61-512: Edward Gibbon Wakefield (20 March 1796 – 16 May 1862) was a British criminal who became a politician in colonial Canada and New Zealand . He is considered a key figure in the establishment of the colonies of South Australia and New Zealand (where he later served as a member of parliament). He also had significant interests in British North America , being involved in the drafting of Lord Durham's Report and being
122-594: A blueprint for development of British colonial policy. The defunct New Zealand Association reformed itself as the New Zealand Company in June 1838. By the end of the year they had purchased a ship, the Tory . Early in 1839 they discovered that although they now complied with the conditions the government had laid down for the old New Zealand Association, it was not prepared to honour its promises. Furthermore, it
183-453: A break from New Zealand affairs. It did not serve his purpose and he returned to London two months later in a semi-invalid state. During his convalescence he wrote his book A View of the Art of Colonization , in the form of letters between a "Statesman" and a "Colonist". By January 1846 Wakefield was back to his scheming. By now Gladstone was Colonial Secretary. Wakefield approached him early in
244-647: A detailed report on public lands, arguing that the better way to encourage settlement was to sell Crown lands at higher prices than had been the case up to then, which would attract immigrants with capital. This approach had been tried without much success in Upper Canada some years before. Wakefield's report on public lands became Appendix B to the Durham Report . No attempt was made to implement his policy proposals. Durham met extensively with local political leaders, but at one point, Wakefield met with one of
305-543: A founding father of the colony; to be feted and immediately asked to assume the leadership of colony. However, colonisation had inevitably changed the perspectives of the people of Canterbury. Many of them felt they had been let down and cheated by the Association, and the two arrivals were firmly linked in their minds with the broken promises and disappointments of the Association. History of Canada (1763%E2%80%931867) Too Many Requests If you report this error to
366-466: A lot of interest. The National Colonization Society (also spelt National Colonisation Society) was created in 1830 in order to advocate for the type of "systematic colonisation " set out in Letter from Sydney , based on three principles: careful selection of emigrants; the concentration of settlers; and the sale of land at a fixed, uniform, "sufficient price", to provide funding for new settlers. Wakefield
427-597: A member of the Parliament of the Province of Canada for a short time. He was best known for his colonisation scheme, sometimes referred to as the Wakefield scheme or the Wakefield system , which aimed to populate the new colony of South Australia with a workable combination of labourers, tradespeople, artisans and capital. The scheme was to be financed by the sale of land to the capitalists who would thereby support
488-556: A minimum price of five shillings per acre in the colony of New South Wales . After his Letter from Sydney in 1829, Wakefield's name became associated with other "scientific theories" of colonisation similar to his. People who accepted these ideas were usually on the side of the colonists, and were called "systematic colonizers," or (more commonly) "colonial reformers" and "radical imperialists," to highlight their Radical Whig political roots. After his release Wakefield briefly turned his attention to social questions at home, and produced
549-872: A new project was under way, the New Zealand Association . In 1837 the Colonial Office gave the New Zealand Association a charter to promote settlement in New Zealand. However, they attached conditions that were unacceptable to the members of the Association. After considerable discussion, interest in the project waned. Wakefield was undoubtedly one of the most influential voices in the Association, but he discovered another interest, Canada. In 1837, there were rebellions in both Lower Canada and Upper Canada . The colonial governments in both provinces had been able to suppress
610-648: A pamphlet, "A View of Sir Charles Metcalfe's Government of Canada", and an article "Sir Charles Metcalfe in Canada", which appeared in Fisher's Colonial Magazine in July 1844. That was the end of his involvement with Canadian affairs, apart from being paid about £20,000 by the Association for his work in Canada. Wakefield returned to England in early 1844 to find the New Zealand Company under serious attack from
