THE FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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THE FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
THE FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Next morning [Wednesday, 24 May]--Wakefield and politics. The General Assembly was to be opened. An intimation from the Auckland Members of a preliminary Meeting at 11 o'clock to agree on the choice of a Speaker. Was he to be a Northern or a Southern man? Of the Southerns, [Charles] Clifford (the Speaker of the Provincial Council at Wellington) and Monro of Nelson had been mentioned. (Monro like all doubtful men is distrusted by every one.
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I suspect he has no settled views. Clifford had shewn himself at Wellington as too much of a partizan. The Aucklanders have no fit man. It is a choice of difficulties.) We resolved (however) not to be driven to a decision in such a hurry. It was preposterous to hurry men just off a voyage, and looking out for lodgings, into such important questions. Delay for a few days was decided on, and after some little resistance from the Northern Men, was carried for Friday [26 May]. Now as to the state of politics here--I hardly know how to describe it. To use the printers' slang when a parcel of type is thrown together without order, it is a great pie. Col. Wynyard [the acting Governor] has called us together without exactly knowing what he was about. As a kind of haphazard beginning, he sends Dr Knight in the Government Brig round the Provinces to get up the subject for him, but the poor Government Brig is two months in getting from Otago to Auckland, and arrives just the day before the Steamer, barely in time to cram the Colonel with Provincial statistics for his opening speech. (By the bye poor Wakefield (and the Scotchmen) had a sad time of it on board that Brig, driven back from the West Coast through Cook's Straits and round the East Cape, about ten days from Nelson, and I believe three weeks from Wellington. Think of that as a preliminary penance.) Dr Knight is believed to have returned from the South impressed with the necessity of fundamental changes in the Government--the old Officials to make way for a new Ministry, but till the Doctor's arrival the idea of responsible Government is supposed not to have entered into any body's serious calculations. The poor Officials are in a maze at finding the Earth open before them. Their minds are in that state of incredulity which accompanies horrid realities. They are persuaded that New Zealand will relapse into a state of cannibalism; that all sorts of horrid consequences will follow--that the scab and catarrh will seize the sheep--a sudden blight fall on the crops--the Banks will stop payment, and the extinct volcanoes begin to blaze again, if Dr Sinclair 1 ceases to be Colonial Secretary and the Colonial Treasurership passes from the hands of Mr Shepherd. 2 I remember having just that kind of feeling when the Reform Bill passed, and the three rotten boroughs of the Isle of Wight suddenly disappeared. It is human nature that it should be so. (Under Sir George Grey they felt absolutely secure and are fearfully astounded at the change. Sinclair and Shepherd are two
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incapables--Swainson, 3 the Attorney General, and Knight the Auditor General are able men whom it would be desirable to retain if willing--but they, like the rest are ignorant as to their position or the feelings towards them.) Then again it is all chaos in the House of Representatives themselves. Nobody guides any body or follows any body, except that Wakefield's powerful mind goes about like a Stockman driving in wild cattle and reducing them into something like order. He is the informing principle and mainspring of the whole, but then there are all kinds of jealousies and alarms about him. (FitzGerald hates and fears him--so do some of the Wellington Featherstonites.) The Northern Men who are cheap-landers but anti-Greyites have mixed feelings. They hate the Wakefield system, but they worship the power which steps in to crush their great enemy the present Official party. The Otago and New Plymouth men for the most part follow him; and he has in fact by far the largest party in the house of mere followers. Nobody else has any followers at all. (The Northern Men are very uninformed, very second-rate and without a leader.) Between the members of the House of Representatives and the Government there is absolutely no medium of communication, and both are quite in the dark as to each other's meaning. 4 We are like two strange cats in a garret. Col. Wynyard himself (has no political mind). He has called us together much as he would order a Review--but knowing nothing of the discipline of such a body. Except so far as Wakefield compresses and drives men together by his superior force it is all guerilla warfare. But I am anticipating.
