Edward Gibbon WAKEFIELD [1655]

  General Notes:

Edward Gibbon Wakefield was a man of great ability and visionary ideas who left a considerable footprint on the English speaking British Empire in the first half of the 19th century. He is particularly remembered in Australia and New Zealand were his ideas on colonisation gave birth to fine new societies. He failed himself in respect of his personal behaviour, and died in relative poverty. In the late 20th century when colonisation fell under scrutiny to indigeneous nationalism, he was held up for criticism.
However his role with the NZ Coy in the settlement of successful cities like Adelaide, Christchurch, Wellington & Nelson is testament to the man's greatness.

Edward came from a old Quaker family, which may have accounted for his social conscience, he was born in London in 1796, the eldest son of Edward Wakefield (1774-1854). He was educated at Westminster School in London, and Edinburgh. He travelled widely in Europe as a diplomatic messenger at the start of the 19thC. The Turner Case (below) saw him imprisoned in Newgate until 1830 where he wrote "Punishment by Death" a critique of the death sentence, and evolved the Wakefield theory on free colonies.
His Biography is by Dr Richard Garnett.

Scandalous!
There are countless infamous scandals associated with Gretna Green. Perhaps the best known was the Turner-Wakefield scandal which involved the abduction of a wealthy mill-owner's daughter by a double-crossing rogue named Edward Gibbon Wakefield.
Ellen was the daughter of William Turner, a wealthy mill-owner and Sheriff of Cheshire. In March 1826 Ellen received a letter stating that her mother was ill and that she must return home.
On her way she was introduced to her "father's friend" Edward Gibbon Wakefield. Having made a favourable impression on the youngster, Wakefield claimed that her father's bank in Macclesfield had failed and the business ruined. He said that all Mr Turner's property was to be given to Ellen. As she was still under age, she would have to marry to save her father, to ensure the estate would be given back to him by her husband: Mr Wakefield.
She agreed to marriage and they proceeded to Gretna Green. After the ceremony, the newly-weds left for France. But in Calais, Ellen's uncles caught up with the couple and told her the truth - her father's business was in good order and Wakefield was a liar. Distraught, she returned to England.
Wakefield was tried in March 1827 and found guilty of felonious abduction and unlawful marriage. After a trial that captivated the nation, Wakefield was sentenced to three years' imprisonment in Newgate. For Ellen, the problem of deciding whether she was married was solved by a special act of parliament, which annulled the marriage. After his release Wakefield turned his attention to the colonies and helped found South Australia.
Edward and Ellen's story is told in more detail in a new book, The Shrigley Abduction, published by Sutton Publishing.
Ref: Family History Monthly March 2004 No 102.

The Shrigley Abduction:
A Tale of Anguish, Deceit and Violation of the Domestic Hearth
ABBY ASHBY & AUDREY JONES
(Sutton, ISBN 0-7509-3280-5, L,15.99, www.sutton publisbing.co. uk)
This intriguing story was uncovered by the authors for an evening class. In 1826, Edward Wakefield, together with his stepmother and his brother William, kidnapped the heiress Ellen Turner from her ladies' seminary in Liverpool. Edward Wakefield was what can only be described as a serial eloper; he had run away with his first wife in 1816,
The pair had not met before, but Edward proved so persuasive that he convinced the 15 year old that her father was in debt and they should marry immediately in order to save him. The two were married in Gretna Green and it was only when her family interceded that Ellen realised she had been tricked. And see our feature on p29.
The authors follow the events of the abduction and the subsequent trial. Surprisingly, perhaps, they seem to side with Edward, painting him as a daring adventurer; they believe that Ellen must have secretly wished to stay married to him. While this may seem odd at first, the more sympathetic portrait of Edward is borne out by his conduct. In later life he became one of the major advocates of the colonisation of New Zealand and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has a bust of him celebrating his statesman-like qualities.
The book reveals a lot about morality and marriage in the 19th century and is an interesting portrait of two families in turmoil. The fate of William Wakefield was particularly harsh. Like his brother he was tried and imprisoned for his part in the abduction. While he was in prison his young wife died (of a broken heart, according to the newspapers).
Ellen Turner married Thomas Legh, one of the magistrates involved in the case, but tragically died aged only 19.
Hope Thomas.

Ref: Family History Monthly March 2004 No 102.

The following letters are from a transcription done in the 19thC a copy of which is held at the Nelson Archive.
Nelson,

No. 4
Ham Place Mua
May 12th 1837
My dear Charles,
I have set foot on a new measure of colonisation on principles similar to those which have worked so well for South Australia.The country is New Zealand one of the finest countries in the world, if not the finest, for British settlement. A New Zealand Association is now in the course of formation it will comprise a more influential body than that which founded South Australia.
The colony, that is, the body of capitalists who will first emigrate, is already considerable, and comprises persons qualified for every occupation but one. We have no clergyman. The New Zealanders are not savage properly speaking, but a people capable of civilization. A main object will be to do all that can be done for inducing them to embrace the language,
customs, religion, and social ties of the superior race. The missionaries have already done something towards this object, more than could have been expected, considering that they have always been thwarted by English settlers and visitors not under the restraint of any authority. We want a missionary at heart, to be placed at the head of a system for operating
on the minds of the natives, a man of high feelings, great zeal, superior talents, a sort of Mr. Nottidge, but young and strong. Arthur fancies that Mr. Moreby would not dislike such an undertaking, and I know that his wife could enter into such views. We should raise funds here so as to insure the clergyman a becoming income, and should build here a church
large enough for the whole body of first settlers, in which we should wish the clergyman to preach upon the subject of the colony. Will you mention the subject to Mr. Moreby, or to any other person whom you may think well qualified for such an undertaking? If you should meet with one, let him come to town, and enquire for himself into the whole matter. But
he must be superior man; and if he should have a wife, she must be superior too.
Captain Arthur thinks of commanding the first expedition, and my own thoughts are turned in that direction. For me, all will depend upon the manner in which the foundation shall be laid, if it be very good, superior to any other thing of the sort, then I become one of the builders of the superstructure.
With best love to Catherine,
Yours ever affly.,
E. G. W.
Taken to be a letter to the Rev Charles M Torlesse

N. Z. House,
6th October.
Qy. 1840
My dear Catherine,
I don't know that your objection to me as a teacher in quite valid, since I have brought up
more than one person in more than commonly decided religious sentiments.However, that is a point which will hardly bear discussion. I am in no desperate hurry about a child, but with Priscilla and Loui to keep a look out for me I would not confine them to infancy or the youngest childhood if they should chance to meet with one who had been really well brought up so far, and had a very good natural disposition and talent.There are many in the world who should be glad (I say it with vanity) to get so good a berth. Tell Charles that Governor Hobson's proclamations set us all right in New Zealand, and that we have forced the Government to consent to a Bishopric.The inclosed is for him, as I suppose you won't read-it. Tell him that if he will buy you a strong donkey, I will add a Bologne sheep-skin saddle on which you may sit as on a sofa.
With love to all,
Yours ever affly.,
E. G. W.
Taken to be to Catherine G Torlesse his sister

