Francis Eastwood Campbell
Major Francis Eastwood Campbell | |
---|---|
2nd Clerk of the New Zealand House of Representatives | |
In office 10 July 1854 – 30 September 1889 | |
Preceded by | James Coates |
Succeeded by | George Friend |
Chief Clerk, Office of the Auditor General | |
In office 24 June 1853 – 9 July 1854 | |
Preceded by | GME Stephen |
Succeeded by | William Dover |
Officer in the NZ Militia | |
In office 3 December 1856 – June 1865 | |
Personal details | |
Born | 1823 |
Died | 27 September 1911 Awahuri, New Zealand | (aged 87)
Resting place | Feilding Cemetery |
Spouse | Elizabeth Susan Downing |
Relations | James Campbell (father) |
Children | Jessie Mary Brisco (nee Campbell) |
He was the son of
Family and arrival in New Zealand
Campbell and his father
Campbell arrived in
On 26 July 1860 Campbell married Elizabeth ("Eliza") Susan Downing, daughter of Irwin Downing, in Auckland.[8][9] Elizabeth died on 13 February 1908 and is buried at Feilding Cemetery.[10]
In 1885 the Campbells' only surviving child, daughter Jessie Mary, married Arthur Hylton Brisco, son of Sir Robert Brisco the 3rd
Military career
Campbell joined the
Campbell was commissioned by Governor Thomas Gore Browne as a captain in the Auckland Battalion of the New Zealand Militia with effect from 3 December 1856.[21][22][23]
Campbell's commission as a
Campbell resigned from 1st Battalion of the Auckland Regiment in early 1862[30] and was appointed captain with the newly formed Royal Company of Auckland Rifle Volunteers with effect from 1 March 1862.[31][32][33]
Campbell resigned from the Auckland Rifle Volunteers in late 1862[34][35] (possibly due to the birth in August 1862 of his first child, a son,[36] who did not survive) and was reappointed, with the Rank of Major, with effect from 23 June 1863.[37][38] With two Lieutenant Colonels Theodore Haultain and HM Nation, Major Campbell was appointed as the third member of the Board of Exemption established to hear applications from men seeking exemption from militia service.[39]
Campbell continued to be the senior officer of the Auckland Rifle Volunteers[40][41] until he resigned on 27 May 1865[42][43] to move to Wellington when Parliament relocated from Auckland. In announcing Campbell's resignation the New Zealand Herald wrote: "During the late war in this province the Auckland Rifle Volunteers did their share and more than their share of the duty which made every man at that time a soldier. To the exertions of the major commanding was due in great measure the efficiency of the corps which distinguished itself on more than one occasion".[44]
In a 1908 letter to the
Civilian and Parliamentary career
On 29 December 1851 Campbell applied for a sheep and cattle run on
However it appears unlikely that Campbell actually farmed in Canterbury because on 24 June 1853 he was appointed Chief Clerk of the Office of the Auditor General in Auckland.[47]
The
In 1856 the Wellington Independent newspaper, in a series of articles about the General Assembly, described Campbell and his work as Clerk of the House: "The Clerk in suit of solemn black and scarlet stockings, sits immediately under the Speaker's chair, at the head of the long table which runs through the center of the House for a third of its length. Charged with the whole of the documentary business of the House, he revels in red tape and pigeon holes, and ought to have (we have no doubt: Mr Campbell has) the organs of order and memory enormously developed. His business in the House consists in taking accurate minutes of the proceedings, recording divisions, reading documents, etc. But independently of this he has his hands full of office work connected with reports of committees, summoning committee men, printing orders of the day, and so forth. Nor do his labours cease with the session. The preparation of the blue books [containing the proceedings of the House], the publication of the Acts, and other multifarious business is his; and very well he earns his salary before he gets it. During the session he has an Assistant Clerk [Alexander S. Martin, of whom Campbell complained to the
In 1858 Campbell was appointed as Librarian to the General assembly,[53] a role he held until 1865 (when Parliament relocated to Wellington) while also carrying out his roles as an officer in the New Zealand Militia and Clerk of the House. As the first head of the Parliamentary Library Campbell was responsible for establishing the library's collection and, in March 1865, overseeing the transfer of its 80 cases of books to Wellington by the SS Queen.[54][55][56]
In 1858 Campbell was designated as the Clerk of the
In 1862, as Clerk of the House, Campbell was called as a witness in the Supreme Court case Busby vs Bell, in which former
An unusual event took place in September 1862 while Campbell was Clerk of the House:
Another role that Campbell fulfilled while holding the office of Clerk of the House was that of Presiding Officer to receive nominations and count votes for the first Board of Directors of The New Zealand Government Life Insurance Association when it was established on 1 January 1885.[73][74][75]
After serving as Clerk of the House for 35 years, Campbell retired on 30 September 1889, at 66 years of age.[76] He had served under five different Speakers: Sir Charles Clifford, Sir David Monro, Sir Francis Dillon Bell, Sir William Fitzherbert and Sir George Maurice O'Rorke.
