MR SWANSON, M.H.R.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 5834, 20 November 1880, Page 3

MR SWANSON, M.H.R.

We take the following sketch of the life of Mr Swanson, M.H.R., from the Auckland Observer. It should be premised that Mr Swanson, with tbat modesty which is characteristic of him, refused to furnish any particulars, and the writer was therefore compelled to glean what he could from other sources : — Mr Swanson began his industrial career as a shipwright's apprentice at 5s a week. The foreman of the shipyard was a man of deep piety, and after the labors of the day he devoted much of his spare time to the religious instruction of the boys. He .taught them the Scriptures, to pray and Bing hymns. There is an old hackneyed truism that " boys will be boys," but the apprentices of Leith, albeit Scotch boys, ••* possessed a keen sense of humor. They had been taught to sing one of the paraphrases commencing, — " The hour of my departure's come, I hear the roice that calls me home," ancl when the workmen's bell gavo tho signal to cease from the labors of the day at six o'clock each weekday evening this

was the chorus that smote upon the f£ A offended ears of that pious foreman. The

punishment for that trifling with sacred .things was the deprivation of the delin■tJ c|uentß of a shilling a week, which they might earn for "old" work. Perhaps it is owing to this early discouragement of vocal effort that Mr Swanson has not dishW . .^tingushed himself as a singer. '""''"■ 'About 1844 he went from Greenock to '" Cork in the ship Herald, and thence acy... companied a party of emigrants to Sydney, 1 which then held out attractions to energetic and industrious mechanics. He

worW at his trade for a short timo in

J Syaney, and saved a little money. From I Sydnoy he came to New Zealand in 1845, in tlie schooner Terror, Captain Dunning, and was engaged by Abereroinbie to assist in building a 400-tdn Vessel at the Gfreat Barrier. The materials for the work fell short, and disagreements arose between Abercrombie and his men, which resulted in an appeal to the law. There was a fossilised specimen of a Dogberry at the Great Barrier, named Nagle, who based his decisions en an ancient logbook, and a venerable edition of "Encyclopoodia Britannica." Of course he decided against tlie workmen, and sentenced them to three months' imprisonment, though it was shown they had been released from their engagements. But thei'e was no gaol, and no police nearer than Auckland. Nagle in his own person represented the wholo majesty and paraphernalia of the law. Tho prisoners roamed at will over the island, luxuriated in oysters and Maori kai kai, and beguiled the rosy hours in the intellectual exhilaration of " all fours." Had they known where Auckland was they would have taken a boat and gone there. At oiie time they were short of food and sent a deputation to Nagle. The spokesman said " Surely if you keep us in gaol you must supply us with prison fare." But Nagle remarked that it was part of thoir punishment that they ninst provide their own food ! After some time a schooner came, and Nagle formed himself into a posse of police and escorted them on board. It reminds me of the story told of the sheriff, in the old days of Botany Bay. He had one morning to superintend the execution of half-a-dozen criminals. To save time they were all noosed and placed together on one gallows. Tlie Jack Ketch was a novice at the work, and when the signal was given the " drop" stuck fast, whereupon the sheriff remarked in his habitual brisk affable way, "Jump off, my lads, look alive, jump off!" But revenons a nos moutons." When the men came to Auckland they engaged Merriman and Bartley and appealed to the Supreme Court for a new trial. It was the causa celebre of the times. The Judge overruled the application on the ground that it should have been made within three days ! At that time vessels called at the Barrier from Auckland three times a year. There was no Governor to appeal to nearer than Wellington, and that place could not be communicated with oftener than once in three months. The gaol was where the Theatre Royal! now stands. It was a flimsy structure of wood. There had been a scarcity of nails when it was built, and the flooring was fastened down with only one nail at each end. The "prisoners" used to raise a board or two, go out and enjoy themselves about, the little village which was the embryo Auckland, and return when they pleased. In those primeval days people took lifo easily.