671-691: A riding accident in September 1841 before any decision was made. Wakefield returned to Canada in January 1842 to lobby the new governor, Sir Charles Bagot , and stayed for almost a year. Although there was strong opposition in the Assembly to the canal proposal, a major loan guarantee from the British government ensured that funds could be obtained. In June 1842 the Executive Council approved
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#1732779935715732-659: A source within Governor Bagot's office: in one letter to the Colonial Gazette , he correctly predicted that Bagot would appoint LaFontaine to the Executive Council within a month, a significant political advance for French-Canadians, and a major shift in imperial policy. It reached the point that rumours circulated that Wakefield himself was behind Bagot's policy, a claim denied by Bagot, who stated that he had only met Wakefield two or three times. At
793-590: A tract on the Punishment of Death (1831), with a graphic picture of the condemned sermon in Newgate, and another on the rural districts, with an equally powerful exhibition of the degraded condition of the agricultural labourer. He soon, however, became entirely engrossed with colonial affairs. In 1831, having impressed John Stuart Mill , Robert Torrens and other leading economists with the value of his ideas, Wakefield became involved in various schemes to promote
854-654: A wealthy merchant and former British Cabinet minister, who had substantial business interests in British North America. (Ellice's son, also named Edward Ellice , had been Durham's private secretary. While in Lower Canada, he and his wife, Katherine Ellice , had been taken prisoner by Patriotes at the seigneury during the Battle of Beauharnois in November 1838.) In addition to the proposed settlements,
915-507: A work primarily intended to develop his own colonial theory, which is done in the appendix entitled "The Art of Colonization." The body of the work contains many new ideas, some of them reaching apparently extreme conclusions. It contains the distinct proposal that the transport of letters should be wholly free, and the prediction that, under given circumstances, the Americans would raise "cheaper corn than has ever yet been raised". Soon,
976-639: The Church of England . This plan matured to become the Canterbury Settlement. The first ship sailed from England in December 1849 with Godley in command of the expedition. Jerningham Wakefield also sailed with them, his health and finances ruined by his dissipated lifestyle in London. The first immigrant ships bound for Canterbury sailed from Plymouth in September 1850, and others followed. In
1037-456: The Province of South Australia was established. Although initially, Wakefield was a driving force, as it came closer to fruition, he was allowed less and less influence, with ally-turned-rival Robert Gouger eventually controlling execution of the scheme. However, he did not lose interest in colonisation as a tool for social engineering . In 1833 he published anonymously England and America ,
1098-531: The Beauharnois area for the Colonial Association. Metcalfe prorogued the Assembly after the passage of the motion. He found it difficult to assemble a new ministry, and did not recall the Assembly, instead dissolving it for a general election in 1844. Wakefield had returned to Britain after the 1843 session, and did not stand for re-election. In 1844, he wrote two pieces defending Metcalfe:
1159-574: The Beauharnois route, and construction began. As part of his lobbying, Wakefield positioned himself as a champion of French-Canadian interests, sending a series of letters to the Colonial Gazette in London, calling for greater French-Canadian involvement in the government of the province. He cultivated two significant Patriote leaders who had been imprisoned during the Rebellion, Denis-Benjamin Viger and Jean-Joseph Girouard . He also appeared to have
1220-545: The Colonial Office. In the interval, the Times began publishing extracts from the report. It is not clear how the Times obtained the report, but it is generally accepted that Wakefield likely had a hand in it, to prevent the government from trying to bury the recommendation for responsible government. The report was formally laid before Parliament on 11 February 1839. Eventually this report, and its conclusions, became
1281-433: The Colonial Office. He threw himself into the campaign to save his project. In August 1844 he had a stroke , followed in later months by several other minor strokes, and he had to retire. There is also a possibility that his mental health was not too sound in the succeeding months. His son Jerningham returned from New Zealand about this time and cared for him. In August 1845 he went to France to recuperate and to give himself
