Thomas Clifton Webb

Clifton Webb, 1949

Sir Thomas Clifton Webb KCMG (born March 8, 1889 in Te Kopuru , Northland , † February 6, 1962 in Wellington ) was a New Zealand politician of the New Zealand National Party (NP).

Life

Studies, lawyer and participation in the First World War

Webb, son of a farmer who immigrated from England , attended the Te Kopuru Schhol and won a scholarship ( Junior National Scholarship ) in 1902 , which enabled him to continue his education at the Grammar School in Auckland . After finishing school he worked as a paralegal in Dargaville and Auckland and also studied law at the University of Auckland . After completing his studies, he first became a solicitor in 1910 , before returning to Dargaville after his admission to the bar in 1912 and opening a law firm there.

He was also a well-known rugby player in Auckland, playing as a halfback in 1912 and 1913 for the Ranfurly Shield , New Zealand's most prestigious rugby trophy. He later also worked as a sports official in rugby clubs on the Northland Peninsula and the Auckland Rugby Football Union .

During World War I , Webb joined the armed forces in 1917 and served in Great Britain until 1919 , where he was last promoted to sergeant . After his return to New Zealand, he resumed his legal practice in Dargaville and was also a borough councilor in this city between 1921 and 1923 .

In 1927 he moved to Auckland and founded the law firm Webb and Ross , which later became the law firm Webb, Ross and Griffiths . At that time he also became a member of the Parish Council of the Somervell Presbyterian Church in Remuera .

MP

After the death of Gordon Coates , he was elected as a non-party candidate for the National Party in the constituency of Kaipara in 1943 and was first elected to the House of Representatives in the election of September 25, 1943 . With his inclination for the essentials and his detailed knowledge, he impressed the leadership of the National Party and was soon one of the leading politicians of the opposition . In 1945 he became known for a far-sighted speech in which he called on New Zealand, the United Nations and its future international role.

After the constituencies were reorganized in 1946, Webb ran in the Rodney constituency , which he won with a large majority in the 1946, 1949 and 1951 elections. During this time he became one of the key advisers to the National Party leader, Sidney Holland , and, together with Auckland attorney Ronald Algie, contributed to the legal and intellectual weight of the National Party faction in the House of Representatives.

Attorney General and Attorney General

After the National Party won the parliamentary elections in 1949, Webb was appointed by Prime Minister Sidney Holland in December 1949 as Attorney General and Minister of Justice in his cabinet. He was responsible for introducing a bill that led to the abolition of the Legislative Council of New Zealand in 1951 , which until then had served as the upper house of the New Zealand Parliament . At a time of intense political and industrial conflict, he was one of the most influential cabinet members alongside Prime Minister Holland, Vice Prime Minister and Agriculture Minister Keith Holyoake and Minister for Labor, Mines, Housing and Government Cooperation William Sullivan .

Webb, who was regarded as "the great declarer" of this first government of the National Party, justified the government's position in a speech during the ongoing strikes of the port and shipyard workers ( Waterfront Dispute ) in 1951 with the following words:

"You can't go with kid gloves on people who don't fight by the Queensberry Rules ."

'You cannot have kid-glove methods when you are dealing with people who do not fight according to Queensberry rules'

As Minister of Justice, he worked hard to modernize the penitentiary system and said that laws should take into account what adults consider common sense and generally applicable law. On the other hand, while he was responsible for legislation to reinstate the death penalty in New Zealand , he was responsible for more liberal criminal, marriage and penal law. Although he was a teetotaler , he also made some minor changes to the licensing law .

Foreign Minister, Minister for Island Territories and High Commissioner

In September 1951, Webb was appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs and Island Territories by Holland as successor to Frederick Doidge, in addition to his previous portfolios .

At that time New Zealand was involved in the Korean War , the Cold War at its height and the Colombo Plan and the ANZUS Agreement relatively new. The ANZUS agreement, the purpose of which was to secure the Pacific region , was New Zealand's first agreement outside of relations with Great Britain and had to be conveyed to the population. Webb took part in the first meetings of the ANZUS Council and was then involved in the first negotiations that led to the end of the Indochina War and the establishment of SEATO in Manila in 1954 . He welcomed the Manila Agreement, as it tied the UK to shift New Zealand's strategic engagement from the Middle East to Southeast Asia .

When Webb argued in July 1954 that the time had come for the People's Republic of China to join the United Nations , the negative response from the US government led Prime Minister Holland to reject Webb's view. At the time, New Zealand was a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council .

His main merit as Minister for the Island Territories was his acceptance of the self-government plan of Western Samoa drawn up by High Commissioner Guy Powles . Before leaving the cabinet in November 1954, Webb examined the basic plans for the constitutional amendments that ultimately led to the sovereignty of West Samoa in 1962 .

Successor as Attorney General and Minister of Justice was Jack Marshall , while Secretary of Defense Thomas Macdonald also took over the office of Minister for Foreign Affairs and Island Territories.

After leaving the government, Webb was appointed High Commissioner in Great Britain in November 1954 and held this most important ambassadorial post until 1958. During his tenure there, the Suez Crisis , in which British troops took part, and in 1956 the stationing of New Zealand troops in the Strategic Far East Reserve in the Malaya Federation as part of a peace initiative.

On January 2, 1956, he was knighted as Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) and from then on carried the suffix "Sir".

Web links

• Entry in An Encyclopedia of New Zealand 1966
• Entry in The Biography of New Zealand
• New Zealand Key Ministeries (rulers.org)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Knights and Dames: WAM-ZUR at Leigh Rayment's Peerage