No. 10
Burstow,
23rd March Query 1841 (Year thought to be wrong)
My dear Catherine,
I have to thank you for your letter of birth-day good wishes, and will not let a post pass
without telling you and Charlie in confidence that the recent debates about New Zealand have had the desired effect; the Government -- not Lord Stanley alone, but his principal colleagues, with his consent -- having made us an overture of reconciliation. We have said "Yes, on the understanding that we are not to patch up the old arrangement which is too vague and makes us too dependent on the good will of Government -- but have a new one, which, subject to certain well-defined checks, shall render us independent".Vie require, in short, security for the future as well as indemnity for the past: and the reply has been "Very well; it is best to make an effectual and lasting arrangement whilst we are about it".The negotiation is now in full swing. It has struck me that as you are going to see Pris soon, you might as well come to me first; so as to be with me whilst at the worst of your waiting for Charley. Ask Charlie to bring you on Monday the 31st which I propose in order to see him as well: but if he can't come, I will meet you in London and bring you down.
There will be a room for Sonisa, or whomsoever you may be taking with you on the visit to Pris, and I shall be very glad of her company. I think this plan would be good for us both; and the longer you may stay the better I shall be pleased -- being very dull when I manage to resist the temptation to go to London during this crisis.
You said that having a governess would set you, more free for such occasions.
I am glad the boots fit.Aglionby has been going and going to write to you about mesmerism, and I cannot tell why he has not done it. I think it is because after great success he has met with some reverses. I showed him your last which he says has somewhat consoled
him for the rowing I gave him for intemperate language in the House.
Yours ever affly.,
E.G.W.
Note on No.10 Query 1841
Note 1.Mesmerism E.G.W. was himself given to practise mesmerism. Early in 1841, or perhaps it might be 1840, he tried to operate on me one evening at Broad Street Buildings, in presence of my mother and father but with only partial success.His little Belgian page, a boy of about 15. was very susceptible. When outside the door (as I was told) by a pass from E. G. W. invisible to the page, the latter would become rigid in a moment.I recollect a story he told me, about this date, of his being at an evening party in London, where he had mesmerised a young lady, but was struck with horror on finding he could not revive her. He jumped into a cab and went in search of a celebrated man, Dr. Elliotson, his friend.After some hours search he was found and they returned in company and Dr. Elliotson succeeded in reviving the lady, where he had failed.
Ref: Albert J. Allom, February, 1898. AUCKLAND

No. 11
B. S. B.
Friday 30th April 1841.
My dear Catherine,
The Expedition took steam-tug from below Gravesend;the wind has been fair ever since; and we presume that they are now almost out of the channel. We have not yet recollected to have forgotten anything, which speaks volumes for Arthur's management.
I hope that your feelings are, as your reason must be, reconciled to parting with Charley.
The probable end is that you will all go to N.Z. together but of that hereafter.
I am to start on Monday for America, and intend to be here again in July. If my boy should
arrive meanwhile, he will no doubt go to see you.
I forgot to beg a favour of Charles -- which is that you will take Emily in for the Midsummer holidays.Mrs. Bowler will go with her to Stoke, and I should be back before her return to school.
I think that you ought to rejoice, when you reflect, in the opportunity which Charley now has of making his own way in the world. He cannot be in better hands than those of our excellent brother.
With love to all your circle, ever yours
affectionately,
E. G. WAKEFIELD.
I wish it might suit you to let Mrs. Bowler get a week of fresh air on your hill when she goes with Emily.

Notes on letter No. 11. 1841
Note 1.The "expedition" refers to the departure of the "Nelrop' expedition under Capt. Wakefield 28 April 1841.I went down with my mother and father, and E.G.W., to Gravesend to see them off. There were three vessels, viz. The "Arrow ", the "Wise Watch" and the "Whitby". in which last mentioned vessel Capt. Wakefield and Charles Torlesse were passengers.
Note 2 "Charley" refers to her son Charles Torlesse
Note 3. "My boy" refers to Edward Jermingham W. who it was thought might be on his way home, having gone out with the pioneer expedition under Col. Wakefield in 1839.
Note 4. "Charles" refers to her husband, the Rev. Charles Torlesse.
Note 5 "Emily" was Col. Wakefield's daughter [1685], then at school at Richmond, Surrey. I think it was in the previous year (1840) that E. G. W. took me to Richmond to see her. We drove post in those days. We called at the school, and Emily was permitted to accompany her uncle to the principal Hotel, where we had dinner. E. G. W. then took us into Richmond Park, where he made us play Blind Man's Bluff as much for his amusement as our own. That game of B.M.B. was very disasterous for me, for I fell desperately in love. I was then about 15.She was perhaps a year younger, but I had many uncomfortable reflections on the subject in Wellington, N.Z., before she married Mr. Stafford at Wellington, about six years
after -- I recollect meeting them both at dinner at Col. Wakefield's, some weeks before the marriage.
Note 6. Mrs. Bowler, E. G. W. was ever thoughtful for others, and particularly for those dependent upon him. Both Mr, and Mrs. Bowler and their antecedents are referred to in the later correspondence.
Note 7. Emily's return to "school".This referred to the School at Richmond.Before another year had elapsed, I was "Clifford".
Note 8. Mr. Bowler See Note 6.
Albert J. Allom, February, 1898. AUCKLAND

Papers Past NZ.
At the conversazione for the completion of the Cathedral, held at the Art Gallery last night, Bishop Julius read an unpublished letter from the late Mr Edward Gibbon Wakefield to the mother of Sister Francis. The letter ran as follows: "I am still bent on New Zealand, and think I shall surely go. Tell Charles (Torlesse) that we have reason to hope that a Bishop will be appointed. We project, therefore, not a wooden church merely, but a cathedral of stone, fitted as the chief religious edifice of the Polynesian Archipelago. He may smile, but I am in earnest
Star , Issue 6495, 26 May 1899, Page 4

Wikipedia have an indepth article on this complex man - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Gibbon_Wakefield

He is buried in a family plot in Wellington.
View of the grave of Edward Gibbon Wakefield in the Bolton Street Memorial Park, Wellington, New Zealand, looking east over the grave (E.G. Wakefield's grave is on the bottom left). The grave is one of four in a family plot, with others for his brothers William and Daniel Wakefield, and Daniel's daughter, Selina Elizabeth Wakefield.
The inscription reads: EDWARD GIBBON WAKEFIELD DIED MAY 16TH 1862 AGED 66 YEARS / A FOUNDER OF THE COLONIES OF NEW ZEALAND AND SOUTH AUSTRALIA / AUTHOR OF THE SYSTEM OF COLONISATION WHICH BEARS HIS NAME / PERSONAL ADVISOR TO LORD DURHAM, GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF CANADA, 1838. / ELECTED TO THE CANADIAN LOWER HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY IN 1842. / FOUNDED NEW ZEALAND ASSOCIATION AND NEW ZEALAND LAND COMPANY. / ORGANIZED PRELIMINARY EXPEDITION TO ESTABLISH SETTLEMENTS. / ARRIVED IN NEW ZEALAND IN 1853 AND ELECTED MEMBER / OF PROVINCIAL COUNCIL OF WELLINGTON AND OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY. / THE UTMOST HAPPINESS GOD VOUCHSAFES TO MAN ON EARTH - THE REALIZATION OF HIS OWN IDEA"
Courtesy of Sth Australian Library

  Research Notes:

Wikipedia - 2020
Edward Gibbon Wakefield (20 March 1796 \endash 16 May 1862)
Is considered a key figure in the establishment of the colonies of South Australia and New Zealand (where he later served as an MP). He also had some interests in Canada, being elected to Parliament but never taking up the seat.

He was best known for his colonisation scheme, sometimes referred to as the Wakefield scheme, which aimed to populate the new Province South Australia with a workable combination of labourers, tradespeople, artisans and capital. The scheme was to be financed by the sale of land to the capitalists who would thereby support the other classes of emigrants.
Despite being imprisoned for three years in 1827 for kidnapping a fifteen-year-old girl, he enjoyed a distinguished political career.
Early life
Wakefield was born in London in 1796, the eldest son of Edward Wakefield (1774\endash 1854), a distinguished surveyor and land agent, and Susanna Crush[1] (1767\endash 1816).[2] His grandmother, Priscilla Wakefield (1751\endash 1832), was a popular author for the young, and one of the introducers of savings banks.[3]

He was the brother of: Catherine Gurney Wakefield (1793\endash 1873), the mother of Charles Torlesse (1825\endash 1866); Daniel Bell Wakefield (1798\endash 1858); Arthur Wakefield (1799\endash 1843); William Hayward Wakefield (1801\endash 1848); John Howard Wakefield (1803\endash 1862); Felix Wakefield (1807\endash 1875)[2]; Priscilla Susannah Wakefield (1809\endash 1887); Percy Wakefield (1810\endash 1832); and an unnamed child born in 1813.

