James FitzGerald (New Zealand politician)
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James Edward FitzGerald (4 March 1818 – 2 August 1896) was a
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
politician. According to some historians, he should be considered the country's first premier, although a more conventional view is that neither he nor his successor (
Thomas Forsaith Thomas Spencer Forsaith, JP (18 July 1814 – 29 November 1898), was a New Zealand politician and an Auckland draper. According to some historians, he was the country's second premier, although a more conventional view states that neither he nor ...
) should properly be given that title. He was a notable campaigner for New Zealand self-governance. He was the first
Superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank *Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator *Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exec ...
of the
Canterbury Province The Canterbury Province was a province of New Zealand from 1853 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. Its capital was Christchurch. History Canterbury was founded in December 1850 by the Canterbury Association of influential En ...
.


Early life

FitzGerald was born on 4 March 1818 in Bath, England. His parents, Gerald FitzGerald and Katherine O'Brien, were Irish, and FitzGerald is known to have cherished his connection with Ireland. He was educated first in Bath, and then at Christ's College of the University of Cambridge. He initially sought a commission in the
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, but poor eyesight made this impossible. Instead, he began working for the
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's Antiquities department, and became the museum's Assistant Secretary. FitzGerald gradually became concerned with the alleviation of poverty, an interest spurred by the problems of the Great Famine of Ireland. His suggested solution to poverty was emigration to the colonies, where more opportunities might exist for prosperity. As such, he became heavily involved in the promotion and planning of new colonies. In 1849, he became secretary of the
Canterbury Association The Canterbury Association was formed in 1848 in England by members of parliament, peers, and Anglican church leaders, to establish a colony in New Zealand. The settlement was to be called Canterbury, with its capital to be known as Christchurch. ...
, responsible for the
Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
settlement at
Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...
, New Zealand. The settlement was well organised by the Canterbury Association; the printing press for the colony's newspaper was sent with the
First Four Ships The First Four Ships refers to the four sailing vessels chartered by the Canterbury Association which left Plymouth, England, in September 1850 to transport the first English settlers to new homes in Canterbury, New Zealand. The colonists or s ...
(FitzGerald becoming the first editor of the ''
Lyttelton Times The ''Lyttelton Times'' was the first newspaper in Canterbury, New Zealand, publishing the first edition in January 1851. It was established by the Canterbury Association as part of its planned settlement of Canterbury and developed into a libera ...
'') and the main building for the settlement's school, known these days as
Christ's College Big School Christ's College Big School is a building of Christ's College in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is registered as a Category I heritage building with Heritage New Zealand. History Even before the first settlers came out to Canterbury on the Fi ...
, was designed by FitzGerald in 1850 in England. The building was constructed in 1863 and is the only building known to have been designed by FitzGerald. FitzGerald married Frances Erskine Draper on 22 August 1850, and soon afterwards quarrelled with her father. As a result, FitzGerald and his wife themselves left for Christchurch. They arrived in Lyttelton, the port of Christchurch, on 16 December 1850 on board of the ''
Charlotte Jane ''Charlotte Jane'' was one of the First Four Ships in 1850 to carry emigrants from England to the new colony of Canterbury, New Zealand, Canterbury in New Zealand. Maiden voyage The ''Charlotte Jane'' departed from England in 1848, bound for Sy ...
''. In Christchurch, FitzGerald had a number of roles. He continued to act as an agent for the Canterbury Association, but also became a sub-inspector of police. He later established a cattle and dairy farm, and became the founding editor of the ''
Lyttelton Times The ''Lyttelton Times'' was the first newspaper in Canterbury, New Zealand, publishing the first edition in January 1851. It was established by the Canterbury Association as part of its planned settlement of Canterbury and developed into a libera ...
''. Gradually, FitzGerald became one of the prominent public figures of the area.