Held a preliminary Meeting on Wednesday morning the 24 [May 1854]--piteous weather--thick heavy rain, and an atmosphere like the lid of a boiling tea-kettle. The roads incomplete--in part good, but for the most part unformed quagmires. The result of our meeting was to determine on addressing the Governor to delay the election of a Speaker. 5 Nothing said about any thing else--nothing more in fact than a feeling of pulses between Northern and Southern Men. The Northerns would like a Speaker of their own (but have no fit man, the only presentable one being Bartley, 6 the Speaker of the
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Provincial Council of Auckland; a quiet gentlemanly old man, a Barrister, much respected but wanting in firmness and aptitude.) The North and South complimented each other in the usual unmeaning way, but it ended in our fixing on Clifford. We Southern Men carry a majority, so our decision is absolute. At noon we all took the oaths of allegiance before the Chief Justice [William Martin], 7 a very pleasing intellectual looking man, who according to all accounts is facile princeps of all the people here. Returned to our own house, chose a Chairman, and resolved to adjourn till Friday [26 May]. Appointed a deputation to wait on the Governor, who received them graciously and agreed to postpone the opening till we had elected our Speaker. That done we dispersed the talk being who was to be Speaker? which we soon settled as I have said. One question was Clifford being a Roman Catholic, how about opening with prayer. An understanding was come to that he would not object to prayers being read by a Clergyman of the Church of England, though there is a general determination not to recognise the ascendancy of any one religious body. 8 The old difficulty, only to be got over by unsatisfactory compromises, but it cannot be helped.
Wednesday [24 May] about noon came a piteous note from Elizabeth from Onehunga, entreating me to come for her. They were in misery--women and children crammed into a public house. The weather desperately bad, but I hired a Carriage (cost £2 5s for a journey of 6 miles!!) and set off. All well enough till we got to the quaggy part of the road two miles from Onehunga. There I was obliged to alight and take to my feet through wet and mud. At Onehunga found the unhappy females in a state of unprotected dreariness, most dismal to behold. The measles were in the house and Mrs FitzGerald and Mrs Monro were in terror about their own children. The woman of the house was expecting her instant confinement. Elizabeth was to sleep on a sofa without undressing--in short nothing could be more wretched. What to do? The rain came down worse and worse. The road, bad before, would be impassable. The Horses which had several times jibbed with me, would never drag us through the mud uphill. Still anything rather than endure such miseries. Elizabeth and I trudged out in a torrent of rain. A little distance from the house the road ascended the hill through the aforesaid mud. The Horses' heads were put to it, but they steadily refused to move an inch--not they--they had learned
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experience in coming and knew what they would have to go through. We lightened the Carriage by getting out, intending to walk up the hill and through the worst part, and expecting the carriage to overtake us. The rain came down worse and worse; the umbrella was useless. It was a case of despair. So we firmly resolved to make up ourselves for the worst, to get bogged and wet through but to get somehow or another to Auckland, a walk of six miles. Elizabeth faced it bravely and we had daylight till we had passed the worst part of the road. We were bemired and dripping but on we walked, the rain a little abating as we neared Auckland, where we arrived about half-past seven to the wonderment of several of our friends whom we met. Now about quarters. Lodgings were not to be had--the Hotels crammed to overflowing. No provision whatever had been made for us as should have been done; indeed but for private hospitality we might have lain in the streets. A good Samaritan in the shape of Dr Campbell, a leading Merchant here, very kindly opened his house to us. 9 He is a bachelor--has one of the best houses in the Town, and we thankfully availed ourselves of the offer. Indeed there was no alternative. A comfortable room, very clean and neatly appointed, a well (rather a luxuriously) furnished house, and some tea were an agreeable sequel to our expedition. Poor Elizabeth whose luggage was left to follow us in the Carriage went to bed, borrowing the needful of the domestic of the house. (Dr Campbell is partner of Mr Brown 10 the leading politician of the anti Government party. They are very wealthy. I am disposed to like them. Mrs Brown (who plays and sings charmingly) is a good-natured, kind body without affectation. She lives next door, and sent in a supply of dry clothing for Elizabeth next morning.) The situation of Dr Campbell's and Mr Brown's houses is charming, overlooking the Harbour, with a garden sloping down to the Beach. The Harbour is very fine nautically and picturesquely. I think more agreeable far than Wellington, and far preferable to Lyttelton. It is more open, more English-like--not cramped up between impassable mountains. It is in fact a harbour, not (as the others are) a mountain lake. The vegetation is striking and the difference of climate very marked. Geraniums grow in hedges.
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All sorts of green-house plants are out in the open air. Fushcias, Rose &c. are all in flower. Here and there are imported specimens of Australian Trees and Shrubs--the Norfolk pine is the most remarkable and is singularly beautiful. Many of the Houses are charmingly situated on elevated terraces overlooking the Harbour. They are generally verandahed, and look out from amongst pleasant gardens--though I must add that the gardens are for the most part ill-kept for want of labour. Our first impressions of the physique of Auckland are extremely favourable, but the climate as far as our experience goes is disagreeable, damp, warm and enervating. Of the people socially, it is too early to say any thing.
Wednesday Evening. The Queen's birthday is a gala day here as elsewhere in the Colony. The Governor gave a Ball to which we were invited--but even if we had intended to go which we did not, poor Elizabeth was in no state to accept the invitation.
