THE GRAVE OF EDWARD GIBBON WAKEFIELD.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXI, Issue 6871, 15 July 1909, Page 4

THE GRAVE OF EDWARD GIBBON WAKEFIELD.

Wakefield’s grave was visited ou Saturday by Mr A. A. Pearson, C.M.G.,one of the Colonial Office representatives now visiting New Zealand. There are four graves of Wakefields grouped together, with unpretentious flat tombstones to mark their resting places. Edward Gibbon Wakefield, his brothers Daniel and William, and a daughter of Danied Wakefield are buried there. Another daughter of Daniel Wakefield, Mrs Freeman resides in Switzerland. Mr Pearson states that a bust of Edward Gibbon Wakefield stands in the Colonial Otlico, and Sir Frederick ifoung, the "father" of the Colonial Institute, who was closely associated with Wakefield in the colonisation undertaking, is . actively interesting himself _in a project to establish a fitting memorial in New Zealand. Sir Frederick formed a strong committee in London to help the movement along, and his ideal ns to see a full length statue in front of the now Houses of Parliament with the one word “Wakefield” on the pedestal. Lord Eanftirly, Lord Glasgow, and Mr Alfred Lyttelton are among those interested in the proposal, and Mrs Storr, a sister of the late Mr Allom, of Auckland, Wakefield’s private secretary, has promised a hundred guineas towards the fund. In 1839, when Gibbon AVakefield formed his Now Zealand Land Company with a capital of a quarter of a million. Sir Frederick’s father was one Of the directors, and Sir ' Frederick himself was old enough to be a shareholder, with a hundred or two of capital invested in the enterprise. "Well do I remember the enthusiasm which the project aroused,” says Sir. Frederick Y oung, now in his ninety-second year. "A number of youthful scions of distinguished families were amongst the band of pioneersPetros, and Cliffords, and Molesworths and others. X was present at the banquet at Blackwall in 1839, when a qiarty. of a hundred or so assembled to seo the first settlers off to New, Zealand; From ■1839 to 1852 I was in more or less constant communication with Gibbon Wakefield in reference to colonising New Zealand. In 1852 X .was manager of the Canterbury Association’s shipping <lO- - and in that capacity I'had to charter ships- to take emigrants out to New Zealand from this country. • I had an office in Cornhill to which they used to come from all over the hingdom, ana about a thousand ot them passed through my hands en route for New “Gibbon Wakefield was the founder of New Zealand. His was the master mind in the great project. The New Zealand Land Company was the emanation of nis brain. 1 am speaking now ct seventy years ago, but the entnusiasm of those early days is clear In my memory. 1 was old enough even then fy) be a shareholder in the company, and, of course, with my father on the board ot directors I heard a good deal about the company’s affairs. Giobon Wakefield, when 1 first' know him, looked line a .good specimen of a British farmer, robust and vigorous. He had a wondenui power oi attracting people, and he exercised a sort of .fascination over mo and other young men. A great many of them

FOUNDER OF THE COLONY OF NEW ZEALAND,

went out to New Zealand under til* spell of vVakeiieid’s magnetism. “I re-iieinber 1 used to go down to stay with him for two or three days at a time at Eeigate, whore he had a little cottage. Ho went for early morning rides ou a pony, at a. ioot-jpaoo, and I used to walk along beside him. fastening to tho flow of his wonderful ideas. All my notions of - colonisation and colonia 1 matters were derived trom him os my teacher. "Under his system of land purchase all the proceeds from tho sale ot land to settlers wore subject to a percentage that went in aid of immigration. I still think his system was the right one, and should bo in force to-day; Aa far as X can recollect, the city of Wellington was established on the ill an acre system.- live shillings out of every pound would bo devoted to _immigration. In Nelson, where , X arid 2dd acres when it was founded, I paid 30s an acre. In Canterbury tho pries was £3 an acre, and iil out of every if 3 received was to, be devoted to sending people out from the Old Country. That was Wakefield’s system all through, Eventually it was dropped, but.l regard it to this day as the correct method of providing tor immigration. “-Seventy years ago we were trc. mendously enthusiastic about New Zealand. We thought it was going to bo a tine location for settlers, but none of us dreamt' of its ever being a Dominion. When X look back over tho long stretch of years, and think how Now Zealand has developed, I marvel to think how simple it ail seemed to us in those days. Wo had no conception of what tho new country was destined to become, ‘‘Wo had meetings of colonists at 9, Adelphi terrace, and I remember Wakefield used to draw what .1 imagined in those days to be rather too roseate pic'turee of this wonderful new land of lus, Now Zealand. But I have lived to seo his most glowing dreams surpassed by tho reality. What; X imagined to be exaggeration lias proved to be less than the truth. And all within the space of ray own lifet’mol ... . , ~ “When gold was found in Australia in 1853 or 1851, 1 I distinctly remember Wakefield saying: ‘X hope we’ll never find. gold, in New Zealand.’ In those days. you must recollect, gold'Seeking wus associated with ail sorts of rowayism, and Wakefield feared that a goldrush would Hood Now Zealand with im'desirables. What he wanted to soo was •steady, peaceful progress by means of laud settlement and that was why he hoped no gold would be found, lie little dreamt how great a part gold-mining was to play in tho development Of the country in after years. "i Qin glad they are going to put up a memorial in London to Captain. Cook, the discoverer of New Zealand, but as a corollary to tnitt i snould like tx> sec in Now Zealand a memorial to Cibbon Wakefield, the found-er of the coiouy. I want to see a full-length statue in front of the new Houses of Huriiainent in Wellington, with the one word ‘vvaicofield' on the pedestal,, as m the . case of the .‘Alacdonaid' statue in Toronto. J have already written to bir dosepn vVard, bir ixooerc ©tout, Ur Hocneu umiotn*ra in tho Hominion, and have had lexfiies expressing sympathy with the project.