STEVENS, EDWARD CEPHAS JOHN (1837-1915) was the youngest son of the Rev. W. E. Stevens, rector of Salford, Oxfordshire. Educated at Marlborough College (where he naturally became a cricketer), he proceeded to the Royal Agricultural College at Cirencester, where he obtained a thorough grounding in the staple industry of the country to which he was to come. At the age of 21 he sailed for New Zealand (Jun 1858) in the Zealandia (arriving at Lyttelton on 20 Sep). After spending a short period on the Peninsula, Stevens established himself in Christchurch as a land agent and the agent in New Zealand of a number of absentee landowners. Before long he joined R. J. S. Harman as Harman and Stevens. In Dec 1863 Stevens entered provincial politics (without entering the Council) by accepting office in the Tancred executive. He served almost throughout Bealey's superintendency. In Mar 1866 he was elected to the Council unopposed as member for Rakaia, but when Bealey retired two months later, Stevens severed his connection with provincial politics altogether. In Feb 1866 he had been returned without opposition as member of Parliament for Selwyn. A supporter of Weld, he came into Parliament when the separation of the two islands was a leading question. With his shrewd financial sense, he took a strong stand against it as tending to weaken the credit of the Colony. He went further and demanded the abolition of the provinces, the consolidation of provincial loans and the erection of true organs of local government in the form of county councils. In Jul 1869 he brought forward a motion with that object, but after debate an amendment proposed by Ormond was carried by 38 votes to 22, declaring that the time was inopportune to consider far-reaching constitutional changes. In 1869 Stevens married the widow of J. H. Whitcombe (q.v.).

Stevens had strong views on the tariff question, and at the general election in 1870 he stood as a free trader, opposing the grain duty. His opponent, Reeves, won the seat by a single vote. At the general election of 1875, Stevens was returned at the head of the poll for Christchurch City. His opinions were distinctly democratic. He supported the triennial parliament; he objected to the separation of the two islands; and after his re-election in 1879 he moved for the setting up of a committee to consider the best means of relieving the manufacturers of the Colony by reducing duties. His motion was carried with some amendment. Stevens took a great interest in hospitals and charitable aid, and supported the Hall Government's bill in 1880. Some years later he introduced a bill with a view to endowing hospitals and charitable aid with reserves of 1,000,000 acres of land. It passed the House of Representatives, but was defeated in the Council by 30 votes to 6. In 1882 Stevens was called to the Legislative Council, in which he sat until his death (on 6 Jun 1915). Though a life member himself, he supported the bill in 1885 by which it was proposed to limit the number of members of the Council and the duration of their office. He favoured votes for women, and supported measures for the protection of the property of married women and for the guardianship of infants. As a member of the ministry later, he moved to improve the method of dealing with neglected children. In 1887 he became a member without portfolio of the Atkinson ministry, in which he served until 1891. He took a lively interest in the affairs of the native race, especially in the South Island, and had an accurate knowledge of their land claims. In 1889 he was chairman of the joint committee on native affairs. In 1891 he proposed a new clause in a bill to allow holders of perpetual leases to acquire the freehold, but the lower house would not accept the amendment. He always opposed the compulsory acquisition of lands for settlement, but withdrew his opposition when the Liberal victory of 1893 indicated the feeling of the country. It was at the instance of Stevens that Vogel established the Public Trust office. Stevens was a man of culture, and delighted in English and French literature. His interest in art was lifelong. In 1863 he was a member of the committee for the establishment of the Art Society, of which he was president until his death. He was on the board of governors of Canterbury College (1875-93). In 1894 he was re-elected, and he retired in 1899. When Lincoln College was placed under an independent board (1897), Stevens was elected a member and he was chairman for some years. He was a director of the Christchurch Press Co., and succeeded George G. Stead as chairman. A keen horticulturist, Stevens was for many years chairman of the Horticultural Society. He was interested also in acclimatisation and helped to form the society. He also helped to found the Permanent Loan and Investment association, of which he was manager and afterwards a director, and took part in forming the Christchurch Gas Co., of which he was provisional secretary and afterwards secretary, till 1866.

No account of Stevens would be complete without mention of the part which he took in fostering cricket in Canterbury. In 1863, with J. H. Bennett, he arranged for the visit of the All-England team, for which object they raised £500 in one day. Both of them played in the match on 9 Feb 1864, when the English eleven defeated a Canterbury twenty-two by an innings and two runs. Sale and A. F. N. Blakiston also played. Stevens helped to inaugurate the Otago-Canterbury matches, and played in them until the end of the seventies. He again played against England in 1878, making top score for Canterbury. He played in the North Island with the Wanderers, and last wielded the bat for Canterbury against Wellington and Auckland in 1883. He was for many years president of the Canterbury Cricket association and chairman of the management committee for visiting tours. He was one of the promoters of Lancaster Park and an early director, and was for some years president of the New Zealand Athletic association.

Canterbury P.C. Proc.; N.Z.P.D., 25 Jun 1915; Gisborne; Reeves; Saunders; G.H. Scholefield (p); The Press, 23 Aug 1930 (p).

Portrait: Parliament House.

Reference: Volume 2, page 168

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