New Zealand Constitution Act 1852

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The New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 (German: New Zealand Constitutional Law of 1852 ), which in its original version was called " An Act to grant a Representative Constitution to the Colony of New Zealand " ( a law to guarantee a representative constitution for the colony of New Zealand ) , was a law passed by the United Kingdom that gave the then British colony of New Zealand an independent government and administration. A corresponding law previously passed in 1846 was not implemented.

In 1986 the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 was replaced by the New Zealand government under David Lange by the Constitution Act 1986 . The driving force behind the creation of this law was Justice Minister Geoffrey Palmer .

prehistory

In 1833 the United Kingdom sent James Busby to New Zealand. Through him and the then governor of New South Wales , Richard Bourke, attempts were made to secure the influence of the British crown on the country and to prevent other colonial powers from accessing New Zealand. Busby managed to get the Māori tribes to unite and sign the New Zealand Declaration of Independence on October 28, 1835 . In order to prevent France from gaining influence over New Zealand, it was reached through the envoy and later first governor of New Zealand, William Hobson , to conclude the Treaty of Waitangi with the Māori tribes on February 6, 1840 . This treaty put New Zealand under the protection of the British Crown and made the country its sanctuary under the administration of the colony of New South Wales . In November 1840 New Zealand was a separate colony of the United Kingdom, the Colonial Office (British Colonial Office) in London could take over the used governor all the decisions and the Treaty of Waitangi because of its different interpretation conflicts between Pākehā (white) and Māori led . This is why the country's colonialists called for a new constitution and an independent government.

With the New Zealand Constitution Act 1846 , under Governor George Edward Gray, the colony was to have its own government and more independent administration for the first time. But Gray did not agree to the division of the country into districts for Europeans and Māori . The law never came into effect and had to be replaced six years later by the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 .

The only implemented regulation of the law was the reduction of the three provinces established in 1841

on two provinces

  • New Ulster - entire North Island
  • New Munster - entire South Island and Stewart Island

Regulations of the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852

On June 30, 1852, the Act to Grant a Representative Constitution to the Colony of New Zealand was passed by the British Parliament and became law on January 17, 1853 through the announcement of Governor George Gray . The first national elections were then held in the spring of 1854 and the New Zealand parliament met for the first time on May 27 of the same year.

In detail, the new law regulated the country's legislative power and divided New Zealand into districts with powers in government and administration. The Constitution Act created a bicameral system similar to the British Westminster system , in which the popularly elected representatives in the House of Representatives , corresponding to the House of Commons, and the country's representatives appointed by the Governor in the Legislative Council , corresponding to the House of Lords .

In addition, the law regulated the establishment of six provinces , each with its own legislature and administration. The three provinces on the North Island were Auckland , New Plymouth and Wellington . The South Island was divided into Nelson , Canterbury and Otago . A regulation in the Constitution Act, which provided for Māori separate districts with their own laws (see below), was never implemented.

House of Representatives

The House of Representatives could have between 24 and 42 elected members. Only men over the age of 21 were allowed to vote. They must also have owned or rented land in excess of £ 50 worth of land  . Also a rent of 10 pounds a year in the city or 5 pounds a year in the country allowed to choose to go. Since Māori owned land collectively and not a single person, they were excluded from the election, with a few exceptions, until 1867, when four Māori seats in parliament were guaranteed. Women were not allowed to vote until 1893.

Legislative Council

The Legislative Council could not have fewer than 10 members. They must have been born citizens of the British Empire or made citizens of New Zealand by law. The members were not freely elected, but determined by the governor.

governor

The governor was still determined by the British Crown and installed by letters patent . The parliament, called the General Assembly and made up of the House of Representatives , the Legislative Council and the Governor, was still subordinate to the Governor, as a representative of the Crown, which left many settlers and colonialists unsatisfied.

Provincial governments

The provincial governments were made up of so-called Provincial Councils , whose members, who could not be less than nine, were elected under the same conditions as the members of the House of Representatives . Among the members of the Provincial Councils of the Superintendent was determined by election, which had the task of the Council to conduct and was also head of government of the province. The council, as well as the superintendent, were subordinate to the governor and could be dissolved or deposed. The governor could also forbid elections.

Māori districts

Section 71 of the law gave the colonial government in New Zealand the opportunity to set up separate districts for Māori with their own laws and administration, as was provided for in the Constitution Act 1846 ,

With the Kīngitanga movement and the election of their first Māori king Pōtatau Te Wherowhero in 1858, many Māori leaders assumed that they could now negotiate on an equal footing with the British crown and that the Māori tribes would have their own sovereign rights. However, after the establishment of the Native Land Court in 1862 at the latest, it was clear to the tribal leaders that their collectively owned land should be converted into individual ownership and that this would result in the tribes being expropriated. The implementation of Section 71 of the Constitution Act 1852 was no longer an option.

In the 1890s the Kotahitanga movement emerged. She once again demanded the implementation of Paragraph 71 and the establishment of a separate parliament for the Māori tribes. However, the section of the law was never implemented and was later not incorporated into the Constitution Act 1986 .

literature

  • Janine Hayward (Ed.): New Zealand Government and Politics . 6th edition. Oxford University Press , Melbourne 2015, ISBN 978-0-19-558525-4 (English).
  • The New Zealand Constitution Act [1852]: together with correspondence between the Secretary of State for the colonies and the Governor-in-Chief of New Zealand in explanation thereof . In: New Zealand Government (Ed.): New Zealand Texts Collection . Wellington 1853 (in English, online [accessed June 2, 2015] Content of Act with correspondence between the Secretary of State for the Colonies and the Governor of New Zealand).
  • New Zealand's Nine Provinces (1853-76) . In: Friends of the Hocken Collections (Ed.): Bulletin: Welcome to the Hocken . Bulletin 31 . Dunedin March 2000 (English, Online [PDF; 22 kB ; accessed on June 2, 2015]).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Janine Hayward : 3.2 The Constitution . In: New Zealand Government and Politics . 2015, p.  134 .
  2. ^ A b c d Janine Hayward : 3.2 The Constitution . In: New Zealand Government and Politics . 2015, p.  132 .
  3. ^ A b New Zealand's Nine Provinces (1853-76) . 2000, p.  1 .
  4. ^ A b c d W. David McIntyre : Self-government and independence - Constitution Act 1852 . Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand , July 12, 2012, accessed May 27, 2015 .
  5. ↑ a b The New Zealand Constitution Act [1852]: together with correspondence between ... . 1853, p.  15 .
  6. ↑ The New Zealand Constitution Act [1852]: together with correspondence between ... . 1853, p.  7 .
  7. ↑ The New Zealand Constitution Act [1852]: together with correspondence between ... . 1853, p.  8 .
  8. ↑ The New Zealand Constitution Act [1852]: together with correspondence between ... . 1853, p.  27 .
  9. ^ Maria Bargh : 5.3 The Māori Seats . In: New Zealand Government and Politics . 2015, p.  301 .