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#17327799357151342-573: The New Year with a fairly radical plan that both the Government and the New Zealand Company should withdraw from New Zealand affairs and the colony should become self-governing. While it might have been a good idea, Wakefield wanted it accepted immediately, and became at first heated and then distressed when some months later, it was still being considered. In August 1846, he had another, potentially fatal stroke. His friend, Charles Buller , took up
1403-519: The New Zealand Company, Wakefield had also maintained his interest in Canadian affairs. He returned briefly in 1841, a year after the British government had brought the Union Act, 1840 into force. The government had only implemented part of Durham's recommendations. The act merged Lower Canada and Upper Canada into the new Province of Canada , but had not implemented responsible government. There
1464-421: The appointment was forbidden by London. Durham appointed one of his other advisors, Charles Buller , as Commissioner, but kept Wakefield as an unofficial representative, advisor and negotiator, giving him effectively the same powers he would have had if he been appointed, but without being paid. Wakefield's main task was analysis of the issue of public lands and the relationship of land to settlement. He prepared
1525-514: The colonisation of South Australia . He believed that many of the social problems in Britain were caused by overpopulation , and he saw emigration to the colonies as a useful safety valve. He set out to design a colonisation scheme with a workable combination of labourers, artisans and capital. The scheme was to be financed by the sale of land to the capitalists who would thereby support the other classes of emigrants. It took several attempts before
1586-732: The end of the parliamentary session in October 1842, John William Dunscomb , the member of the Legislative Assembly for the Beauharnois district , resigned his seat, since he had taken a new position in Montreal. Wakefield saw an opportunity and stood for election in Beauharnois. Campaigning as a supporter of LaFontaine, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly in November 1842. Having been elected, he then returned to Britain. Wakefield returned to Canada in September 1843 for
1647-428: The fact that she was a wealthy heiress probably played a part, with Edward receiving a marriage settlement of £70,000 (almost US$ 7m in 2018 dollars), with the prospect of more when Eliza turned 21. The married couple, accompanied by the bride's mother and various servants, moved to Genoa , Italy, where Wakefield was again employed in a diplomatic capacity. Here his first child, Susan Priscilla Wakefield, known as Nina,
1708-400: The fitting out. Fearing a last-minute attempt by the government to prevent her sailing, Wakefield hastened down to Plymouth and advised their immediate departure. The Tory finally quit English shores on 12 May 1839 and reached New Zealand 96 days later. Wakefield did not sail with the colonists, and many years were to pass before he saw New Zealand. He may have recognised that he did not have
1769-589: The ideas of the society. Colonel Robert Torrens and Robert Wilmot-Horton were on the committee of the society. The society published The Outline of a Plan of a Colony , later expanded and elaborated upon by Wakefield. In 1831, Lord Howick , Under-Secretary of the Colonial Office was won over by the idea of selling land at a fixed, uniform price, and based his "Ripon Regulations" on this principle, issued in February 1831, which abolished free land grants, replacing them with and land sales at public auction , set at
1830-433: The leaders without trial, nor to threaten the exiles with death. Melbourne's government disallowed Durham's ordinance, which Durham took as a lack of confidence. He and Wakefield left Lower Canada shortly before the second outbreak of the Rebellion in November 1838. In Britain, Durham went into seclusion while he wrote his report on the causes of the rebellions and his recommendations for reforms to prevent further unrest in
1891-571: The marriage, which had not been consummated , was dissolved by a special act of parliament . He turned his attention while in prison to colonial subjects, and considered the main causes of the slow progress of the Australian colonies in the enormous size of the landed estates , the reckless manner in which land was given away, the absence of all systematic effort at colonisation, and the consequent discouragement of immigration and dearth of labour . He proposed to remedy this state of things by
