Wellington, and desired me to become a candidate for the office of Member of Provincial Council for the Hutt. He assured me of success, but I thanked him and declined his overtures. Soon after this he was elected a Member of the Provincial Council, for the Hutt, Mr. Renall heading the poll, and Mr. Wakefield being second on it. 7 This latter event reminds me that I must not forget to mention the inauguration of our new constitution, which took place on a fine day, near the middle of a New Zealand winter, on the 2nd of July, 1853--by the election of the first Superintendent of Wellington.

The first Wellington "hustings" were erected in front of the then new Church of England school-house on Thordon Flat. Isaac Earl Featherston, M.D., was the only candidate for the office. William Fitzherbert proposed him, and William Lyon seconded him, when, there being no opposition, the Returning Officer, Henry St. Hill declared him duly elected by the show of hands. When on the hustings, the "doctor"--as he was familiarly called--appeared to me to be suffering from a cold, or indisposition, as he looked pale, and spoke

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nervously in returning thanks for his election, in a long, but cheering and able speech. There was a considerable number of merchants and shopkeepers present to witness the election proceedings, but not many of the working classes.

If there was no excitement or opposition at the election for Superintendent, there was more than enough at the election for Members of our first Provincial Council. For the city of Wellington, seven Members were required, and for these seven memberships, there were no less than sixteen candidates who went to the poll.

At a meeting of electors, at Munn's Royal Hotel, I was chosen as a candidate; and at a much larger meeting of the committee of the constitutional candidates, I was approved of and requested to stand, but I declined, on the ground that being a contractor, and likely to be one under the "new Government," it was not desirable that I should enter the council, especially as I was of opinion that contractors, holding and executing contracts under the Government, ought not to sit in the Provincial Council, where they might be called upon to deliberate and decide on questions deeply affecting their own pecuniary interests; for this reason I was allowed to withdraw with credit to myself.

Years afterwards, when I had become a Member for the Provincial Council, I was more than once twitted with my inconsistency, and with acting contrary to my recorded opinions on this head; my political opponents

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were not justified in making these assertions, for there was no comparison between the two cases. Before the first Council was elected in 1853 the law allowed a contractor, being a Member of Council, to accept a Government contract and retain his seat; but soon after this, and before I was elected a Member, the Council passed a Bill which made it imperative on contractors, accepting contracts from the Government, to vacate their seats, and if they desired re-election they must submit themselves to the judgment of their constituents. If it was desirable to exclude Government contractors (which I think it is), this Bill gave the electors power to do so.

As Mr. Fitzherbert, on the nomination, was in a minority by the show of hands, we had to work hard for him on the polling day. I think, by my personal influence, I secured him 90 votes, out of the 255 he obtained. Wellington had never before seen such a day of bustle, excitement, noise, and fun, as was witnessed on this day. There were committee-rooms here and there, and warm canvassing in all parts of the town. The nominee element and its friends used great exertions to introduce a slight infusion of its blood into the composition of the Council, by the election of Mr. George Moore, of the "bone knife" notoriety, and others of their friends; but they only succeeded in returning their one man, Mr. Moore, whom they placed fourth on the poll -- Clifford being first, Dorset second, Fitzherbert third, Wallace fifth, Lyon sixth, and Bethune seventh.

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Soon after this, the elections for the House of Representatives took place, when Messrs. Clifford, Kelham, and Hart were elected for the city of Wellington, Messrs. Wakefield and Ludlum for the Hutt, Rhodes and Featherston for the Country and Wanganui districts, and Revans for Wairarapa and Hawke's Bay. At the time, and after the elections I have just been speaking of, complaints were made against Governor Grey for not calling together the General Assembly prior to the meetings of the Provincial Councils; but he disregarded them, and quitted New Zealand 31st of December 1853, leaving as his temporary successor-- the officer administering the Government--Colonel Wynyard. Previous to his leaving Wellington for Auckland, a public dinner was proposed to be given to Governor Grey, and as I had something to do with it, I will here insert a few particulars, not generally known, respecting its origin. By reducing the price of land, and encouraging the small farm scheme, Governor Grey had greatly pleased his own supporters, and gained the good-will and thanks of many of those who, otherwise, were his political opponents. Myself and some others were desirous of showing our appreciation of his conduct, in respect of the cheap land and small farms, by inviting him to a public dinner; but we were doubtful as to whether he would accept our invitation. To ascertain this, Mr. Masters and myself, without acquainting many of our friends, late one evening, waited on Sir George, at Government House,

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who, though at such an unusual hour, admitted us to an interview at once.

We were ushered into his presence and that of Lady Grey, who courteously received us in their own small, but snug sitting-room, at the extreme north end of Government House. Lady Grey and Sir George were sealed in easy lounging chairs, covered with showy chintz covers, and placed near a warm and blazing wood fire on the hearth; they both were tall and good-looking, and wore smiling faces and pleasant looks. They looked like "Darby and Joan," so cozy did they appear together. The whole scene had such an air of comfort and happiness, that it was impressed on my memory for years afterwards. 8

When we had stated to Sir George that we were desirous that he should accept an invitation to a public dinner, &c., he replied, gravely,

"I am afraid the short time I have to remain in Wellington, will not permit me to accept your invitation." I then pressed him to do so, when Lady Grey interceded for us and said:

"Do accept the invitation, Sir George." After some hesitation, his Excellency did so, and we took our leave, and were passing across the reception room, when Sir George came out of his sitting-room, and said:

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"Mr. Carter, I have seen you but once or twice before this, I must shake hands with you," which having done, we bade each other good night.

The dinner took place at Barrett's Hotel, on the 7th of September, 1853. It was well attended by about 130 persons, and went off to the satisfaction of those concerned in it. Nearly all Governor Grey's officials were present, and a number of his supporters and opponents. The dinnner was not given in admiration of Sir George Grey's general administration or of his political conduct, as I have before stated--there were some unwise attempts made by a few of his indiscreet supporters to make it appear otherwise; but their efforts were futile.

I had by this time--the year 1853--begun to practice as a surveyor and valuer, in addition to the other branches of my business. In the exercise of my new profession, I was called away by a Mr. Kelly, a sheep-farmer, to survey a house he had recently had built in the Wairarapa. I therefore must now refer to incidents and adventures totally different from those I have just been narrating,--which matters will be found related in the next Chapter, and which I venture to hope will not prove uninteresting to my indulgent readers.