OBITUARY.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CV, Issue 12427, 16 February 1901, Page 8

OBITUARY.

Sill EDWARD STAFFORD. , [Pkii Press Association.] WELLINGTON,. Feb. 15. The Government received a cable to-day from London, announcing the death of Sir Edward Stafford, who was three times Premier of the colony. (Sir Edward William Stafford, K.C.M.G., was born in Edinburgh in, 1820. He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, and landed in Nelson in January, 1845, havingcome there by way of Melbourne. He first came prominently before the Nelson public soon after the Wairau massacre of June, 1843. On the introduction of representative institutions into New Zealand in 1853, he was elected to fill the office of Superintendent of Nelson. After the enlargement of the Provincial Council, lie was a. second lime elected to fill this position, and without opposition. One of his earliest and most important acts as Superintendent was the appointment of a .Commission to inquire into the ■ state of education, and suggest legislation for its advancement. The recommendations of that Commission were embodied by Sir Edward in an Education, Ordinance, submitted to the Nelson Provincial Council in its session of 1855, and passed with some important amendments. The Ordinance thus passed was more or less closely copied by other Provinces of New Zealand, and formed the basis of the Act which established the uniform system of education now in force in the colony. In the same session Mr Stafford also introduced his Road Board Ordinance, constituting the Road Boards, which have existed ever since, and, are now general throughout New Zealand. It was during the discussion on this Bill that the great political question of the taxation or non-taxation of improvements on land was first exhaustively debated. In the Bill, as introduced by Sir Edward “ all buildings” were exempted from rating. To this, on the motion of Mr Saunders, a very bare diajority added, after some weeks’ debate, “all art!fical and industrial improvements.” This was vehemently opposed, and finally all exemptions were struck out. The same course was followed by the other Provinces That adopted the Bill, except at Taranaki, where improvements were exempted. On the establishment of responsible government in New Zealand in June, 186 b, Sir Edward gave up provincial for colonial responsibilities. He accepted the office of Premier, and formed a ministry which continued in office more than five years, and included Mr William Richmond, Sir Whitaker, Mr Weld, and others. After this his industry and ability were impressed upon the statutes and public records. In 1859 be went to England. His principal objects in visiting England were to establish a steam mail service between England and New Zealand via Panama, at the joint cost of the Homecountry and the colony, and to arrange for the planting of military settlements in the North Island, composed of some of the married men and their families from the various militia regiments embodied during the Crimean war. In the first object he succeeded so far as to prevail on Lord Derby’s Government to call for tenders for a Panama steam service ; but, before the tenders could be considered, Lord Derby’s Government was displaced by Lord Palmerston’s, and tho latter declined to go on with tho undertaking. The military settlements were at. tbs same time frustrated by tho breaking out of the Italian war, which, it was feared, might involve the whole of Europe. On his return to New Zealand he found, too, that his Government had drifted into difficulties with tho Maoris at Taranaki. Sir Edward never attempted to repudiate the responsibility for the steps taken in his absence, but defended tho acts of his colleagues as -though they were his own. His Government was defeated in 1861 by a. majority of one in the House of Representatives, and be resigned. Ho was ‘ Premier from" 1856't0 1861;' again, from 1865 to 1869 ; and also in 1872. Tlo was always regarded by the country as holding colonial rather than provincial views; hence his policy was. spoken of as centralising. His Government passed the New Provinces Act, 1858, to constitute new pi’ovinces out of those already existing; and the provinces of Hawke’s Bay, Atariborough, and Southland were called into existence. In 1874 Sir Edward returned to England, where ho has since resided).