Wakefield was educated at Westminster School[3] in London, and Edinburgh. He served as a King's Messenger, carrying diplomatic mail all about Europe during the later stages of the Napoleonic Wars, both before and after the decisive Battle of Waterloo. In 1816, he eloped with a Miss Eliza Pattle and they were subsequently married in Edinburgh. It appears to have been a love match, but the fact that she was a wealthy heiress probably played a part, with Edward receiving a marriage settlement of £70,000 (almost US$7m in 2018 dollars),[4] with the prospect of more when Eliza turned twenty-one.[5]

The married couple, accompanied by the bride's mother and various servants, moved to Genoa, Italy, where Wakefield was again employed in a diplomatic capacity. Here his first child, Susan Priscilla Wakefield, known as Nina, was born in 1817. The household returned to London in 1820 and a second child, Edward Jerningham Wakefield, was born. Four days later Eliza died, and Edward resigned his post.[3] The two children were brought up by their aunt, Wakefield's older sister, Catherine.

Nina was suffering from tuberculosis, and Wakefield took his daughter to Lisbon in Portugal in the hope of recovery. He employed a young peasant girl, Leocadia de Oliveira, whom he later fostered, to help care for Nina, and after Nina's death in 1835, sent Leocadia on to Wellington, New Zealand, where she met John Taine and had 13 children.[6]

Although wealthy by contemporary standards, Wakefield was not satisfied. He wished to acquire an estate and enter Parliament, for which he lacked sufficient capital. He almost managed to wed another wealthy heiress in 1826 when he abducted 15-year-old Ellen Turner, after luring her from school with a false message about her mother's health. Wakefield was brought to trial for the case known as the Shrigley abduction in 1827 and, along with his brother William, sentenced to three years in Newgate prison;[7] the marriage, which had not been consummated, was dissolved by a special act of parliament.[3]

He then attempted to overturn his father-in-law's will and gain control of the remainder of Eliza's estate. Wakefield emerged from this endeavour unsuccessful and with a reputation tarnished by suspicions that he had resorted to forgery and perjury to strengthen his case.

He turned his attention while in prison to colonial subjects, and considered the main causes of the slow progress of the Australian colonies in the enormous size of the landed estates, the reckless manner in which land was given away, the absence of all systematic effort at colonisation, and the consequent discouragement of immigration and dearth of labour. He proposed to remedy this state of things by the sale of land in small quantities at a sufficient price, and the employment of the proceeds as a fund for promoting immigration. These views were expressed in his Letter from Sydney (1829), published while he was still in prison, but often quoted as if written on the spot.[3]

After his release Wakefield briefly turned his attention to social questions at home, and produced a tract on the Punishment of Death, with a graphic picture of the condemned sermon in Newgate, and another on the rural districts, with an equally powerful exhibition of the degraded condition of the agricultural labourer. He soon, however, became entirely engrossed with colonial affairs.[3]

South Australia
Further information: British colonisation of South Australia
In 1831, having impressed John Stuart Mill, Robert Torrens and other leading economists with the value of his ideas,[3] Wakefield became involved in various schemes to promote the colonisation of South Australia. He believed that many of the social problems in Britain were caused by overpopulation, and he saw emigration to the colonies as a useful safety valve. He set out to design a colonisation scheme with a workable combination of labourers, artisans and capital. The scheme was to be financed by the sale of land to the capitalists who would thereby support the other classes of emigrants.[8]

It took several attempts before the Province of South Australia established. Although initially Wakefield was a driving force, he found that as it came closer to fruition, he was allowed less and less influence, until he was frozen out almost completely, whereupon he took offence and severed his connections with the scheme. It was during this period that his daughter, Nina, died, and their time in Lisbon also meant that he was away from the scene of negotiations for several months.[citation needed]

Nonetheless, in 1839 John Hill named[9] the Wakefield River, a river north of Adelaide in South Australia after Wakefield, which later led to the naming of Port Wakefield. Wakefield Street, Adelaide, was also named after him by the street-naming committee.

America
However, he did not lose interest in colonisation as a tool for social engineering. In 1833 he published anonymously England and America, a work primarily intended to develop his own colonial theory, which is done in the appendix entitled "The Art of Colonization." The body of the work contains many new ideas, some of them reaching apparently extreme conclusions. It contains the distinct proposal that the transport of letters should be wholly free, and the prediction that, under given circumstances, the Americans would raise "cheaper corn than has ever yet been raised".[10]

New Zealand Association
Soon, a new project was under way, the New Zealand Association. In 1837 the Colonial Office gave the New Zealand Association a charter to promote settlement in New Zealand. However, they attached conditions that were unacceptable to the members of the Association. After considerable discussion, interest in the project waned. Wakefield was undoubtedly one of the most influential voices in the Association, but he discovered another interest, Canada.

Canada (first time)
The 1837 Rebellion in Lower Canada had been suppressed, but the colony was in turmoil. The Government of Lord Melbourne wanted to send John George Lambton, Lord Durham to settle the disputes. He and Wakefield had been working together closely on the New Zealand scheme, and he was a convert to Wakefield's colonial theories; the report embodied Wakefield's ideas, and he surreptitiously leaked it to The Times, to prevent the government from tampering with it.[11] Durham was only prepared to accept the task if Wakefield accompanied him as Commissioner of Crown Lands. However, they both knew that Wakefield would be completely unacceptable to the British government, so Durham planned to announce the appointment only after he had reached Canada. Wakefield and his son, Edward Jerningham Wakefield, sailed secretly for Canada in 1838, but before they arrived word had leaked out, and the appointment was forbidden by London. Despite this, Durham retained him as an unofficial representative, advisor and negotiator, giving him effectively the same powers he would have had if he been appointed.

Between them they successfully defused the situation and brought about the union of Upper and Lower Canada. Since Durham was ill for much of his time in Canada, a great deal of the credit for the success of his mission belongs to his advisers, Wakefield and Charles Buller. Clearly Wakefield had become a capable negotiator. Shortly afterwards political manoeuvring in London made Durham's position untenable, he resigned and they all returned to Britain.

Here Durham went into seclusion while he wrote and then presented to Parliament a report on his administration. Although their names are not mentioned it seems likely that report was written cooperatively by the three men, Durham, Buller and Wakefield. Eventually this report, and its conclusions, became a blueprint for development of British Colonial policy.

The New Zealand Company
The defunct New Zealand Association reformed itself as the New Zealand Company in June 1838. By the end of the year they had purchased a ship, the Tory. Early in 1839 they discovered that although they now complied with the conditions the government had laid down for the old New Zealand Association, it was not prepared to honour its promises. Furthermore, it was actively considering making New Zealand a British Colony in which case land sales would become a government monopoly.

At a meeting in March 1839, Wakefield was invited to become the director of the New Zealand Company. His philosophy was the same as when he planned his elopements: "Possess yourself of the Soil and you are Secure."

It was decided that the Tory would sail for New Zealand as soon as possible. His brother William was appointed the leader of the expedition with his son Jerningham as his nominal secretary. They had some difficulty finding a suitable captain for the Tory, but then found Edward Main Chaffers who had been sailing master on HMS Beagle during Fitzroy's circumnavigation. Dr. Ernst Dieffenbach was appointed as scientific officer, and Charles Heaphy as a draughtsman. The Tory left London on 5 May and called at Plymouth to complete the fitting out. Fearing a last-minute attempt by the government to prevent her sailing, Wakefield hastened down to Plymouth and advised their immediate departure. The Tory finally quit English shores on 12 May 1839 and reached New Zealand 96 days later.