Mr Swanson's next occupation wa3 to join Charley M'Uready in repairing boats for Bill Pierce, Bob Kidd, Curly Jack, Isaac Egington, Jerry Waite, and other local celebrities of those times. Swanson and Waite went into partnership, collected oyster shells and made lime for the Albert Barrack wall, Graham's store, and a number of buildings in Auckland. Afterwards he set up business with Jimmy Johnston as a cabinetmaker, and did a brisk trade. But news came of the gold discoveries of California, and many of Auckland's most adventurous spirits were attracted to the new Eldorado. Swanson was part owner of a 15-ton schooner, a well-built craft and a fast sailer. He and four other kindred spirits resolved to seek the favors of the fickle goddess. They tried to convey their craft on board the ship Commodore, but the attempt was unsuccessful, so they dared to launch out on the boundless ocean in their 15-ton schooner, furnished with a scant supply, a tracing of an old chart, and a compass. The men on board were Ebenezor Jamieson, Sam Paterson, Lieut. Welsh, William Bell, (brother-in-law of Allan O'Neill), the navigator, and our hero. It would occupy too much space to tell of all the dangers they encountered. They went iuto Otaheite with a red blanket and a sixpenny union jack handkerchief at tho peak, narrowly escaping seizure by the French as pirates. They made no allowance for currents and nearly drifted past Owhyhee. Had they missed this island they would have gone out upon the wide ocean, run out of provisions, perhaps had to subsist upon each other, and there would have been no necessity for this biography. From Owhyhee they sailed to Honolulu, where they met the late Mr Jerome Cadman, Jack Lander, Mr G. B. Owen, and many other Aucklauders. Here the vessel was sold after this remarkable voyage, and Mr Swanson went in another to San Francisco, where he stayed aome time and did well.

Returning to Auckland, he went into business as a furniture manufacturer, with James Johnson, establishing a shop on the site of the present Union Bank. The old building was afterwards moved to Khyber Pass and was burnt down a short time ago. The rush to the Victorian diggings created a brisk demand for furniture, and the firm had plenty of work on hand at good prices. Mr Swanson next embarked in the timber trade, and was the first white man who worked the creek named after him, which then abounded in splendid kauri pines. Some curious anecdotes are related by " old hands " of Mr Swanson's forethought and kindness in those days. In fine weather he would stroll along the creek aud " plant" bottles of grog in suitable spots. When a fresh came and the men were exhausted witli working in water in pushing down logs, these bottles were unearthed at opportune times to stimulate their flagging energies.

On the death of Mr Melville and the retirement of Mr G. S. Graham from the Provincial Council, Mr Swanson was elected to represent the timber interest, an opposition having been raised to the control of the elections by a clique at the Metropolitan Hotel, which answered to the Northern Club of these days, or the Grey Central Oommittee. The requisition was signed by M'Stead, Morris Kelly, Blake, Maxwell, Gibbons and other " bush kings " of those days. He afterwards represented City West in the Council, and throughout his connection with local politics his enerary and strong practical common-sense were of much service to the Province of Auckland. He strenuously opposed the proposals in regard to the Auckland and Drury railway, upon whioh more than £100,000 of the £200,000 loan was wasted largely in compensation to landowners, who practically made their fortunes by it, and in the building of the bridge near the Domain. His predictions in regard to that gigantic "job" were singularly verified. The principal ground of his opposition was that tlie money was diverted from tho specific object for which it was borrowed, the city being deprived of £20,000 which ought to have been spent on immigration, the lunatic asylum, and other necessary public buildings. He was also a determined opponent of the war policy in 1863, believing that it would destroy the native trade which was then of great importance to Auckland. At that time the Maoris owned a "mosquito fleet" trading between their settlements and the capital, and they exchanged large quantities of their products for goods, frequently almost clearing out the stocks of tobacco, blankets, boots, ploughs, harness, and other articles from the stores. Tho natives were driven from their cultivations by the war, industry was paralysed, and the Maori trade destroyed. When the troops were withdrawn, after the close of the war, Auckland passed through a period of severe depression. Oapital was locked up, there was stagnation in trade, a commercial panic set in, and owing to want of employment, many families were driven to eko out a precarious aud scanty subsistence by hack-