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1952-417: The members of the Executive Council resigned, arguing that Metcalfe's actions were inconsistent with the principle of responsible government. There was a major debate in the Assembly over the issue, resulting in the passage of a motion condemning Governor Metcalfe for his actions. Wakefield defended Metcalfe, relying on a narrow interpretation of the principle of responsible government, and also insinuating that
2013-850: The negotiations. In May 1847 the British Government agreed to take over the debts of the New Zealand Company and to buy out their interests in the Colony. The directors readily accepted the offer. Wakefield found he was powerless and unable to influence the decision, which did not please him. Without notice, his youngest brother Felix Wakefield , who had been in Tasmania since the early 1830s, reappeared in England accompanied by eight of his children, having abandoned his wife and youngest child in Australia. Felix had no money and no prospects and
2074-405: The new Governor General, Sir Charles Metcalfe . (Bagot had died earlier in the year.) In November, there was a major political crisis: LaFontaine and his colleague, Robert Baldwin , who had taken office on the principle of responsible government, got into a dispute with Metcalfe over appointments that Metcalfe made without consulting the Executive Council. LaFontaine, Baldwin, and all but one of
2135-428: The new government was to be saddled with the remaining debts of the defunct New Zealand Company. Wakefield now decided that he had achieved everything he could in England; it was time to see the colony he felt he had created. He sailed from Plymouth in September 1852, knowing he would never return. His sister Catherine and her son Charley came to see him off. Then, at the last minute, his father appeared. Edward Wakefield
2196-640: The other Patriote leaders were "profoundly ignorant of their own position and thoroughly devoid of judgment..." Durham abruptly resigned his post as Governor General in the fall of 1838. He had attempted to deal with those who had been caught in arms by pardoning the rank and file, exiling eight of the leaders to Bermuda, and threatening Patriotes in exile in the United States with death if they returned to Lower Canada. In London, Lord Brougham , former Lord Chancellor , vigorously criticised these actions, arguing that Durham had no legal authority to exile
2257-476: The other classes of emigrants. Despite being imprisoned for three years in 1827 for kidnapping a fifteen-year-old girl in Britain, he enjoyed a lengthy career in colonial governments and colonial policy. Wakefield was born in London in 1796, the eldest son of Edward Wakefield (1774–1854), a distinguished surveyor and land agent, and Susanna Crush (1767–1816). His grandmother, Priscilla Wakefield (1751–1832),
2318-535: The other settlers described him as "the worst man we have in Canterbury". During 1851 and 1852 Wakefield continued to work for the Canterbury Association and also worked towards making New Zealand a self-governing colony . The New Zealand Constitution Act was passed on 30 June 1852. There was general satisfaction among New Zealanders about this, although they were less happy to discover that
2379-665: The parliamentary session. He initially aligned himself with the French-Canadian Group under LaFontaine's leadership, but part-way through the session he left them. He had introduced a bill to make the North American Colonial Association of Ireland a mortgage and trust company, with an accompanying colonisation plan. When the French-Canadian Group refused to support his proposals, he left them and shifted his support to
2440-488: The patience, the skills or the talents needed on a frontier. His talents lay in visualising dramatic plans and grandiose schemes, ignoring the details, and then persuading other people to get involved. He was a salesman, a propagandist and a politician, secretly inspiring and guiding many parliamentary committees on colonial subjects, especially on the abolition of penal transportation . By the end of 1839, he had dispatched eight more ships to New Zealand, before he even knew of
2501-489: The real reason LaFontaine and Baldwin had resigned was that they feared defeat on a taxation bill they had introduced. He voted against the motion and in support of Metcalfe, along with Viger and some other members who left the French-Canadian Group on the issue. Following the resignations, Wakefield appeared to be heavily involved in giving advice to Metcalfe, with some saying that he was the real governor. His motivation appears to have been still focused on his schemes to develop