Wakefield did not sail with the colonists, and many years were to pass before he saw New Zealand. He may have recognised that he did not have the patience, the skills or the talents needed on a frontier. His talents lay in visualising dramatic plans and grandiose schemes, ignoring the details, and then persuading other people to get involved. He was a salesman, a propagandist and a politician, secretly inspiring and guiding many parliamentary committees on colonial subjects, especially on the abolition of penal transportation.[11]

By the end of 1839, he had dispatched eight more ships to New Zealand, before he even knew of the success of the Tory expedition led by his brother William. He then recruited another brother, Arthur, to lead another expedition, this time to settle in the Nelson area at the top of the South Island. Charles Torlesse, the 16-year-old son of his elder sister Catherine, and Rev. Charles Martin Torlesse, rector of Stoke-by-Nayland in Suffolk, sailed with Arthur as a trainee surveyor. By now William's daughter, Emily, and his ward, Leocadia, were already in New Zealand. Two more of his brothers also went to New Zealand later, along with numerous nieces and nephews.

Canada (second time)
While active with the New Zealand Company, Wakefield had maintained his interest in Canadian affairs. He was involved with the North American Colonial Association of Ireland (NACAI). At his instigation, the NACAI were trying to purchase a large estate just outside Montreal where they wanted to establish another colonial settlement. Wakefield pushed the scheme with his usual energy; apparently, the government did not object in principle, but they strenuously objected to Wakefield having any part of it.

However, trusted or not by the politicians, Wakefield was involved in the scheme. The NACAI sent him back to Canada as their representative; he arrived in Montreal in January 1842 and stayed in Canada for about a year. At this stage, Canada was still coming to terms with the union of Upper and Lower Canada. There were serious differences between the French and English Canadians, with the English Canadians holding the political clout. Wakefield skilfully manipulated these differences; it was fairly easy for him to get the support of the French Canadians. By the end of that year he had got himself elected to the Canadian Parliament. Having been elected, he immediately returned to Britain and never took up his seat.

He returned to Canada in 1843 and spent some months there. However, when he heard of his brother Arthur's death at the Wairau Affray, he immediately quit Canada and never returned. This appears to be the end of his involvement with Canadian affairs, apart from being paid about £20,000 by the NACAI for his work in Canada.

Later life
Wakefield returned to England in early 1844 to find the New Zealand Company under serious attack from the Colonial Office. As usual he threw himself into the campaign to save his project. Then, in August 1844, he had a stroke, followed in later months by several other minor strokes, and he had to retire from the struggle. There is also a possibility that his mental health was not too sound in the succeeding months. His son Jerningham returned from New Zealand about this time and was on hand to care for him. In August 1845 he went to France to recuperate and to give himself a complete break from New Zealand affairs. However, it did not serve his purpose and he returned to London two months later in a semi-invalid state. During his convalescence he wrote his A View of the Art of Colonization, in the form of letters between a "Statesman" and a "Colonist".[12]

By January 1846 Wakefield was back to his scheming. By now Gladstone was Colonial Secretary. Wakefield approached him early in the New Year with a fairly radical plan that both the Government and the New Zealand Company should withdraw from New Zealand affairs and the colony should become self-governing. While it might have been a good idea, Wakefield wanted it accepted immediately, and became at first heated and then distressed when some months later, it was still being considered.

Then during August 1846 he had another, potentially fatal stroke.[13] His friend, Charles Buller took up the negotiations. In May 1847 the British Government agreed to take over the debts of the New Zealand Company and to buy out their interests in the Colony. The directors accepted the offer with alacrity. Wakefield found he was powerless and unable to influence the decision, which did not please him.

Then came another distraction. Without notice, his youngest brother Felix, who had been in Tasmania since the early 1830s, reappeared in England accompanied by eight of his children, having abandoned his wife and youngest child in Australia. Felix had no money and no prospects and was unable to provide for his family. Wakefield found him somewhere to live and farmed out the children among various relatives, but it was another year before his health was strong enough to take over the role of surrogate father, Felix being apparently unable to do anything for his family.

Meanwhile, Wakefield was getting involved in a new scheme. He was working with John Robert Godley to promote a new settlement in New Zealand, this one to be sponsored by the Church of England. This plan matured to become the Canterbury Settlement. The first ship sailed from England in December 1849 with Godley in command of the expedition. Jerningham Wakefield also sailed with them, his health and finances ruined by his dissipated lifestyle in London. The first immigrant ships bound for Canterbury sailed from Plymouth in September 1850, and others followed.

In the same year, Wakefield co-founded the Colonial Reform Society with Charles Adderley, a landowner and member of parliament for North Staffordshire.

Felix was causing problems back in Britain and causing Wakefield a great deal of grief. Felix decided that settlement in New Zealand was the solution to all his problems. Wakefield reluctantly sponsored his passage to Canterbury, where Felix was allocated 100 acres (0.40 km2) (40 hectares) of land near Sumner. He and six of his children arrived in Lyttelton in November 1851. A short time later one of other settlers described him as "the worst man we have in Canterbury".

During 1851 and 1852 Wakefield continued to work for the Canterbury Association and also worked towards making New Zealand a self-governing colony. The New Zealand Constitution Act was passed on 30 June 1852. There was general satisfaction among New Zealanders about this, although they were less happy to discover that the new government was to be saddled with the remaining debts of the defunct New Zealand Company.

Wakefield now decided that he had achieved everything he could in England; it was time to see the colony he felt he had created. He sailed from Plymouth in September 1852, knowing he would never return. His sister Catherine and her son Charley came to see him off. Then, at the last minute, his father appeared. Edward Wakefield was now 78 years old; he and Wakefield had not spoken since the Ellen Turner abduction 26 years before. However, they were reconciled, and the elder Edward died two years later.

Wakefield's niece, Alice Mary Wakefield, who had cared for him since his 1846 stroke, continued to look after him until his death in Wellington in 1862.

Wakefield in New Zealand

A bust of Wakefield from the 1897 book New Zealand rulers and statesmen from 1840 to 1897
The ship arrived at Port Lyttelton on 2 February 1853. Wakefield had travelled with Henry Sewell who had been deputy chairman and full-time manager of the Canterbury Association. It seems likely that he expected to be welcomed as a founding father of the colony; to be feted and immediately asked to assume the leadership of colony. However, colonisation had inevitably changed the perspectives of the people of Canterbury. Many of them felt they had been let down and cheated by the Association, and the two arrivals were firmly linked in their minds with the broken promises and disappointments of the Association.

James Edward FitzGerald, who was one of the leaders of Canterbury, and who was elected as Superintendent of the Canterbury Province a few months later (in July 1853),[14] declined to meet with Wakefield for some days and certainly was unwilling to relinquish control to someone he probably saw as a tainted politician from London.

Within a very short time Wakefield was completely disenchanted with Canterbury. He claimed the citizens were far too parochial in their outlook; they were far more concerned with domestic issues rather than national politics. Clearly they were not worthy of Edward Gibbon Wakefield and after only one month he left Canterbury and sailed for Wellington.

There was enough political ferment in Wellington to satisfy even Wakefield. Governor George Grey had just proclaimed self-government for New Zealand, but it was a watered down version, significantly less "self-government" than was described in the New Zealand Constitution Act of the year before. In his own way George Grey was every bit as unscrupulous as Wakefield, and he had very firm ideas on what was good for New Zealand. They were not necessarily bad ideas, but they were different from Wakefield's. It seems likely that even before they met both men knew they would clash.

When they arrived in Wellington, Wakefield declined to go ashore until he knew he was going to be properly received by the Governor. Grey promptly left town. Sewell went ashore and met with various dignitaries including Daniel Bell Wakefield, another of the brothers who had been in Wellington for some years practising law and was Attorney General of the Province. He also managed to get an address of welcome for Wakefield, written by Isaac Featherston and signed by many of the citizens.

