James Fergusson, 6th Baronet

Sir James Fergusson,
December 7th, 1868

Sir James Fergusson, 6th Baronet GCSI KCMG CIE PC (born March 14, 1832 in Edinburgh , Scotland , † January 14, 1907 in Kingston , Jamaica ) was Governor of the British colonies of South Australia , New Zealand and Bombay .

Life

James Fergusson was born in Edinburgh as the eldest son of Sir Charles Dalrymple-Fergusson, 5th Baronet and his wife Helen Boyle , attended rugby school in Rugby , Warwickshire and, from 1850, University College in Oxford . When his father died in 1849, he inherited the title of nobility Baronet , of Kilkerran in the County of Ayr, created in 1703 in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia . He left Oxford without a degree, joined the British Army in 1851 and bought an officer position as Ensign and Lieutenant in the Grenadier Guards . He took part in the Crimean War with this unit in 1854 and was promoted to lieutenant and captain in November 1854 and wounded a few days later. In 1858 he was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel of the Royal Ayrshire Rifles and retired from the army in 1859.

Fergusson was married a total of three times. He married his first wife Edith Christian Dalhousie on August 9, 1859. She died on October 28, 1871 in Adelaide . The marriage resulted in two daughters and two sons. On March 11, 1873, he married Olive Richman of Whambunga . She died of cholera in Bombay on January 8, 1882 . On April 5, 1893, he married his third wife, Isabella Elisabeth Twysden . She survived her husband, because James Fergusson was killed on January 14, 1907 in Kingston by a severe earthquake . He had traveled to Jamaica to attend a British Cotton Growing Association conference and died near his hotel while buying cigars. He was buried in a church cemetery near Kinston. His older son Charles inherited his title of nobility as the 7th baronet.

Career in politics and administration

Still on the war front in Sevastopol , he enrolled as a candidate for the Conservative Party in 1854 for the by-elections to the House of Commons for Ayrshire County , whose MP, Lieutenant-Colonel James Hunter Blair, had just fallen. On December 30, 1854, still in service with the Army, Ayrshire won a seat which he held until 1857. After his re-election in 1859, he resigned from the army in August of the same year and remained a member of the House until 1868. As early as June 1866, he joined the British administration and was appointed undersecretary of the Bureau for India . In July 1867 he moved to the Home Office as Undersecretary , became Privy Councilor and remained in his position until the end of 1868.

Governor of South Australia (1869–1872)

With his arrival in Adelaide on February 15, 1869 he took over the office of Governor of South Australia and this at a time when the colony of South Australia was in a deep depression . A series of poor harvests and low wool and copper prices had hit the economy. Unemployment was high and many people emigrated to Victoria and New South Wales . In addition, there was a political crisis in which he was forced to dissolve parliament twice, in 1870 and 1872. From mid-1871 the economy recovered and so he was able to push through a project that would establish a telegraph line overland from Darwin across the Northern Territory to Port Augusta moved.

During his tenure, Fergusson helped establish a university in Adelaide, supported church organizations, educational institutions and showed a particular interest in the Ebenezer Mission School . He also supported the formation of institutions for the blind , deaf and speechless . His aloofness and his reticence in social life were often criticized.

Fergusson left Adelaide on December 6, 1872, heading for England.

Governor of New Zealand (1873–1874)

In November 1872 Fergusson was appointed governor of New Zealand , but did not take office until after returning from a short trip to England on June 14, 1873. From the recall of George Bowen , Fergusson was represented by George Alfred Arney until his arrival in New Zealand . But Fergusson's tenure did not last long. On December 3, 1874, as he was hoping for a political comeback in England, he left office at his own request.

Governor of Bombay (1880–1885)

But his political ambitions were not crowned with success in the elections to the British Parliament in 1876 and 1878. So he accepted on March 10, 1880 the offer to become governor of Bombay . During the five years of his tenure, he became very familiar with India . He traveled extensively, gained valuable information, and was recognized by all classes of society. In Bombay he encountered a most energetic administration and his standards of agriculture, famine relief and local administration made the province one of the most progressive in India.

Back in England (1885–1907)

On his return to England he won a seat in the House of Commons for the constituency of Manchester North East in 1885 and held that seat until 1906. From 1886 to 1891 he was Undersecretary in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office , moving for two years until 1892 in the position of Postmaster General (Chief of the British Post Office). He then took over the management of the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company , became director of the National Telephone Company and took over seats in various other companies.

During a stay in Jamaica, he was killed in an earthquake in 1907 .

Awards

Fergusson was honored with his resignation from the governor's post in New Zealand as Knight Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George and in 1885 in Bombay as Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India and Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire .

literature

• Gavin McLean: The Governors. Otago University Press, Dunedin, New Zealand, 2006, ISBN 1-877372-25-0 .
• VA Edgeloe: Fergusson, Sir James (1832-1907) . In: Douglas Pike (Ed.): Australian Dictionary of Biography . Melbourne University Press, Carlton (Victoria) 1966–2012 (English).

Web links

• Sir James Fergusson at Hansard (English)
• Rt. Hon. Sir James Fergusson of Kilkerran, 6th Bt. On thepeerage.com

Individual evidence

1. ↑ London Gazette . No. 21201, HMSO, London, April 18, 1851, p. 1045 ( PDF , English).
2. ↑ London Gazette . No. 21635, HMSO, London, December 1, 1854, p. 3911 ( PDF , English).
3. ↑ London Gazette . No. 22183, HMSO, London, September 17, 1858, p. 4196 ( PDF , English).
4. ↑ London Gazette . No. 21647, HMSO, London, January 2, 1855, p. 1 ( PDF , English).
5. ^ New Zealand - worldstatesmen.org - (accessed May 18, 2010)
6. ↑ The Right Hon. Sir James Fergusson . In: The Cyclopedia of New Zealand . Wellington Provincial District - Volume I. Cyclopedia Company Ltd, Wellington 1897 (English, online [accessed February 9, 2017]).
7. ↑ Bernhard John Foster, Fergusson, Right Hon. Sir James, KCMG, GCSI, Bt. In: Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand - Online Edition: teara.govt.nz - (accessed May 18, 2010)

predecessor	Office	successor
Charles Dalrymple-Fergusson	Baronet, of Kilkerran 1849-1907	Charles Fergusson
Richard Temple	Governor of Bombay 1880–1885	Donald Mackay
Henry Cecil Raikes	Postmaster General 1891-1892	Arnold Morley