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2562-478: The rebellions, but the underlying political discontent had not been resolved. In January 1838, the government of Lord Melbourne appointed Lord Durham as Governor General of all of British North America , to inquire into the causes of the rebellions and to make recommendations to settle the disputes. Durham was authorised to appoint his own advisors, and chose Wakefield as one of them. Durham knew Wakefield through Wakefield's plans for colonisation of New Zealand. He
2623-478: The reformers from Lower Canada, Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine . He also travelled to Saratoga Springs , New York, in an unsuccessful attempt to meet with the main leader of the Patriote movement , Louis-Joseph Papineau , who had fled to the United States during the Rebellion. It is not clear if Wakefield was acting on his own initiative in these conversations, or on secret instructions from Durham. He later said he
2684-436: The sale of land in small quantities at a sufficient price, and the employment of the proceeds as a fund for promoting immigration. These views were expressed in his Letter from Sydney (1829; published under a false name), published while he was still in prison, but often quoted as if written on the spot. He had published pamphlets in prison in 1828 under the title "Sketch of a Proposal for Colonising Australia", which had created
2745-699: The same year, Wakefield co-founded the Colonial Reform Society with Charles Adderley , a landowner and member of parliament for North Staffordshire . Felix was causing problems back in Britain and causing Wakefield a great deal of grief. Felix decided that settlement in New Zealand was the solution to all his problems. Wakefield reluctantly sponsored his passage to Canterbury, where Felix was allocated 100 acres (0.40 km) (40 hectares) of land near Sumner . He and six of his children arrived in Lyttelton in November 1851. A short time later one of
2806-561: The seigneury was also valuable because it was close to the location for a proposed canal, to avoid a stretch of rapids on the River St. Lawrence . The initial arrangement for purchase had been made in 1839, and in 1841 Wakefield made a brief trip to Canada to gain support for the canal proposal. He met with the Governor General, Lord Sydenham , who was interested in the proposal but wary of Wakefield's involvement. Sydenham died in
2867-879: The success of the Tory expedition led by his brother William. He then recruited another brother, Arthur , to lead another expedition, this time to settle in the Nelson area at the top of the South Island . Charles Torlesse, the 16-year-old son of his elder sister Catherine, and Rev. Charles Martin Torlesse, rector of Stoke-by-Nayland in Suffolk , sailed with Arthur as a trainee surveyor. By now William's daughter, Emily, and his ward, Leocadia, were already in New Zealand. Two more of his brothers also went to New Zealand later, along with numerous nieces and nephews. Although active with
2928-468: The two colonies be united under a single government, but with the key recommendation that the government be drawn from the groups which had a majority in the Assembly: the basic principle of responsible government . Durham's report was one of the first documents to outline this principle in detail. Durham provided the proofs of the report to Cabinet on 31 January 1839, four days before he presented it to
2989-517: The two colonies: Report on the Affairs of British North America . Wakefield and Buller are not mentioned in the report, but it seems likely that the report was written cooperatively by the three men, although some historians have asserted the primary author was Wakefield, while others have said it was Buller. (Lord Brougham, still a critic of Durham, commented that "Wakefield thought it, Buller wrote it, Durham signed it.") The report recommended that
3050-623: Was a bicameral parliament with an elected Legislative Assembly and an appointed Legislative Council , but the Governor General still retained considerable control over the government. Wakefield was involved with the North American Colonial Association of Ireland . At his instigation, the Association had purchased a large estate just outside Montreal , the seigneury of Villechauve, where they wanted to establish another colonial settlement. The seigneury, also known as Beauharnois , had been owned by Edward Ellice ,
3111-427: Was a founder member, and Robert Gouger was elected (or appointed) inaugural secretary of the society, although he was later to fall out with Wakefield when they disagreed on the price that should be charged for land. Members over time included Robert Rintoul (editor of The Spectator ), Charles Buller , John Stuart Mill , Sir William Molesworth , W. W. Whitmore , and Sir William Hutt . Jeremy Bentham supported
