STAFFORD, SIR EDWARD WILLIAM (1819-1901) was born at Edinburgh, the eldest son of Berkeley Buckingham Stafford, of Maine, county Louth, Ireland, and Anne, daughter of Lieutenant-colonel Duff Tytler. (Burke gives 1820 as the date of birth.) His mother's cousin was Patrick Fraser Tytler, at whose home in Edinburgh Stafford formed friendships and entered a cultured circle which widened his intellectual horizon and had a lifelong influence upon him.

Educated at Trinity College, Dublin (where he was first in Greek at matriculation), Stafford lived a country gentleman's life in Ireland for some years, riding to hounds regularly and racing his own horses. Cutts, the trainer, is said to have declared Stafford to be the best jockey in New Zealand and unsurpassed as a judge of horses. He won his first steeplechase at the age of 14, and with his two brothers (including Hugh, who died at Nelson in 1880) he was chosen to represent the Louth hunt in a match against the best three of Westmeath. Stafford was adept also at boxing, swimming, long-distance running and long jumping. After hunting with the Louth for one season he visited Australia, where he bought, trained and rode the winner of a steeplechase, judged thoroughbred stallions at the first show in Victoria, and helped to lay out the old Flemington racecourse. In New Zealand Stafford won many races, Springbok being his most famous jumper and Queen Bee on the flat. He rode his mare Symphony to victory sixteen times, and won the Canterbury and Nelson Derbies with Strop and Opera. At the Canterbury meeting in 1862 (when he was 43) he won the Canterbury Cup on Ultima. On the second day, riding the same mare, he was beaten by Revoke, and on the third day he won two races in succession on Ultima.

Arriving in New Zealand just after the Wairau affray (1843) and settling in the province of Nelson, Stafford from the first took a prominent part in public affairs. With his relatives, the Tytlers, he took up land in that province and in Marlborough, and in 1844 he went to Tasmania and brought back sheep from Launceston. He made many journeys in Nelson and Canterbury provinces, and in 1847 accompanied Crawford and Clifford on a journey to the Wairarapa. Crawford was much impressed with his bump of locality. In 1846 he married Emily Charlotte (d. 1857), only daughter of Colonel W. H. Wakefield (q.v.). Stafford was active in the demand for self-government put forward by the Constitutional Association, and when the constitution was put into operation he was nominated for the superintendency of Nelson and elected on 1 Aug 1853. (Stafford 251; Saxton 206; Jollie 130). His administration of this office, without any precedent to follow, was unique. Under him Nelson observed forms and ceremonial for which few of the other provinces had any regard. He wore a cocked hat when opening the Council and sat covered to deliver his speech. For more than three years he directed the affairs of the province. In 1855 he resigned the superintendency to free himself from an undertaking not to stand for Parliament. He was re-elected unopposed on 29 Nov. Stafford had no experience at all of sitting in council, but with a revenue of less than £5,000 he accomplished an amazing amount of public works and made provision to educate every child in the province. Saunders pays a tribute to the efficiency and economy of his regime. The most noteworthy measures were the education ordinance (which was used as a model for other provinces and to some extent for the legislation of Parliament in the seventies), and a roads ordinance.

In 1855 Stafford was elected to represent the town of Nelson in Parliament, and he remained its member through various vicissitudes until 1868. His entry into Parliament presaged the close of his provincial career, for he became at once involved in the leadership of the House. When the new Parliament met on 7 May 1856 to put into operation the boon of responsible government, Sewell was invited to form a ministry. He asked Stafford to join him, but without success. Domett, Fox and Featherston also declined, and Sewell took office with Bell, Whitaker and Tancred. When he resigned a few weeks later Stafford refused to accept the responsibility of governing with an equally divided house, and Fox took office as a strong provincialist (20 May). The arrival of Travers, a new member who consistently voted against Fox, sealed his doom, and on 2 Jun Stafford became Premier. Carefully avoiding for the present the extremes of centralism and provincialism, using his facility with figures and finance prudently, Stafford soon drew to his side a working majority. Bound to some extent by the demands of territorial representation, he chose as his colleagues Sewell (Colonial Treasurer), Whitaker (Attorney-general), and C. W. Richmond (Colonial Secretary), with J. L. Campbell to represent the province of Auckland without portfolio. Stafford's knowledge of the world and of parliamentary experiments elsewhere was of great service. He was neither ambitious nor imaginative, but practical, solid and always active. The House, tired of party demonstrations, settled down to practical legislation and, led by a bevy of capable lawyers, compiled a very creditable statute book of 36 acts. Fox's series of resolutions, proposed on 14 May, under which the provinces were to retain two-thirds of their customs revenue, was for the time allowed to stand, and the financing of the government and the provinces was further provided for in Stafford's loan proposals, which involved the borrowing of £500,000 in England for a term of 30 years and a further £100,000 for immediate purposes, the provinces agreeing to share the responsibility for the loans. The customs act in general taxed luxuries and left free such imports as were necessary for development of the country or were difficult to assess. This done, the Treasurer (Sewell) left for England to raise the money, Richmond succeeding him at the Treasury, while Stafford became Colonial Secretary. He finally resigned the superintendency of Nelson in Oct 1856. In the session of 1858 Parliament considered 88 bills, most of which passed. The absence of almost half the members, through abstention of the southern provinces, enabled Stafford to carry his business with some despatch through an attenuated House which was little more than a committee.

Cycl. NZ, i (p); Cox; Arnold; Bowen; Col. Gent; D.N.B.; The Times, 15 Feb 1901; N.Z. Times, 21 Aug 1875, Mar 1901; The Press, 16 Feb 1901; Lyttelton Times, 2 Apr 1874, 16 Feb 1901; N.Z. Herald, 30 Mar 1901; The Sportsman, Feb 1901.

Reference: Volume 2, page 163

🌳 Further sources