Wakefield went on the attack almost as soon as he landed. He took issue with George Grey on his policy on land sales. Grey was in favour of selling land very cheaply to encourage the flow of settlers. Wakefield wanted to keep the price of land high so that the growth of the colony could be financed by land sales; it was a fundamental tenet of his colonial theory. He and Sewell applied for an injunction to prevent the Commissioner of Crown Lands selling any further lands under Governor Grey's regulations. The Crown Commissioner was Wakefield's second cousin, Francis Dillon Bell, early New Zealand really was a Wakefield family business.

Within a month of arriving in Wellington, Wakefield began a campaign in London to have him recalled not knowing he had already applied to leave the colony. Meanwhile, Grey was in control. He responded to the attacks on him by questioning Wakefield's integrity, always an easy target. Particularly he focussed on the generous fees that had been paid to Wakefield as a Director of the New Zealand Company at a time when it was reneging on its debts in New Zealand. This served to remind the people of Wellington just how badly they had been let down by the Company and how angry they felt about it. Wakefield managed to clear himself of the actual charges, but a great deal of dirt was thrown around.

Member of Parliament

Wakefield in around 1850\endash 1860
New Zealand Parliament
YearsTermElectorateParty
1853\endash 18551stHuttIndependent
Elections for the Provincial Councils and General Assembly, the national parliament, were scheduled for August 1853. Wakefield stood for the Hutt electorate, and to the surprise of some, and the disappointment of others, he was elected to both the Provincial Council and the General Assembly.

The first sitting of the Provincial Assembly was in October 1853. Wakefield was not only the senior member but also clearly the most experienced politically. However, the Assembly was controlled by the Constitutional Party led by Dr. Isaac Featherston and they had been heavily involved in the recent criticism of his integrity. Working in opposition, Wakefield probably made certain that the Provincial Assembly became a working democracy rather than a Constitutional Party oligarchy. His wide knowledge of parliamentary law and custom made certain that the body of the assembly could not be ignored by the ruling party.

Early in 1854 the town of Wellington held a Founder's Festival. Three hundred people attended including sixty Maori and all the Wakefields. The principal toast of the evening was to: "The original founders of the Colony and Mr. Edward Gibbon Wakefield." Whatever the vicissitudes of the last few months, it confirmed Wakefield as one of the leading political figures of colony, possibly the only one with stature to take on Governor Grey.

Responsible Government conflict
But, Grey was gone and Colonel Robert Wynyard was acting as Governor. Wynyard opened the 1st New Zealand Parliament on 27 May 1855. Wakefield and James Fitzgerald immediately began manoeuvring for positions of influence, with Wakefield moving a motion for Parliament to appoint its own responsible governments (Ministers of the Crown). Wakefield took a position supporting Wynyard, while FitzGerald took an opposite tack. The dispute over responsible government dragged on. As a compromise, on 7 June, Wynyard appointed James FitzGerald to the Executive Council. Wakefield was not asked to form a part of the ministry.

By July, FitzGerald was in serious conflict with Wynyard and resigned. Wakefield was summoned to form a government; he refused to do so. He said instead that he would advise Wynyard, so long as he acted on his advice alone. In effect he sought to turn Wynyard into his own puppet. However, he did not have a majority of supporters in the house, and the assembly was paralysed. It was prorogued by Wynyard on 17 August,[15] but he had to recall it again by the end of the month when he needed money to run the country. The new Ministry was composed mainly of Wakefield's supporters and it was soon clear that he was the de facto head of the ministry. However, they failed to survive an early vote of no confidence, and New Zealand's second government collapsed. FitzGerald and his team returned to office. In the remaining two weeks of the Assembly's life they managed to pass some useful legislation before they were dismissed and new elections called.

Wakefield's grave in the Bolton Street Cemetery in Wellington.
Wakefield began electioneering in grand style. He was always able to move people with his speeches. He held two election meetings for his constituents in the Hutt Valley, which were well received. A third meeting was scheduled but never happened. On the night of 5 December 1855, Wakefield fell ill with rheumatic fever and neuralgia. He retired to his house in Wellington. He retired from the Hutt seat on 15 September 1855 and retired from all political activity, making no more public appearances. He lived for another seven years, but his political life was over.[citation needed]

Edward Gibbon Wakefield died in Wellington on 16 May 1862.

Legacy
He is mentioned and criticised in Chapter 33 of Karl Marx's Das Kapital (Volume 1) and similarly in Henry George's How to Help the Unemployed.

By the turn of the twenty-first century, the direct descendants of the Wakefield family left in New Zealand were William Wakefield Lawrence Clague resident in Kapiti, and descendants of Edward's sister Catherine Gurney Wakefield who married Charles Torlesse. A great-great-nephew of William and Edward Gibbon Wakefield, William Clague, is the great-great-grandson of John Howard Wakefield, one of the original brothers. John Howard Wakefield spent most of his life in India, ending his days back in England unlike his two better-known siblings.[16]

The Wakefield River, a river north of Adelaide, was named after Wakefield in 1839.[17] This later led to the naming of Port Wakefield, and Wakefield Street, Adelaide, was also named after him by the street-naming committee.

Notes
1. Marriages and Deaths of Considerable Persons. 1791. p. 969.
2. Falkiner, Cæsar Litton (1899). "Wakefield, Edward (1774-1854)" . In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. 59. London: Smith, Elder & Co. sources: [Allibone's Dict. of Engl. Lit.; Edinburgh Review, xx. 346; Russell's Memoirs of Thomas Moore, iv. 129; Webb's Compendium of Irish Biography; Place MSS. Brit. Mus.; Edward Gibbon Wakefield, by Dr. R. Garnett, 1898.]
3. Garnett 1911, p. 248.
4. "Pounds Sterling to Dollars: Historical Conversion of Currency". uwyo.edu. Eric Nye/University of Wyoming.
5. Temple, Philip (2002). A sort of conscience: the Wakefields. Auckland: Auckland University Press. ISBN 978-1-86940-276-1.
6. Taine (nee de Oliveira), Leocadia. "Gravestone O'Neil's Point Cemetery". Retrieved 3 June 2018.
7. Fairburn, Miles. "Wakefield, Edward Gibbon". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
8. "Foundation of the Province". SA Memory. State Library of South Australia. 5 February 2015. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
9. Slee, M. A. (2015). John Hill c. 1810\endash 1860 : South Australia's discoverer of rivers. St Agnes, SA Unlock the Past. ISBN 9780994196002.
10. Wakefield, E.G. (1833). England and America: A Comparison of the Social and Political State of Both Nations. England and America. R. Bentley. p. 90. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
11. Garnett 1911, p. 249.
12. Wakefield, E.G. (1849). A View of the Art of Colonization: With Present Reference to the British Empire: in Letters Between a Statesman and a Colonist. J. W. Parker. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
13. Wakefield, Edward Gibbon (1796\endash 1862). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. 1. Oxford University Press. 28 November 2017. doi:10.1093/odnb/9780192683120.013.28415.
14. Wilson, John; Duncan Shaw-Brown (1991). Canterbury Provincial Council Buildings : Christchurch, New Zealand. Christchurch: Canterbury Regional Council. ISBN 978-1-86937-135-7.
15. Gavin McLean (2006), The Governors, Otago University Press, p. 50
16. Temple 2002.
17. Slee, M. A. (2015). John Hill c. 1810\endash 1860 : South Australia's discoverer of rivers. St Agnes, SA Unlock the Past. ISBN 9780994196002.
Bibliography
"Biography". Dictionnaire des parlementaires du Québec de 1792 à nos jours (in French). National Assembly of Quebec.
Ashby, Abby and Audrey Jones. The Shrigley Abduction by 2003
Burns, Patricia. Fatal Success: A History of the New Zealand Company (Heinemann Reed, 2002) ISBN 0-7900-0011-3
Churchill, Winston S. (1958). The Great Democracies. A History of the English-Speaking Peoples. 4.
Fairburn, Miles (1990): Edward Gibbon Wakefield biography
Fardy, Bernard D. William Epps Cormack, Newfoundland Pioneer 1985 ISBN 0-920021-15-8 page 46\endash 48 section describing The Wakefield Scheme.
Foster, Bernard John (1966):The Wakefield Myth in the 1966 Encyclopaedia of New Zealand
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Garnett, Richard (1911). "Wakefield, Edward Gibbon". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. 28 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 248\endash 249.
Henning, Jon "New Zealand: An Antipodean Exception to Master and Servant Rules," New Zealand Journal of History (2007) 41#1 pp 62\endash 82
Johnston, H.J.M. (1976): "Edward Gibbon Wakefield". Dictionary of Canadian Biography (online ed.). University of Toronto Press. 1979\endash 2016.
Morrell, William Parker (1966):"Wakefield, Edward Gibbon" in the 1966 Encyclopaedia of New Zealand
Olssen, Erik. "Mr. Wakefield and New Zealand as an Experiment in Post-Enlightenment Experimental Practice," New Zealand Journal of History (1997) 31#2 pp 197\endash 218.
Temple, Philip (2002). A sort of conscience: the Wakefields. Auckland: Auckland University Press. ISBN 978-1-86940-276-1.