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#17327799357153172-603: Was a member of the New Zealand Association, set up by Wakefield ten years earlier to encourage emigration to New Zealand. Durham was only prepared to accept the task if Wakefield accompanied him as Commissioner of Crown Lands. However, they both knew that Wakefield would be completely unacceptable to the British government, so Durham planned to announce the appointment only after he had reached Canada. Wakefield and his son, Edward Jerningham Wakefield, sailed secretly for Canada in April 1838, but before they arrived word had leaked out, and
3233-495: Was a popular author for the young, and one of the introducers of savings banks. He was the brother of: Catherine Gurney Wakefield (1793–1873) (who was the mother of Charles Torlesse (1825–1866)); Daniel Bell Wakefield (1798–1858); Arthur Wakefield (1799–1843); William Hayward Wakefield (1801–1848); John Howard Wakefield (1803–1862); Felix Wakefield (1807–1875); Priscilla Susannah Wakefield (1809–1887); Percy Wakefield (1810–1832); and an unnamed child born in 1813. Wakefield
3294-425: Was acting on his own, but LaFontaine had the clear impression he was acting for Durham. During his conversation with LaFontaine, Wakefield had tried to persuade him to publicly approve Durham's policy concerning the exiles to Bermuda, and the death penalty for Patriotes still in the United States. LaFontaine refused, seeing in it his " suicide politique ". Wakefield was not impressed by LaFontaine, writing that he and
3355-545: Was actively considering making New Zealand a British Colony in which case land sales would become a government monopoly . At a meeting in March 1839, Wakefield was invited to become the director of the New Zealand Company. His philosophy was the same as when he planned his elopements: "Possess yourself of the Soil and you are Secure." It was decided that the Tory would sail for New Zealand as soon as possible. His brother William
3416-506: Was appointed the leader of the expedition with his son Jerningham as his nominal secretary. They had some difficulty finding a suitable captain for the Tory , but then found Edward Main Chaffers who had been sailing master on HMS Beagle during Fitzroy's circumnavigation . Dr. Ernst Dieffenbach was appointed as scientific officer, and Charles Heaphy as a draughtsman. The Tory left London on 5 May and called at Plymouth to complete
3477-725: Was born in 1817. The household returned to London in 1820 and a second child, Edward Jerningham Wakefield , was born. Four days later Eliza died, and Edward resigned his post. The two children were brought up by their aunt, Wakefield's older sister, Catherine. Nina was suffering from tuberculosis , and Wakefield took his daughter to Lisbon in Portugal in the hope of recovery. He employed a young peasant girl, Leocadia de Oliveira, whom he later fostered, to help care for Nina, and after Nina's death in 1835, sent Leocadia on to Wellington , New Zealand, where she met John Taine and had 13 children. Although wealthy by contemporary standards, Wakefield
3538-522: Was educated at Westminster School in London, and Edinburgh . He served as a King's Messenger , carrying diplomatic mail all about Europe during the later stages of the Napoleonic Wars , both before and after the decisive Battle of Waterloo in 1815. In 1816, he eloped with a Miss Eliza Pattle and they were subsequently married in Edinburgh. It appears to have been a love match, but
3599-570: Was not satisfied. He wished to acquire an estate and enter Parliament , for which he lacked sufficient capital. Through deception he wed another wealthy heiress in 1826 when he abducted 15-year-old Ellen Turner, after luring her from school with a false message about her mother's health. Wakefield was brought to trial for the case known as the Shrigley abduction in 1826 and, along with his brother William, sentenced to three years in Newgate prison ;
3660-540: Was now 78 years old; he and Wakefield had not spoken since the Ellen Turner abduction 26 years before. They were reconciled, and the elder Edward died two years later. The ship arrived at Port Lyttelton on 2 February 1853. Wakefield had travelled with Henry Sewell who had been deputy chairman and full-time manager of the Canterbury Association. It seems likely that he expected to be welcomed as
3721-458: Was unable to provide for his family. Wakefield found him somewhere to live and farmed out the children among relatives, but it was another year before his health was strong enough to take over the role of surrogate father, Felix being apparently unable to do anything for his family. Meanwhile, Wakefield was getting involved in a new scheme. He was working with John Robert Godley to promote a new settlement in New Zealand, this one to be sponsored by
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