ling flax in the swamps. A soup-kitchen was established for the relief of the distressed, and Mr John King, the then relieving officer, was constantly besieged with applications for rations. For a timo the crisis was tided over by mortgaging tlie endowments, but more efficient steps became necessary to grapple with tho difficulty. In this emergency Mr Swanson proposed a tax on property. His suggestion was overruled in favor of a poll-tax. A powerful agitation rose on ■■ 1 sides against the impost. Public meetings were hold and the tax was vigorously denounced. Mr Swalison incurred some unpopularity by his vigorous vindication of it, but its collection was frustrated by a technical flaw in the Act under which it was imposed. To the lasting honor of Mr Swanson he continued for some months to support out of his own private funds the destitute in that section of the town extending from Conpland's Cornor (Thames Hotel) to the Union Bank, and from there to the sea, aud ho offered to bear the wholo cost of tho outlay for tho city, merely stipulating that he should bo recouped without interest whenever the Provincial Government was in funds; On the other hand, ho was prepared to risk the loss of his money. Such an act. of munificent public spirit should be recorded in letters of gold. It was one of the most noble and unselfish in the annals of the colony ; and it was done without ostentation, in fact until long after the crisis had passed away it was not publicly known. And this by a man who had only just emerged from the bush, and who might be seen in Queen-street at all hours of the day in the plainest of garbs, without even a waistcoat, —

" For he is gentle tliat doth geutil dodis." as Chaucer says. Through an increase of revenue to the province, consequent on the discovery of the Thames goldlield, prosperity was restored, and Mr Swanson was repaid the money he had so generously advanced. At another time, Mr Dignan, Reader Wood, and himself purchased the provincial debentures at par when they were low. We want a few more such publio spirited citizens in our midst. In 1871, Mr Swanson was elected to represent .Newton in the General Assembly, and ho has been returned at every succeeding election without opposition. He rendered valuable assistance in framing and passing the Provincial Education Act, npon which the Uoloni:il Act of 1877 is largely based, lv Parliament ho has been a strenuous advocate of retrenchment add of Civil Service reform. His maxim has been, "Have as few officials as may be compatible with an efficient administration, but pay them liberally." In this lie has boen the friend, not the enemy of the Civil Service, but his strong hatred of all shams and official red tape, and his A r ehement denunciations of the " Circumlocution " and the " How-not-to-do-it" regime ha~e naturally boen unpopular with Tite Barnacles, and holders of sinecures. He was instrumental in the repeal of the Civil Service Pensions Act, which threatened at one time to absorb a large proportion of the revenue in pensions and retiring allowances paid to men comparatively in the prime of life. His patience aud assiduity in attending to local requirements, in advocating the just claims of Auckland, aud in watching over petitions, aro too well known and appreciated to need repetition here. Mrs Meurant's case, which he brought to a successful issue after eight years of exertion, is a proof of his fearless and persitent advocacy in a just cause. At the Municipal Conference in Wellington he represented the Mayor of Auckland, and received the thanks of the Council for his services. He also represented Eden afc the County Conference. Tho passing of the Friendly Societies Bill and Trustees Bill was mainly due to his exertions. Few men in fact havo exercised so much influence for good in the Legislature of the colony. If not a polished orator, his speeches are always eminently practical and instructive, and they invariably command respectful attention. At times he rises into natural eloquence, in which humor and pathos are happily blended. He has a remarkable quickness of perception, an aptitude for seizing the weak and strong points of an argument, a felicity of homely illustration, and a facility in the use of ridicule that give novelty and force to his utterances. Bis style is often so intensely vigorous and demonstrative as to excite amusement, but he has often, by sheer force of plain common-sense reasoning, carried conviction where elaborate speeches have produced no effect.