COPIES OF LETTERS OF WAKEFIELD FAMILY
Wakefield family letters (with MY private notes therein) were sent to Dr. Garnett, British Museum, London, by 'Frisco Mail, 27 November, 1897.
Albert J. Allom.
Arthur Wakefield to Miss Wakefield 26 Sep. 1815*
Edward Gibbon Wakefield to his sister Mrs. Torlesse 11 Dec. 1835
Edward Jermingham Wakefield to same 11 Dec. 1835
E. G. Wakefield to Rev. Chas. Torlesse 12 May 1835 *
Captain Arthur Wakefield to the same 12 May 1837*
E. G. Wakefield to Mrs. Torlesse 12 Oct 1837
Col. William Wakefield to Mrs Torlesse. 25 Mar 1840*
E. G. Wakefield to Mrs. Torlesse 6 Oct 1840*
Captain Arthur Wakefield to same 15 Feb 1841*
The originals of these letters belong to Frances Torlesse of ChristChurch, Canterbury. They have been lent to me, and are now copied by me and forwarded to Dr. Garnett, who is now engaged in writing a biography
of E. G. Wakefield for a new Series to be published by
the Colonial Office.
Albert J. Allom,
Auckland, November 1897.
* Indicates letter transcribed into this record - 2012.

List of letters copied and sent to Dr. Garnett, British Museum, by 'Frisco Mail of December 1897, Nos. 29 to 35 inclusive.
Period: After E. G. Wakefield's arrival in New Zealand.
No. 29 E.G.W. to his sister 8 Feb. 1853
30 ditto 24 Mar. 1853
31 ditto 17 Apr. 1853
32 E.G.W. to Robert Rintoul (extr.) 17 Apr. 1853
33 E.G.W. to his sister 29 Apr 1853
34 Ditto 13 July 1853
35 Ditto 14 Jun 1853
Albert J. Allom,
Auckland, December 14 1897.

Notes on Letters No's 10 to 28 inclusive copies of which were forwarded to Dr. Garnett by Suez Mail from Auckland. 28 February, 1898.

No. 13 1841
Note 1.At this date (22 Oct. 1841) I was wind bound at Cowes, on my passage in the Barque "Brougham" carrying the Company's Surveying Staff to Wellington. We had sailed
from Gravesend on 2nd Oct., and had had weather in the Channel,compelling us to put in to Cowes. Something in one of my letters to my mother convinced her that we, ten
cadets, were not properly cared for. She at once posted off the Broad Street Buildings (N.Z. House) and through E. G.W's influence the Director gave her carte ,blanche to go to Cowes and put matters right. I was much astonished and pleased to see her. The result was much to our benefit. Carpenters were employed to improve our sleeping accommodation, a second servant was engaged to attend upon us in the cabin, sheep and pigs and poultry were added to our live stock, and crates containing additional supplies, with medical comforts were sent on board.I need not say how my ship-mates blessed my mother. While this was going on E.G.W. came down to have a look at us and carried me off to Southampton for a couple of days. We slept there in a double - bedded room, my corner of which in the mornings
contained what had been thrown at me during the night (in the shape of boot-jacks, etc.,etc.,) to stop my snoring. I went on board at Cowes, richer by a box of excellent Manilla Cheroots, given to me by E. G.W. which of course did not last many days with my brother cadets to help me get rid of them.
Note 2. E. G. W. was a master in the art of "persuading". He seldom failed if he could get the victim into conversation.
Note 3.E. Jermingham W. We went away with Col. Wakefield, but his father could not get him to come home. (This is not in its proper order)

No. 16 1842
Note 1. Emily Wakefield's arrival at Wellington, 3rd May. I had preceded her by three months, having arrived on 9th February, 1842.
Note 2.The "Clifford" carried my mother's hive of bees for Nelson in charge of Miss Wakefield. See E.J.Wakefield's "Adventures in New Zealand" Vol.2, page 197, published by
J. Murray, 1845. The hive of bees, therein stated to have been brought out by Mr. Wills in the "London" (1st May), and which died on the voyage, were sent in her charge by my mother for me.
Note 3. The loss of his clothes. It is curious that the
same mishap occurred to me in precisely the same manner, in
November, 1842.

No. 17, 1843
Note 1. William C Young. A brother of our mutual friend Sir Frederick Young, of the Royal Colonial Institute.

No. 19, 1843
Note 1.Col. Wakefield's account of the Wairau Massacre and of the death of his brother Capt. Wakefield. See also Edward J. Wakefield's account of this sad affair in his "Adventures
in New Zealand" Vol. 2, pp. 380 to 397. At page 396, mention is made of Mr. Bellairs, one of the Surveyors who escaped. That gentleman is personally known to me and is now living here opposite to my own house at Parnell, Auckland.He is a cousin of one whom I knew well in London,.Captain Bellairs, an of the Guard, the eldest son of a Norfolk Squire, Sir William Bellairs, of Mulbarton, Norwich.Sir. W. Bellairs was offered a Baronet if he would go out to Canterbury, with his family, in 1849 or 1850, as leader.But the matter fell through
because the old gentleman wanted the thing done before he emigrated.As to this, See "The Founder of Canterbury", edited by Edward Jermingham Wakefield - published at Ch.Ch.,
Canterbury, 1868 - preface p. xi, and pp. 180-278 &:c., &c.,
This book I send you herewith, but want. it returned; as it was given to me a little while ago, by Miss Torlesse of Ch. Ch. to whom you are indebted for these letters.

No. 20, 1843
Note 1.Mr. TucketThis was the Company's Chief Surveyor at Nelson.I first made his acquaintance at Otago when ordered there by Col. Wakefield with a brother cadet in 1844. Singularly enough, I took the same dislike to him that Charles Torlesse did, which was, I suppose, mainly owing to his abrupt manner, here referred to.
Note 2. Charles Torlesse's engagement with the Company would expire about October, 1844.

Note 3. "Tampered" It was this tampering with the natives that was the cause of this disaster at Wairau and of all subsequent troubles with the Maoris, far more than the alleged unfairness of Col. Wakefield's land purchases -- about which many unjust statements have been made.
Note 4. Capt. Fitzroy.The Governor who succeeded Captain Hobson.

