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The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Canterbury Provincial District]

[introduction]

In accordance with the terms of the New Zealand Constitution Act of 1852, the Legislative Council began its first session on the 24th of May, 1854. The first members were called by the ActingGovernor, Colonel Wynyard. There were in all sixteen members; but of these eleven came from the North Island; Auckland alone had six, and the South Island provinces had only five amongst them. Canterbury supplied one member, the Hon. J. C. Russell. The relative numbers of the South Island and North Island members is an index of the degree to which the interests of the southern provinces were, in the early days, sacrificed to Auckland and Wellington.

By 1856 the number of the Council had declined to thirteen, and Auckland actually had a clear majority of seven members. Canterbury still had only one; the place of the Hon. J. C. Russell (resigned) being taken by Hon. H. J. Tancred, long connected with the provincial life of Canterbury, and for many years Chancellor of the New Zealand University. In 1858 the numbers were raised to nineteen, and Canterbury got two new members—the Hon. C. R. Blakiston and Hon. J. C. Russell, giving her a total of three; but Auckland was still predominant with nine. The resignation of Colonel Wynyard, in 1860, brought the Council down to eighteen, and in 1861 this was raised to twenty-one, but the Canterbury members were unaltered. In 1862, Mr. Blakiston resigned, and the Hon. J. Hall, G. L. Lee, J. C. Russell, and H. J. Tancred represented Canterbury.

The year 1863—the year in which the removal of the seat of Government to Wellington was resolved upon—found Canterbury represented by the same four members out of a total of twenty-nine. By 1865 the total was thirty-five, of whom Canterbury now claimed six; the new members being the Hon. J. D. Lance and the Hon. J. B. Acland. The Hon. John Hall and Hon. H. J. Tancred resigned in 1866, and their places were taken by the Hon. J. Hawdon, who had been connected with Canterbury since its foundation, and the Hon. E. Gray. Messrs Lance and Russell vacated their seats through non-attendance in 1867. In 1868 out of thirty-four members Canterbury had five; the new member being the Hon. W. S. Peter, a worthy successor to the Hon. J. D. Lance as a representative of Canterbury's pastoral interests. In 1869 the Council included forty-one members; but Canterbury still had only five, while Auckland, which had fallen to six, was raised to eight. In 1870 the total was forty-seven, and Auckland secured another member; Wellington and Otago had also nine each, while Canterbury still had only five. In that year, the Hon. G. L. Lee resigned, and the Hon. J. Hawdon died, and their places were taken by the Hon. G. Buckley and the Hon. de Renzi Brett. In 1872 matters were a little more hopeful for the interests of Canterbury, as out of a total of forty-six, she had six members, through the reappointment of the Hon. J. Hall, whose ability and public spirit had already made a deep impression upon the Council.

In 1873 the roll of the Council stood once more at forty-nine; and Canterbury members numbered seven through the inclusion of the Hon. J. T. Peacock. Down to 1878 the numbers varied between forty-nine and forty-three, and Canterbury gained another member, the Hon. T. Wigley. In 1879 the roll was forty-nine, and Canterbury had now eight members; Auckland, seven, Wellington and Otago eleven each, Hawke's Bay and Nelson four each. In that session the Hon. J. Hall resigned to take the post of Premier, and his Ministry remained in office till 1882. In that year, too, the Hon. E. C. J. Stevens was added to the Canterbury contingent, which then numbered eight out of fortyseven. In 1884, while the Atkinson and Stout-Vogel Ministries chased each other in and out of office four times in a twelvemonth, the personnel of the Council varied considerably. The Hon. E. Gray had resigned in 1883, and the Hon. G. Buckley resigned during 1884, but was recalled in the same year. In 1884 the Hon. W. Reeves, so long identified with the fortunes of the “Lyttelton Times,” was called to the Council, which attained its maximum limit in 1885. There were then fifty-four members, of whom Canterbury claimed nine, through the addition of the Hon. L. Walker, while Auckland still had ten, and Otago and Wellington had a still larger representation on the Council. By 1890 the numbers had fallen rapidly to thirty-nine, of whom seven were Canterbury members; the Hon. G. Buckley had resigned in 1885, and the Hon, de Renzi Brett died in 1889. In 1891 an attempt was made by fresh appointments to keep up the numbers of the Council. The Hon. C. C. Bowen, the founder of New Zealand's primary education system, then appeared on the roll; but Canterbury suffered a severe loss in the death of the Hon. W. Reeves and the Hon. W. S. Peter, which occurred during the year. In the same session the Hon. T. Wigley was unseated for non-attendance. In 1892 the numbers were down again to thirty-six, and Canterbury was left with a meagre total of five. In 1893 the total was once more forty-six, and Canterbury was strengthened by the appointment of the Hon. J. Jenkinson, the Hon. W. Montgomery, an enthusiastic supporter of primary and secondary education, and for many years chairman of the Canterbury College Board of Governors, and the Hon. W. C. Walker, who became Minister of Education in Mr. Seddon's Ministry. Down to 1898 the members of the Council varied between forty-four and forty-eight; and in 1898 the Hon. J. M. Twomey was added to the Canterbury members. In 1899, the oldest Canterbury member of the Council—the Hon. J. B. Acland—resigned after holding his position for thirty-four years. Here mention may be made of other members who have sat for long periods—namely, the late Colonel page 87 Kenny, thirty-seven years; the Hon. H. J. Miller (now Sir Henry and Speaker of the Council), thirty-six years; Hon. Mathew Holmes, who died in September, 1901, thirty-six years; Sir George Whitmore, thirty-eight years; and the Hon. W. Baillie, who was called to the Council on the 8th of March, 1861, over forty years.

The Council now (November, 1901,) includes thirty-nine members, of whom nine are Canterbury members, including the Hon. C. Louisson, appointed in December, 1900. Of the other provinces, Wellington claims five members, Auckland seven, Otago ten, including the Speaker; Hawke's Bay four, Nelson three. It is obvious that neither the South Island in general nor Canterbury in special now suffers from lack of representation in the Legislative Council.