In announcing Campbell's resignation the evening post wrote: "Members have always found in him a competent and sincere advisor. His knowledge of Parliamentary law and practice, growing riper year by year, has proved of immense use to successive Speakers, Ministers, and members. We have never heard a whisper of political bias or personal feeling made against him. He has kept the House thoroughly in the strict groove of Parliamentary usage, and in the British Empire there are now probably few better read or higher authorities on Parliamentary procedure than Major Campbell. Ever calm, courteous and considerate in the discharge of his official duties, all who have been brought in contact with him officially will regret his resignation. We are not aware that during his long career a single official error has been laid to his charge."[77]
Campbell's letter of resignation was read in the House by the Speaker Sir George Maurice O'Rorke, who noted that on becoming Clerk of the House Campbell had hardly any precedents to guide him, but by his "painstaking, accurate and methodical character [he] managed to bring the system of recording our proceedings and printing our statutes to very great perfection".[78] Premier Sir Harry Albert Atkinson, previous Premier Sir John Hall and future Premier John Ballance expressed similar sentiments and the House agreed a motion expressing appreciation to Campbell for "the advice and assistance he was at all times willing to render to members in the conduct of their business".[79]
Other interests
Campbell was installed as
Campbell and
In October 1862 Campbell was appointed a
Campbell was a keen hunter and fisherman and in April 1873, more than a decade after the introduction of red deer into New Zealand, he is reputed to have shot the first stag in the wild.[88][89]
On 17 April 1903 Campbell was elected as a founding member of the Manawatū branch of the New Zealand Veterans' Association.[90]
Death
Campbell died at his daughter Jessie's home (where he resided in his later years) in Awahuri at the age of 87 on 27 September 1911[91][92] and is buried at Feilding Cemetery.[93]
Obituaries about Campbell were published in numerous newspapers.[94][95][96][97][98]
Members paid tribute to Campbell when his death was announced in the House on 27 September 1911, Prime Minister Sir Joseph George Ward stating: "He was a man who won the respect of everybody who had anything to do with the work of the House". The House agreed a motion "to record its high sense of the faithful services rendered by the late Major Francis Eastwood Campbell as Clerk of the House of Representatives and Clerk of Parliaments for 35 years".[99]
References
- ^ The Early Canterbury Runs, 1946, LDG Acland, page 131
- Department of Internal Affairs. pp. 134f. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
- ^ Minute Book of the Society of Canterbury Colonists, April 1850 to December 1851, pages 2,3 and 17
- ^ Daily Southern Cross, 4 February 1851, page 2
- ^ Otago Witness, 4 May 1851, page 4
- The Women's Library, London School of Economics
- ^ New Zealander, 5 February 1851, page 2
- ^ Daily Southern Cross, 31 July 1860, page 2
- ^ New Zealander, 1 August 1860, page 5
- ^ "Campbell's gravestone at Feilding Cemetery". Archived from the original on 22 January 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
- ^ The Peerage, page 17817
- ^ Dod's peerage, baronetage and knightage of Great Britain and Ireland, 1915, page 105
- ^ Debrett's peerage, baronetage, knightage, and companionage, 1893, page 67
- ^ Evening Post, 20 January 1927, page 11
- ^ New Zealand Herald, 27 January 1927, page 12
- ^ New Zealand Herald, 26 October 1932, page 14
- ^ The New Annual Army List for 1850, Major HG Hart, page 174
- ^ Items K.69.49.1-8 held by the Southland Museum and Art Gallery
- ^ The New Annual Army List for 1851, Major HG Hart, page 549
- ^ Dictionary of New Zealand Biography 1940, volume 1, Editor Guy Scholefield, page 134
- ^ NZ Government Gazette, 10 January 1857, page 2
