Henry Sewell

Henry Sewell

Henry Sewell (born September 7, 1807 in Newport , Isle of Wight , † May 14, 1879 in Cambridge , England ) was an Anglo-New Zealand politician and the first Prime Minister of New Zealand . He took office on May 7, 1856, but had to resign 13 days later, on May 20, after a vote of no confidence .

Early years of life

Sewell was born on the Isle of Wight , an island off the south coast of England. His family was relatively wealthy; Sewell received a good education and then worked as a lawyer. In 1840, however, his father lost a considerable sum of money after a bank went bankrupt, and died shortly afterwards, leaving the family in great debt. A little later, Sewell's first wife, Lucinda Nedham, whom he married in 1834, also died. In 1850 he married Elizabeth Kittoe and planned to emigrate to New Zealand, hoping for better financial prospects in the colony.

Sewell's connection to New Zealand had come about through the Canterbury Association , a British organization whose aim was to colonize the New Zealand province of Canterbury . Sewell was vice director of the organization until he left for New Zealand, solving numerous organizational and financial problems. Finally, on February 2, 1853, he arrived in Christchurch , the main settlement in the Canterbury area. Gradually he managed to solve the many problems of the young colony, despite personal differences with James FitzGerald , the provincial overseer.

Political career

On October 1, 1853, New Zealand's first general election took place and Sewell was elected as a member of the Christchurch City Council. The first session of parliament took place on May 23, 1854. Sewell's legal and financial skills proved very useful, but he was criticized for being elitist and reserved. In the political spectrum of the time, which was marked by the contrast between centralists and provincialists, he initially took a neutral position, but then leaned more towards the centralist side. He was also a strong advocate of New Zealand self-government.

When Sewell and other politicians were appointed members of an "unofficial" executive council by Governor General Robert Wynyard , he believed that self-government was imminent. When it became apparent that Wynyard had only made the appointments on a temporary basis and was not convinced that Parliament could rule without instructions from the royal family, Sewell and his colleagues resigned.

prime minister

Thomas Gore Browne , a new Governor General, announced that self-government would begin with the constituent session of New Zealand's second parliament. Sewell successfully ran for re-election. Because of his experience on the Executive Board, Sewell was asked to form a government. On April 18, 1856 he was elected to the Executive Council and received the title of Colonial Secretary on May 7 (which corresponds to the current Prime Minister).

Because of the strong centralist tendencies, Sewell's government proved short-lived. William Fox , the leader of the Provincialists, overthrew Sewell with a vote of no confidence on May 20 , less than two weeks after the installation. Fox, in turn, was replaced on June 2nd by the moderate Edward Stafford .

Other political activities

Stafford offered Sewell the post of Treasury Secretary ( Colonial Treasurer ). In this role he managed to negotiate a financial pact between the central government and the provinces. In late 1856 Sewell traveled to England, where he negotiated treaties with the British government. When he returned to New Zealand in 1859, he took over the ministerial office again, but resigned after a month. Sewell later served as attorney general and attorney general. In 1873 he ended his political career and three years later moved to England for good. He died in Cambridge at the age of 71 .

Web links

• W. David McIntyre : Sewell, Henry . In: Dictionary of New Zealand Biography . Ministry for Culture & Heritage , September 1, 2010, accessed August 24, 2012 .