Thursday [25 May] was spent in political talk and seeking for lodgings. Friday the House reassembled--Clifford was duly elected Speaker and assumed the Chair becomingly enough. 11 We discussed some few points of order. A deputation waited on the Governor announcing the choice of a Speaker who was of course confirmed, and the next day Saturday fixed for opening the Parliament.
Friday [26 May]--we dined at the Brown's. A well-appointed house, good dinner and good natured agreeable people (--not refined but without affectation). The conversation mainly of Auckland and its affairs. The Provincial Council here is a failure from many causes. Mr Brown stood for Superintendent against Col. Wynyard and would have beaten him but for military and official influence. 12 This has soured and disgusted him and his party. He is really a patriotic man, anxious to advance the interests of the place; bitterly opposed to Sir George Grey and consequently hated by him. Sir George's unhappy policy has split the place into factions virulent to the last degree. The Military and Officials are on one side, the Settlers on the other. (The Browns visit scarcely any body from sheer disgust.) 13
Saturday-27 May [1854]. The opening of Parliament. At 2 p.m. assembled in the Chamber of the Legislative Council both houses
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together; higgledy piggledy--an unseemly arrangement. We, the Commons, ought to have met first in our own chamber and then have been summoned down to the Chamber of the Upper House. (By a strange inversion of order, the Upper House sits on the ground floor, and the Commons above.) A certain number of ladies present. The Room of moderate size--plain and with no architectural pretension whatever. The whole building is of the most undecorated style--a great wooden barnshaped affair, which might serve for a Hospital, a Jail, or a Barrack--or if gutted be turned into a Methodist Meeting house 14 --very incommodiously arranged, and the first thing we have to do is to turn all the interior arrangements topsy turvy.
The Governor (or more strictly speaking, the Officer administering the Government) came down with Troops, Band, Aide de Camp, and all very fine. He marched in, in an upright soldierly way as if going to give the word of command. He took his seat at the head of the Table, then stood up and requesting the Members to be seated read a very long speech. 15 By the bye that speech was matter of a good deal of political gossip beforehand. It was a long story about particular measures, but not a word of responsible Government or of a change of Ministers. Several days before it was whispered that such was to be its character. Then it was said that Dr Knight had come up from the South, full of the necessity of a change of system, a convert to Ministerial responsibility a la House of Commons, and greatly impressed with the suitableness of the Southern Provinces for such a system. It was said, that at Dr Knight's suggestion the speech was to be wholly changed--cut down to the form of a Queen's no-meaning speech, with responsible Government in the foreground. Then came another rumour (the right one) that the speech was to be as originally proposed, with responsible Government all in blank. After the Governor had delivered his speech (which he read with some nervousness) he shook hands with
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the Speakers (Swainson of the Upper House, and Clifford of the Lower) gave them copies of his speech, and marched out again. We all dispersed here and there gossiping as to the Speech and its contents, the great point being the absence of all mention of responsible Government. We all (I mean the Members of the House of Representatives) greatly dissatisfied and pondering what next to do. The details of the Speech were pretty well received, indeed there was little to be said about it. Every body is pretty well agreed as to the main things to be done; but the first question is who to do it?
Sunday [28 May 1854] to St Paul's Church 16 --not a bad building--rather pretensious--gothic, with a Tower, and a little recess at the East end to serve for a Chancel. Mr Lloyd 17 the Clergyman (alas! not the Parish Clergyman, for there are no parishes) did the whole duty very well--reading prayers, and preaching (which is against all rule) from the Communion Table. The congregation rather fine in attire, but all very well. The singing, (with Organ) extremely good. After service a walk round the Suburbs, and in the afternoon at 3 o'clock to another Church, St Barnabas at Parnell, where there is Maori service in the morning. A small neat affair in better taste than St Paul's. A German clergyman with a strong foreign accent. 18 A little more walking after service and home to dinner (at Dr Campbell's) at 6 o'clock.
The suburbs of Auckland I think extremely pretty (that is not quite the word, but fine is too strong). There is great breadth and expanse in the general features. The estuary of the Waitemata, I think they call it the Gulf of the Thames, stretches all about with Islands and distant Mountains. The high tableland above Auckland descends to the Sea with steep and narrow gullies; more or less covered with small shrubs (with little Timber) amongst which are nice looking villas with verandahs. Along the Beach and stretching up the slopes of the hills is the Town--far too much confined in space, with narrow streets like Wapping, or a small section of Devonport. The Barracks, 19 the Church, some ugly squarelooking
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Meeting houses, and public buildings, the only architectural features, except the general character of the Houses to which the common use of verandahs gives a pretty effect.