- ^ Daily Southern Cross, 13 January 1857, page 2
- ^ New Zealander, 14 January 1857, page 1
- ^ NZ Gazette, 30 April 1860, page 81
- ^ New Zealander, 2 May 1860, page 6
- ^ Daily Southern Cross, 1 May 1860, pages 2&3
- ^ Eg: Daily Southern Cross, 29 May 1860, page 2
- ^ Daily Southern Cross, 19 June 1860, page 2
- ^ New Zealander, 18 May 1861, page 3
- ^ NZ Gazette, 7 February 1862, page 90
- ^ NZ Gazette, 23 April 1862, page 163
- ^ New Zealander, 26 April 1862, page 6
- ^ New Zealander, 8 March 1862, page 6
- ^ NZ Gazette, No 41, 6 December 1862, page 356
- ^ Daily Southern Cross, 10 December 1862, page 3
- ^ New Zealander, 30 August 1862, page 3
- ^ NZ Gazette, No 24, 25 June 1863, page 242
- ^ New Zealander, 27 June 1863, page 7
- ^ New Zealander, 1 September 1863, page 1
- ^ New Zealander, 13 January 1865, page 5
- ^ New Zealander, 7 March 1865, page 6
- ^ Auckland Libraries, New Zealand Militia, Volunteers and Armed Constabulary 1863 - 1871 database
- ^ NZ Gazette, No 19, 7 June 1865, page 175
- ^ New Zealand Herald, 21 June 1865, page 4
- ^ Manawatu standard, 12 June 1908, page 5
- ^ Lyttelton Times, 17 January 1852, page 2
- ^ Blue Book of Statistics 1854, IA12/15 page 112
- ^ Notice of appointment, NZ Government Gazette, No 17, 2 August 1854, page 85
- ^ Votes and Proceedings of the House of Representatives, 11 July 1854
- ^ Blue Book of Statistics 1854, IA12/15 page 116
- ^ Campbell letter to Andrew Sinclair of 18 October 1855, Archives NZ document R23523528
- ^ Wellington Independent, 29 Oct 1856
- ^ NZ Gazette, No 26, 20 September 1858, page 131
- ^ Parliament's Library 150 years, John E Martin, 2008, page 23
- ^ New Zealand Herald, 14 March 1865, page 1
- ^ New Zealander, 15 March 1865, page 2
- ^ NZ Gazette, No 26, 20 September 1858, page 131
- ^ Parliamentary Debates, 1871, page 219
- ^ Parliamentary Debates, 1872, page 269
- ^ Journal of the Legislative Council of New Zealand, 1871, pages 181-182
- ^ Appendix to the Journal of the Legislative Council of New Zealand, 1871, pages 218-223
- ^ Journal of the House of Representatives, 1868, page 262
- ^ The Clerk of Parliaments Act, 1872
- ^ Evening Post, 9 October 1889, page 2
- ^ Cyclopedia of New Zealand (Wellington Provincial District), page 98
- ^ Daily Southern Cross, 9 June 1862, page 3
- ^ New Zealander, 11 June 1862, page 6
- ^ New Zealander, 17 December 1862, page 4
- ^ Daily Southern Cross, 16 December 1862, page 3
- ^ Daily Southern Cross, 17 December 1862, page 3
- ^ West Coast Times, 11 January 1904, page 2
- ^ Parliamentary Debates 1861-1863, page 696
- ^ New Zealand Government Insurance Association Act 1884
- ^ Evening Post, 12 December 1884, page 4
- ^ Daily Telegraph, 12 December 1884, page 2
- ^ New Zealand Herald, 9 October 1889, page 5
- ^ Evening Post, 8 October 1889, page 2
- ^ Parliamentary Debates, 19 June 1890, pages 3 & 4[permanent dead link]
- ^ Parliamentary Debates, 20 June 1890, pages 8 & 9
- ^ Daily Southern Cross, 23 April, 1858, page 2
- ^ Daily Southern Cross, 18 January 1859, page 2
- ^ Daily Southern Cross, 15 June 1865, page 5
- ^ New Zealander, 15 June 1865,page 3
- ^ New Zealand Herald, 15 June 1865, page 5
- ^ NZ Gazette, 31 October 1863, page 479
- ^ Daily Southern Cross, 3 November 1863, page 3
- ^ Press, 13 July 1900, page 4
- ^ Otago Witness, 18 December 1907, page 9
- ^ Thomson, Joff A, (1964) Deer Shooting Days, page 11, Pub: AH & AW Reed
- ^ Manawatu Standard, 18 April 1903, page 5
- ^ Feilding Star, 27 September 1911, page 2
- ^ Manawatu Standard, 27 September 1911, page 1
- ^ "Campbell's gravestone at Feilding Cemetery". Archived from the original on 22 January 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
- ^ Manawatu Times, 28 September 1911, page 5
- ^ Taranaki Daily News, 30 September 1911, page 4
- ^ Feilding Star, 28 September 1911, page 2
- ^ Manawatu Standard, 28 September 1911, page 2
- ^ Dominion, 28 September 1911, page 4
- ^ Parliamentary Debates, 27 September 1911, pages 129 & 130