No 27, 1847
Note 1.The "Inflexible".I think this was the first of H.M. ships of war that showed in N.Z, waters under steam.I recollect her well.
Note 2.Capt. Grey The Governor who succeeded Capt. Fitzroy. I rather fancy Grey must have been what is vulgarly termed "poking borax", in his conversation with the Col.He would not have known much personally of the Wakefield family. At that date he was only 35 years of age, and had been something like ten years more or less in Australia.He was one of the cleverest men at 'pumping' for information, and giving nothing in return, except perhaps something ambiguous, or purposely intended to be incorrect.
Note 3.Emily Stafford. She had been married about six months to E. Stafford, afterwards Prime Minister of N. Z. , and Sir Edward.
Note 4.E. G. W's illness.This refers to his serious attack in August, 1846.During a portion of' the time he was carefully nursed to convalesence by my mother, at our house in Hart Street, Bloomsbury.
Note 5.Col. Wakefield speaks of not having been before blessed with "calm nerves", and yet we know that in the War he used to go into action coolly smoking his cigar.
Note 6.By "Dodo", I presume is meant his brother Daniel, the barrister.

No 28 Qv 1847
Note 1. B. S. B. You have probably, before this, discovered that these letters mean New Zealand House, Broad Street Building London.
Note 2.The "project".This letter is an interesting one as first shadowing forth the coming Canterbury Settlement. In the "Founders of Canterbury", in which E. G. W's first published letter on the subject is dated 27 November, 1847.
Note 3.The Farewell Breakfast at Black^-wall on 20th July, 1850, to the Canterbury Colonists leaving in the first four ships (at which I was present with my mother) may be said to be the date at which the project was "matured".
Albert J. Allom,
February, 1898.
AUCKLAND
NEW ZEALAND.
Copy of transcriptions of some of the above held at the Nelson Museum 2012

  Other Records

1. Edward Gibbon Wakefield. Publicist and promoter of the New Zealand Company's colonisation plan for New Zealand, made his final home in Wellington, the first of the New Zealand Company settlements to be established. His tombstone, in the Bolton Street Cemetery, Wellington, reads:
"A founder of the colonies of New Zealand
and South Australia
author of the system of colonisation
which bears his name personal advisor to Lord Durham,
Governor-general of Canada 1838
elected to the Canadian lower house of assembly in 1842
Founded New Zealand Association
and New Zealand Land Company
Organized preliminary expedition
to establish settlements
Arrived in New Zealand in 1853
and elected member of provincial council
of Wellington and of general assembly.
The utmost happiness God vouchsafes to man
on earth, the realization of his own idea."
E.G.W.

2. Edward Gibbon Wakefield: Title to parcel of land, 6 Oct 1853, Lot 466 City of Wellington.

3. Edward Gibbon Wakefield: Administration of his estate, 1862, Wellington.
Edward died intestate his son Edward Jerningham Wakefield was granted Administration of his estate 12 August 1862, first having sworn the Estate Effects and Credits at under the value of £500.
A Bond of £100 being entered into to ensure that effect.

4. Edward Gibbon Wakefield: title to parcels of land, 5 Apr-18 Jul 1872, Lot 572 & 576 Wellington. Regret the poor quality image. This title available NZ Archives Wellington

