JAMES WILSON OF BULLS

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27273, 13 February 1954, Page 3

JAMES WILSON OF BULLS

DR. WILD’S NOTABLE BIOGRAPHY IRevtewea by AJL) The Life and Times of Sir ,lam.. Wilson of Bulls. By L J X Whiicombe and Tombs. 335 pp. A biography may be none the worse because it acts as the vehicle for tarrying a much heavier load than its title suggests. Those who know Dr Wild will not be surprised to find his Life of Sir James Wilson both a sound biography of the man, James Glennv Wilson, and also something of a history oi agricultural organisations and amcultural education in New Zealand In deed, it is probably the fullest statement on the growth of the Farmers’ Union now the Federated Farmers of New Zealand, on the influence of the Board of Agriculture, and on the importance of rural education yet nub lished. This is natural enough if we re call that Wilson was known as “The Father of Rural Education and the Patron of Agricultural Science m New Zealand,” and that his biographer was also an outstanding leader in the field of agricultural edu? cation. Dr. Wild is possibly best known today as the pro-chancellor of the University of New Zealand—in this connexion his name has been mentioned recently as the chairman of a committee reporting on whether a school of veterinary science is required in New Zealand. Prior to 1920 was . a » le S turer ih agricultural chemistry at Lincoln College, then after a year as a lecturer in science at Christchurch Training College he became the foundation headmaster of Feilding Agricultural High School, an ? ffice J*™.??. ®“ ch distinction from 1922 till his retirement in 1946 that he was awarded the 0.8. E in 1945. That he has been something more than an inspired school teacher may be seen both from his publications and from his appointment to such offices as president of the Royal Agricultural Society of New Zealand and president of the Feilding Agricultural and Pastoral Society. His long residence m Feilding brought him into close touch with the Grand Old Man of New Zealand agricultural movements, and inspired him to begin collecting material for this book many years ago. The completion of his task was delayed until he had time for the intensive study of newspaper files, parliamentary papers and debates as well as the letters and other material which the Wilson family made avail-

The first point that should be made about this book has already been made, namely, that it Is both biography and specialised history. It is divided into three parts. The first entitled “The First Fifty Years,” is a straightforward biography of Wilson from his birth in Hawick, Scotland, in 1849. till his retirement from Parliament in 1896, the second. “The Years ot Service,” covers Wilson's career from 1896 till his death in 1929, and gives his biographer ample scope for discoursing on the problems and the trends of agricultural education and organisations in the period, while the third part is made up of letters which passed between New Zealand and Scotland in the years 1886-1897. The second point that should be

made is that while this book may not be acclaimed as a very remarkable literary production, and while its writer might have been more critical mi occasions, it is of considerable importance so far as the general history of New Zealand is concerned, the economy of this country being what it is. The continuing primacy of agriculture in producing the export wealth of this country makes the history of this pioneer in scientific farming a matter of importance. Parliamentary and political histories, -war histories and other specialised studies all have their place in our country’s story, but this biography, probably more than any other book since the publication of the biography of John Grigg of Longbeach, serves to remind us of the fundamental importance of the land itself and of the men who have developed it. This book has well merited the aid given by the New Zealand Literary Fund. As it is nearly a quarter of a cen* tury since Sir James Wilson died, it nay not be out of place to remind readers of the main facts of his life. After being educated in London and Edinburgh and spending a short time in the family wool manufacturing business, he migrated to Australia and ften came to New Zealand in 1873. Hej bought and developed the Ngaio station near Bulls. He was always looking forward to the time when his property would look like a cultivated farm. Consequently, he and' his men were always ditching and draining, burning and ploughing the scrub-in-fested land, sowing down in grasses and experimenting with different breeds of sheep. Probably it was no wonder that his wife wrote in 1887 “I have come to hate the very name of improvements.” During the years 1882-1896, Wilson was a popular but extremely quiet member of the House of Representatives. In its series of “Political Portraits” of 1892, “The Press” characterised him as follows: • . . modulated and temperate . . . a fair speaker and worker who declines to get excited or mop the floor with his political foe. He is well and Quietly dressed, genial in manner, a Sood companion, fairly endowed with desirable things of the world, owns

s®e or two racehorses, wears goggles, accomplished no excruciating Eptoriety of any sort.” But, as his biographer explains at length, it was out of Parliament that he accomplished so much for farmers and the farming industry. Wilson’s creative energies found of scope in local politics and & building up a nation-wide organisation. ofi farmers. He was first elected Jo the Manawatu County Council in its chairman in 1898 and only in 1925. He was chairman Palmerston North Hospital r o3 ™ until his death. He was also “£st President of the New ZeaForestry League, the first presiand also the principal executive of the Board of Agriculture, and .z® the principal organisers of the “sncultural and pastoral associations their conferences. The Farmers’ Was lar S® P art his creation - despite change of name, remains »J a ? J n®nent to his idealism and to The various papers on Aiects as varied as “Grass and FodSLv°Ps” and “The Marketing of *5? i ?f alai2d Produce,” which he confuted to conferences and to farmtirnJoUr^ ais and scientific publicaindicate the depth of his interhi • Z student and the strength of s. for the well-being of industry generally. Wild “lt is no exaggeration to say more than a quarter of a Wilson and his friend Edwin 2cmJ ere the dominant figures in the g™«gement of agricultural educaOjo- m .tk e inspiration of those ln it- it would not be too t° say that Wilson was the W Agricultural Education in P atr on of Agri-n-kink it-_ : I

to J®lc 1 " 5 . which make up the third 1 • could have been relength and even number i.j erious loss, but they provide mat erial for the student attitudes as well as for those rfU in Wilson and agriculture. *htten k e . mo ?t interesting is that nnie Wilson in August, Sir Julius Vogel, Sir t and John Ballance as y toe landed folk of the Rangibe easy to criticise this ~ the “terary side. Too many zSz? iers are crammed too full; many lon S not alquotations; some senDr. "9 long and too involved. Active well have been more * 6va k; °° °^ en he has preferred of Tz J ea der all his notes inRj,? n ft ens * n S them into a senn ut the book remains import?S? ins a s Pl e ndid tribute to whom Sir Charles Ferdescribed as “one of those

wonderful spirits we meet once in a life-time.” It is also a notable addition to the literature dealing with the development of ■ agriculture in this country.