William Swainson (25 April 1809 – 1 December 1884) became the second, and last,

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

of the

Crown colony A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony administered by The Crown within the British Empire. There was usually a Governor, appointed by the British monarch on the advice of the UK Government, with or without the assistance of a local Council ...

of New Zealand and instrumental in setting up the legal system of New Zealand. He was the first

Speaker of the New Zealand Legislative Council The speaker of the Legislative Council was the chair of New Zealand's appointed upper house, the Legislative Council. The office corresponded roughly to that of speaker of the House of Representatives. The functions of the speaker included pre ...

Early life

Swainson was born in Lancaster, England on 25 April 1809 and educated in Lancaster Grammar School. His legal education was in

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's I ...

and he was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in 1838.

HMS ''Tyne''

He worked in

conveyancing In law, conveyancing is the transfer of legal title of real property from one person to another, or the granting of an encumbrance such as a mortgage or a lien. A typical conveyancing transaction has two major phases: the exchange of contrac ...

for only a few years, and with this relatively little experience was appointed to be Attorney-General of New Zealand in 1841. The ship HMS ''Tyne'' left England taking Swainson and two other prominent figures in the future of New Zealand law, the Hon Sir William Martin, who was to become the first Chief Justice, and Thomas Outhwaite, who was to become Registrar of the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

, to New Zealand. On the ship the three men began to draft "in simple, concise and intelligible language" a new system of laws which they planned to be ideal for the new colony of New Zealand.1966 ''New Zealand Encyclopaedia'' entry on SWAINSON, William, 1809–1884
/ref>

Legal and political activities

Within six months of their arrival in New Zealand on 25 September 1841, 19 enactments had been passed creating the basis of governance in the new colony. Swainson frequently defended the interests of

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

on the issue of land claims from settlers, notably over disputes concerning the

Treaty of Waitangi The Treaty of Waitangi ( mi, Te Tiriti o Waitangi) is a document of central importance to the History of New Zealand, history, to the political constitution of the state, and to the national mythos of New Zealand. It has played a major role in ...

, which had been signed in 1840.

George Grey Sir George Grey, KCB (14 April 1812 – 19 September 1898) was a British soldier, explorer, colonial administrator and writer. He served in a succession of governing positions: Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, ...

became governor in November 1845. Swainson, Martin and Grey together formulated components of the

New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 The New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 (15 & 16 Vict. c. 72) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that granted self-government to the Colony of New Zealand. It was the second such Act, the previous 1846 Act not having been fully ...

. Swainson remained Attorney-General until 7 May 1856 when responsible government began in New Zealand. He was replaced as Attorney-General by

Frederick Whitaker Sir Frederick Whitaker (23 April 1812 – 4 December 1891) was an English-born New Zealand politician who served twice as the premier of New Zealand and six times as Attorney-General. Early life Whitaker was born at the Deanery Manor House, B ...

. Swainson was appointed to the subsequent

New Zealand Legislative Council The New Zealand Legislative Council was the upper house of the General Assembly of New Zealand between 1853 and 1951. An earlier arrangement of legislative councils for the colony and provinces existed from 1841 when New Zealand became a col ...

(the upper house) on 26 May 1853 and became its first

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

, from 16 May 1854. He remained in this position for over a year, to 8 August 1855, when he was also replaced by

. Swainson remained a member of the Legislative Council until 18 October 1867 when he was disqualified for absence.

Relations with Maori

Governor Hobson had earlier declared

British sovereignty A list of former British colonies, dependencies and dates when they severed legal ties with Britain: Gains in sovereignty *Rockall (1955) – annexed to the Crown on 18 September. Losses in sovereignty or other jurisdiction *The Thirteen Colonie ...

over the

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-larges ...

. On 21 May 1840 concerned that the French might do so, he declared sovereignty by right of discovery over the

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

and

Stewart Island Stewart Island ( mi, Rakiura, 'Aurora, glowing skies', officially Stewart Island / Rakiura) is New Zealand's third-largest island, located south of the South Island, across the Foveaux Strait. It is a roughly triangular island with a total ...

. This was despite the

not being signed by all Maori chiefs in these areas. At an Executive Council meeting, 29 December 1842, Swainson said that those parts of New Zealand where Maori chiefs refused to sign the Treaty or had not been asked to sign were not British territory. Willoughby Shortland, the Colonial Secretary for New Zealand, who was also at the meeting, asked Swainson to prepare a paper about this. Swainson said it was possible that English law and Maori customary law might coexist. Lord Edward Stanley, Secretary of the Colonies, was angry with the paper when it arrived in England. Stanley's Undersecretary, James Stephen, said that although the declaration of sovereignty might be an unjust breach of faith, it should stand. arrived in

on 25 September 1841 and Swainson bought of land at Judges Bay, Parnell at Taurarua in Auckland. He then erected his pre-fabricated house there which he had brought with him on the ''Tyne''. A hospital which treated Maori was erected nearby. A Maori man, Mohi Horowhenua te Puatau, was a patient there. Mohi's wife and child died and Mohi was employed by Swainson as a boatman and handyman. Mohi was to accompany Swainson from then on for the rest of Swainson's life, including at Wellington

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin word mean ...

meetings and in a canoe trip around

Waiheke Island Waiheke Island (; Māori: ) is the second-largest island (after Great Barrier Island) in the Hauraki Gulf of New Zealand. Its ferry terminal in Matiatia Bay at the western end is from the central-city terminal in Auckland. It is the most po ...

, where Mohi's

hapū In Māori and New Zealand English, a ' ("subtribe", or "clan") functions as "the basic political unit within Māori society". A Māori person can belong to or have links to many hapū. Historically, each hapū had its own chief and normally opera ...

was and his wife buried. In 1880 Mohi lived in a whare (a Maori house) east of Swainson's house. Swaison described Mohi in his will as his "old friend". When Mohi was on his deathbed in 1890

Isa Outhwaite Anne Jane Louisa Outhwaite (1842 – 13 December 1925) was a New Zealand watercolour artist, poet social activist and philanthropist. As an artist, she exhibited in Auckland from 1875 until 1900. Some of her works are held in the Alexander Turnbul ...

, the daughter of Thomas Outhwaite, Swainson's old friend and Court Registrar, was at the bedside. Governor

Grey Grey (more common in British English) or gray (more common in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning literally that it is "without color", because it can be compos ...

had visited Mohi daily during his last days and Grey led Mohi's funeral procession. In the words of Swainson's biographer,

John Stacpoole John Massy Stacpoole (30 September 1919 – 5 September 2018) was a New Zealand historian, heritage architect and bibliophile, who was responsible for the restoration of many historic buildings and wrote on colonial architecture and social hist ...

, Mohi was buried "no more than a leap away from Swainson's grave." Swainson died a bachelor in

, on 1 December 1884.

Ecclesiastical activities

Bishop Selwyn approached him to help create the basis of an independent church, tied to the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Brit ...

, by drafting its

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these pr ...

, although the church never became the established religion. In 1866 Swainson became

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

of the

Anglican Diocese of Auckland The Diocese of Auckland is one of the thirteen dioceses and hui amorangi of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. The Diocese covers the area stretching from North Cape down to the Waikato River, across the Hauraki Plains a ...

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Swainson, William Attorneys-General of New Zealand 1809 births 1884 deaths Speakers of the New Zealand Legislative Council Members of the New Zealand Legislative Council 19th-century New Zealand politicians 19th-century English lawyers