Political career


Provincial superintendent

In November 1852, a deputation put a requisition to
John Robert Godley John Robert Godley (29 May 1814 – 17 November 1861) was an Anglo-Irish statesman and bureaucrat. Godley is considered to be the founder of Canterbury, New Zealand, although he lived there for only two years. Early life Godley was born in Dubl ...
, asking him to allow himself to be nominated for the first election for Superintendent of the
Canterbury Province The Canterbury Province was a province of New Zealand from 1853 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. Its capital was Christchurch. History Canterbury was founded in December 1850 by the Canterbury Association of influential En ...
; Fitzgerald was part of that deputation. Godley declined, and in July 1853, FitzGerald, Colonel
James Campbell James Campbell may refer to: Academics * James Archibald Campbell (1862–1934), founder of Campbell University in North Carolina * James Marshall Campbell (1895–1977), dean of the college of arts and sciences at the Catholic University of Americ ...
and Henry Tancred contested the election. They received 136, 94 and 89 votes, respectively. Campbell protested about the election, as the returning officer had indicated to the voters that he could not be elected, as he had been struck off the electoral list. But the protest came to nothing, and Fitzgerald was declared the first Superintendent of the Canterbury Province. A major part of his work as Superintendent was an attempt to increase Canterbury's self-government, drawing the province's "cabinet" from the elected Council rather than appointing it himself. His goal was to make the province's executive responsible to its legislature. He remained Superintendent until he retired on 28 September 1857.