5. Speech's by Walter Nash PM New Zealand: In Memory of Edward Gibbon Wakefield, Photo 1945, 18 May 1959.

6. Edward Gibbon Wakefield: Dictionary of National Biography, Volumes 1-22: Pgs 449 - 452.
Wakefield 449

WAKEFIELD, EDWARD GIBBON (1798-1882),
Colonial statesman, born in London on 20 March 1796, wan the eldest son of Edward Wakefield (q. v.], by his wife Susanna Crash, daughter of a farmer at Felstead, Essex. Daniel Wakefield [q.v.] was his uncle, and Priscilla Wakefield his grandmother. Be was named after his great-grand mother, Isabelle Gibbon, a distant relative of the historian. He was admitted to Westminster school on 18 Jan. 1808. He did not like the school, and, refusing to return in September 1810, was removed to Edinburgh high school. There also he showed signs of an intractable disposition, finally leaving in January 1812. In 1814 he entered the employment of William Hill, envoy to the court of Turin. In 1818 he made a run-away match with an heiress and ward in chancery, Elise Susan Pattie, the orphan daughter of a Canton merchant. He afterwards returned to Turin as secretary to the underseantary of the legation, and after his wife's death on 6 July 1820 he became connected with the Paris legation. In 18285 urged on by the persuasions of his friends in Paris, he made a foolhardy attempt to improve his prospects by a second marriage. On 7 March by a false message he beguiled from school Ellen Tuner, the daughter of William Turner of Shrigley, a wealthy Cheshire manufacturer, inducing her, by representing that her fathers fortune depended on her compliance, to go through a ceremony of marriage at Greta Green. He took the lady with him to Calais, but forbore to consummate the marriage; at Calais he was overtaken by his bride's enraged relatives, who induced her to leave him. Wakefield returned to England to share the fate of his accomplice, his brother William, who had already been arrested. They were both sentenced to three years' imprisonment. The question of the legality of the marriage was involved in so much doubt that it was cancelled by special act of parliament. Some two years after his release he published the result of his prison experience and reflections, 'Facts relating to the Punishment of Death in the Metropolis London, 1881, a book remarkable alike for its insight and its extraordinary power of portrayal. To his clear demonstration that punishment is deterrent according to its certainty, not according to its severity, the amelioration of English criminal law was largely due. The book reached a second edition in 1882.
The term of Wakefield's imprisonment, however, was more important as the period when, perhaps, deeming it desirable that he should quit the country for good, he began a careful study of colonial affairs. He studied exhaustively the subject of colonisation. He was surprised by the absence of any attempt to direct colonial enterprise on scientific principles. The depressed condition of the Australian colonies was chiefly due to the scarcity of labourers, which prevented the development of the country's resources, although plenty of capital was available on easy terms. Land could be acquired so easily that no one was willing to remain dependent. House or farm servants could only be obtained among convicts, who, besides being unfit for responsible positions, were too few in number to supply the demand adequately. Through the dispersal of the population as isolated proprietors of large holdings, the subdivision of industry necessary for the welfare and progress of a modern community was rendered impossible, and the colony sank at once into a state of economic barbarism. To remedy this condition of affairs, Wakefield proposed to hinder the immediate conversion of labourers into landed proprietors by abolishing free grants of agricultural land, and requiring in future the payment of a fixed sum per acre. He also proposed tax on the rental of grants to be employed in conveying labourers to the colony. Emigration was to be carefully regulated, the supply proportioned to the demand, and the number of emigrants of each sex kept equal. The price of new land should be fixed sufficiently low to enable each labourer to become by purchase a landed proprietor in four or five years. Be permitted free grants of pasture, for such land could only be used.by one who already possessed capital. He also insisted on the absolute necessity of a thorough scientific survey of the territory of the colony. These views Wakefield first enunciated in a popular form in 'A letter from Sydney' (London, 1829, 12mo), published under the name of Robert Gouger, afterwards colonial secretary in South Australia. It was so graphically written that no one doubted that it was the work of an actual emigrant. His views were restated in more scientific shape in a chapter on the "Art of Colonisation" in his 'England and America' (London, 1833, 2 vol. 8vo ; New York, 1834, 8vo), a disconnected work, with a vague title, devoted chiefly toconsidering the phenomena of capitol and labour, with disquisitions on other economic subjects. He finally elaborated his theories in 1849 in 'A View of the Art of Colonisation' (London, 8vo), in which, after long experience, he modified his first conclusions in some secondary details. Much of the widespread influence Wakefield's views attained was the to the steady support of Robert Stephen Rintoul (q.v.) who was always ready to publish in the Spectator 'Wakefield's opinions on any colonial question. Lieutenant-colonel Robert Torrens [q.v.] also, though at first not altogether friendly, afterward gave him important help.
In 1830 the views broached in the "Letter from Sydney' had their first practical fruits in the foundation of the National Colonizetion Society. A controversy with (Sir) Robert John Wilmot-Horton [q.v.] and with Torrens caused its temporary dissolution, but it was revived in 1887, and continued to exist at least as late as 1844.
In 1881, at the instance of the society, the English government abandoned the system of free grants of land in New SouthWales, exacting a payment of five shillings an acre a sum which Wakefield deemed insufficient and applying the purchase-money to defray the cost of transporting emigrants. In 1884, after Wakefield and Torrens, acting for the Colonization Society, had for some time beset the colonial office in vain, a powerful company was formed, under the title of the South Australian Association, with a view to founding a colony on Wakefield's principles. Among its members were Charles Buller (1808-1848) [q.v.], George Grote (q.v.) (Sir)William Molesworth [g.v.] Torrens and Henry George (afterwards Sir Henry George) Ward [q.v.] Wakefield was not ostensibly connected with the society, though in reality exercising a paramount influence. The Duke of Wellington became interested, and a bill establishing the colony was passed through parliament before the end of August. The act embodied Wakefield's two chief articles of faith the sale of land at a fixed price, and the application of the proceeds to an immigration fund. The introduction of convicts was forbidden, and self-government secured when the population should amount to fifty thousand. A landing was effected in July 1836, and a colony formally constituted in December. Although Wakefield had been the moving spirit in the earlier stages of the enterprise, he was not permitted to take a share in the actual direction of the colony. The administration was entrusted to commissioners appointed by the crown, and Wakefield was not included in the nomination. In 1838, on the appointment of Lord Durham as governor-general of the British colonies in North America after the suspension of the Canadian constitution Wakefleld accompanied him as an unofficial adviser. Durham afterwards bore the strongest testimony to his wisdom, declaring privately that he had never erred except when he rejected Wakefield's advice. Wakefield had a large share in drawing up. Durham's famous Report on the Affairs ot British North America,' which proposed to remedy the troubles in Canada by uniting the North American provinces and granting them full control of their internal affairs. The ministry hesitated to submit to parliament proposals of so bold a character, but on 8 Feb. its publicity was muted by Wakefield, who communicated it to the ' Times.'
His exact part in writing the report is uncertain, but he undoubtedly had a large share in the original conception. Wakefield twice returned to Canada, in December 1841 and in September 1848. In 1848 be took part in Canadian politics, both as a member of parliament and in the more important capacity of secret adviser to Sir Charles Theophilus Metcalfe [q.v.] Wakefield was the author of the noble character of Metcalfe, 'whom God made greater than the colonial office,' which appeared in 1844 under the title 'A View of Sir Charles Metcalf's Government of Canada' (London, 8vo), and also of the article ' Sir Charles Metcalfe in Canada; published in 'Fisher's Colonial Magazine,' July 1844. After the severance of his connection with South Australia, however, his remaining life was chiefly occupied with the foundation end guidance of the colony of New Zealand. In 1837 he formed the New Zealand Association, which comprised among its members Lord Durham, Francis Baring, Buller, Molesworth, And William (afterwards Sir William) Butt [q,v.], and which was intended to bring the questions of the annexation and colonisation of the Islands before the public and parliament. Under its auspices a body of intending settlers was formed. In 1838 a bill was introduced into parliament embodying the proposals of the association, but, failing to obtain the support of government,was thrown out in the commons. In October the matter was put in more precise shape by the formation of the New Zealand Colonization Company, formed principally of city men, with hardly any of the representatives of colonial reform. After much hindrance from the timidity of the colonial office and the opposition of the Church Missionary Society, which feared that an extensive influx of colonists would alienate native feeling, the New Zealand Land Company was formed in 1839 by the amalgamation of the Colonization Company, the Association,and an earlier company founded in 1826 with the support of William Huskisson They were unable to obtain the sanction of the government, and on 6 May the Tory sailed from London with the first detachment of settlers, without any distinct assurance of support. This decided action compelled the government to extend its authority over New Zealand, just in time to anticipate annexation on the part of France. Government, however, declined to cooperate with the New Zealand Company, and despatched Captain Hobson to New Zealand, placing him under the orders of the governor of New South Wales. Hobson proclaimed British sovereignty on 21 May 1840. While Wakefield's brother William controlled the operations of the colonists in New Zealand, Wakefield directed the New Zealand Company in London, fighting its battles with the colonial office and the missionary interest. Save for the comparatively brief interval in 1840 and 1841, when Lord John Russell held the secretaryship, the attitude of the colonial office was consiatently hostile. In February 1841 he won a legal status for the company by obtaining from Russell a charter of incorporation. Wakefield's labours in obtaining evidence for the parliamentary committees were especially important. In 1836 he gave evidence before one appointed to consider the question of granting colonial lands, which approved his views in their report. In 1837 the transportation committee condemned the system of transporting criminals to Australia, and recommended the institution of an immigration fund as an alternative method of providing labour. In 1840 the result of the inquiry into South Australian affairs was entirely favourable to the views he advanced in his evidence. In 1840 and 1844 he was examined before the two great New Zealand committees. His labours in the business of the company were unceasing. In 1846 he suocumbed to overwork. and on 18 Aug. was struck down with paralysis of the brain. On his partial recovery a year later he found that his influence in the company was gone, and that the management had passed into the hands of men who attached greater importance to financial success than the original promoters had done.
In January 1849 he resigned his directorship and joined Lord Lyttelton and John Robert Godley [q.v.] in founding the church of England settlement at Canterbury. In 1860 he joined Charles Bowyer Adderley (now Lord Norton) in forming the Colonial Reform Society and in 1852 he left England for New Zealand, landing at Port Lyttelton on 2 Feb. 1853. He threw himself at once into New Zealand politics, and rendered important services as adviser to the acting governor, Colonel Robert Henry Wynyard. The confidence of Wynyard, however, ruined his popularity with the legislature, and the excitement of conflict caused a complete breakdown in December 1864.
The rest of his life was passed in complete retirement, and he died at Wellington on 16 May 1862. By his wife, Eliza Susan Pattle, he had a son and a daughter, Susan Priscilla., who died before her father.
The importance of Wakefield's achievements in colonial matters can hardly be overestimated. The tangible fruits of his labours are the least part of their result, for all subsequent colonial development has followed the direction of his thought. He brought to the subject for the first time the mind of a philosopher and statesman, equally fitted for framing a comprehensive theory and for directing its working in practical detail The great flaw in his character was lack of scruple in selecting the means for attaining his ends. This imperfection of character brought about serious disaster in his private affairs, and in his public life it prevented even his most devoted supporters from giving him their implicit confidence. There is a portrait of Wakefield in the provincial hall at Christchurch, and a bust was placed in the colonial office in 1875. Another portrait engraved in 1826, is prefixed to Edward Wakefield's 'New Zealand after Fifty Years; 1897. Besides the works mentioned, Wakefield was author of:
1. Swing Unmasked, or the causes of Rural Incendiarism; London, 1831, 8vo.
2. 'The Hangman and the Judge; London,1833, 8vo.
3. Popular Politics London, 1837, 12 vo.
He also edited Adam Smith's 'Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations,' London,1835-9,
4 vols. 12mo, with a commentary.

Edward married Eliza Anne Frances PATTLE [1656] [MRIN: 544], daughter of Thomas Charles PATTLE [14568] and Eliza Anne Frances MIDDLETON [14569], on 27 Jul 1816 in Edinburgh SCT. (Eliza Anne Frances PATTLE [1656] was born in Nov 1799 in India, baptised on 25 Apr 1816 in St George Hanover Sq and died on 2 Jul 1820 in London.). The cause of her death was complications after the birth of her son Edward.

Edward next married Ellen TURNER [33380] [MRIN: 11925] on 8 Mar 1826 in Gretna Green Scotland. The marriage ended in annulment. (Ellen TURNER [33380] was born on 12 Feb 1811 in Blackburn LAN and died on 17 Jan 1831 in Lyme Park Disley LAN.)