Member of Parliament

When the 1st New Zealand Parliament was called, FitzGerald was elected MP for the Lyttelton electorate, and represented it from 1853 to 1857, when he resigned during the term of the 2nd New Zealand Parliament. Despite his election to Parliament, he chose to retain the Superintendency of Canterbury, a decision criticised by some. In Parliament, FitzGerald argued strongly in favour of "responsible government" once again, attempting to make New Zealand's executive responsible to Parliament rather than the
Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
. The acting Governor,
Robert Wynyard Robert Henry Wynyard (24 December 1802 – 6 January 1864) was a New Zealand colonial administrator, serving at various times as Lieutenant Governor of New Ulster Province, Administrator of the Government, and was the first Superintendent ...
, eventually agreed to appoint FitzGerald,
Henry Sewell Henry Sewell (7 September 1807 – 14 May 1879) was a prominent 19th-century New Zealand politician. He was a notable campaigner for New Zealand self-government, and is generally regarded as having been the country's first premier (an office ...
,
Frederick Weld Sir Frederick Aloysius Weld (9 May 1823 – 20 July 1891), was a New Zealand politician and a governor of various British colonies. He was the List of Prime Ministers of New Zealand, sixth Prime Minister of New Zealand, premier of New Zealand, ...
, and Thomas Bartley to the Executive Council. They were later joined briefly by
Dillon Bell Sir Francis Dillon Bell (8 October 1822 – 15 July 1898) was a New Zealand politician of the late 19th century. He served as New Zealand's third Minister of Finance (New Zealand), Minister of Finance (the first parliamentary finance minister), ...
, a member of the Legislative Council. FitzGerald was chosen to lead this delegation, which lasted from 14 June to 2 August, and is therefore sometimes said to have headed New Zealand's first "cabinet". He had no formal title, however, and did not have sufficient powers to actually govern. As such, most historians do not consider him to have been prime minister as the term is used today. FitzGerald accepted the position in the belief that full authority would later be transferred from Wynyard's appointees to the new cabinet, and was consequently angry when Wynyard claimed that royal assent (which had not been given) was necessary for this change to occur. Seven weeks after their appointment, FitzGerald's cabinet resigned, and was replaced by another cabinet of four persons headed by Thomas Forsaith. Later, when the 2nd New Zealand Parliament managed to obtain the power that had eluded the 1st, FitzGerald was too ill to attend. Instead, Henry Sewell (one of FitzGerald's colleagues in the first attempted cabinet) was asked to form a government. In 1857, FitzGerald resigned from Parliament on the advice of his doctors, and also decided not to seek re-election as provincial superintendent. Instead, he left Lyttelton on 30 September on the ''James Gibson'' for Sydney and returned to England, where he resumed his work for the Canterbury Association. During his time in England, he was offered governorships of both
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and
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, but his ill health prevented him from accepting. By 1860, he had returned to New Zealand on the ''
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'', and shortly afterwards won election to the
Canterbury Provincial Council The Canterbury Province was a province of New Zealand from 1853 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. Its capital was Christchurch. History Canterbury was founded in December 1850 by the Canterbury Association of influential Eng ...
; first for the Akaroa electorate in May 1861, and then in the Town of Akaroa electorate from September 1861 to December 1862. He also founded ''
The Press ''The Press'' is a daily newspaper published in Christchurch, New Zealand owned by media business Stuff Ltd. First published in 1861, the newspaper is the largest circulating daily in the South Island and publishes Monday to Saturday. One comm ...
'', which remains Christchurch's largest newspaper today. In 1862, he returned to national politics. The resignation of Thomas Rowley in the Ellesmere electorate caused the 12 July 1862 Ellesmere by-election, which FitzGerald won. He represented the electorate until the end of the parliamentary term in 1866, and then successfully stood in the City of Christchurch electorate in 1866 (elected unopposed), from which he resigned the following year. In Parliament, he strongly advocated peaceful negotiations in the
New Zealand Wars The New Zealand Wars took place from 1845 to 1872 between the New Zealand colonial government and allied Māori on one side and Māori and Māori-allied settlers on the other. They were previously commonly referred to as the Land Wars or the ...
, supporting Māori rights and condemning land confiscation as an "enormous crime". He also campaigned to have primary responsibility for relations with the Māori transferred from the Governor to Parliament. Other suggestions he made included reserving a third of Parliament for Māori politicians, recognition of the Māori King movement, and the withdrawal of British troops from New Zealand. FitzGerald strongly believed that if Māori and colonists did not make a deliberate attempt at reconciliation, one or both would eventually be destroyed. On 5 November 1863, he attempted to convince Parliament that the New Zealand Settlements Act 1863 was contrary to the
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"which distinctly guaranteed and pledged the faith of the Crown that the lands of the natives shall not be taken from them except by the ordinary process of law—that is, taken within the meaning of the Treaty." He also stated that in his opinion, the purpose of the Act was to acquire Maori land. In 1865, he had a two-month term as Minister of Native Affairs in the government of Frederick Weld (another colleague from the first provisional cabinet), but did not succeed in implementing many of his policies. His brother
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represented the Hokitika electorate for one term in Parliament.


Later life

In 1867, FitzGerald retired from politics completely. He was subsequently moved to
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and was appointed comptroller of the public account, supervising all government expenditures. Later, he also acted as Auditor-General. He retained these positions until his death. He was also seriously involved in the establishment of the Public Service Association, a union for all government employees. FitzGerald was also active in the cultural life of the capital. He was known as a painter (mostly watercolours), public speaker, and debater, and also wrote poetry and drama. FitzGerald died in Wellington on 2 August 1896, aged 78. He was buried in the Bolton Street Cemetery. Two of his children who both died in 1880 share the grave, as well as a female relative who died in 1886. His wife died on 8 July 1900 and is also buried in this plot. The grave is stop number 26 of the lower Bolton Memorial Trail.


Notes


References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzgerald, James 1818 births 1896 deaths Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Members of the Canterbury Provincial Council Superintendents of New Zealand provincial councils Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand British politicians of then-British possessions New Zealand public servants New Zealand trade unionists New Zealand editors New Zealand magazine editors New Zealand people of Irish descent New Zealand MPs for Christchurch electorates Burials at Bolton Street Cemetery Members of the Canterbury Association Canterbury Pilgrims People from Bath, Somerset 19th-century New Zealand politicians