William Ferguson Massey | |
|---|---|
 Massey in 1919 | |
| 19thPrime Minister of New Zealand | |
| In office 10 July 1912 – 10 May 1925 | |
| Monarch | George V |
| Governors‑General | John Dickson-Poynder Arthur Foljambe John Jellicoe Charles Fergusson |
| Preceded by | Thomas Mackenzie |
| Succeeded by | Sir Francis Bell |
| 5thLeader of the Opposition | |
| In office 11 September 1903 – 10 July 1912 | |
| Deputy | James Allen |
| Preceded by | William Russell |
| Succeeded by | Joseph Ward |
| Member of theNew Zealand Parliament forFranklin | |
| In office 4 December 1896 – 10 May 1925 | |
| Preceded by | Benjamin Harris |
| Succeeded by | Ewen McLennan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1856-03-26)26 March 1856 Limavady,County Londonderry, Ireland, UK |
| Died | 10 May 1925(1925-05-10) (aged 69) Wellington, New Zealand |
| Political party | Reform (from 1909) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 7, includingWalter andJack |
| Relatives | Stan Goosman (nephew) |
William Ferguson MasseyPC (26 March 1856 – 10 May 1925) was a politician who served as the 19thprime minister of New Zealand from May 1912 to May 1925. He was the founding leader of theReform Party, New Zealand's second organised political party, from 1909 until his death.
Massey was born inCounty Londonderry in Ireland. After migrating to New Zealand in 1870, Massey farmed nearAuckland (earning his later nickname,Farmer Bill) and assumed leadership in farmers' organisations. He entered parliament in 1894 as aconservative, and from 1894 to 1912 was a leader of the conservative opposition to theLiberal ministries ofRichard Seddon andJoseph Ward. Massey became the first Reform Party Prime Minister after he led a successfulmotion of no confidence against the Liberal government. Throughout his political career Massey was known for the particular support he showed foragrarian interests, as well as his opposition toorganised labour. He pledged New Zealand's support for Britain during theFirst World War.
Massey led his Reform Party through four elections, although only the1919 election was a decisive victory over all other parties. Following increasingly poor health in his fourth term, Massey died in office. After Richard Seddon, he is the second-longest-serving Prime Minister of New Zealand.
Massey was born in 1856 into a Protestant farming family, and grew up inLimavady,County Londonderry, Ireland. His father John Massey and his mother Marianne (or Mary Anne, née Ferguson) were tenant farmers who also owned a small property. His family arrived in New Zealand on 21 October 1862 on board theIndian Empire[1] as Nonconformist settlers,[2] although Massey remained in Ireland for a further eight years to complete his education. He resided for a time with his grandmother Elizabeth Ferguson (née Barnett) at her home at Kennaught, Limavady, attending Limavady National School. Subsequently Massey went to live with his uncle Matthew Ferguson at Sheephill,Ballykelly and from there he went to school inDerry.[3] After arriving on 10 December 1870 on theCity of Auckland, Massey worked as a farmhand for some years before acquiring his own farm inMāngere,South Auckland, in 1876.[4] In 1882 he married his neighbour's daughter,Christina Allan Paul. They had seven children.[5]
Massey gradually became more prominent in his community. This was partly due to his civic involvement in the school board, the debating society and farming associations. Because of his prominence in these circles, he became involved in political debate, working on behalf of rural conservatives against theLiberal Party government ofJohn Ballance.[citation needed] Massey was a member of theOrange Order,Oddfellows, andFreemasons,[6] and espousedBritish Israelite ideas.[7]
In1893 Massey stood as a candidate in the general election in theFranklin electorate, losing to theLiberal candidate,Benjamin Harris.[5] In early 1894 he was invited to contest aby-election in the neighbouring electorate ofWaitemata, and was victorious. In the1896 election he stood for theFranklin electorate, which he represented until he died in 1925.[8]
| Years | Term | Electorate | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1894–1896 | 12th | Waitemata | Conservative | ||
| 1896–1899 | 13th | Franklin | Conservative | ||
| 1899–1902 | 14th | Franklin | Conservative | ||
| 1902–1905 | 15th | Franklin | Conservative | ||
| 1905–1908 | 16th | Franklin | Conservative | ||
| 1908–1909 | 17th | Franklin | Conservative | ||
| 1909–1911 | Changed allegiance to: | Reform | |||
| 1911–1914 | 18th | Franklin | Reform | ||
| 1914–1919 | 19th | Franklin | Reform | ||
| 1919–1922 | 20th | Franklin | Reform | ||
| 1922–1925 | 21st | Franklin | Reform | ||
Massey joined the ranks of the (mostly conservative) independent MPs opposing the Liberal Party, led byRichard Seddon. They were poorly organised and dispirited, and had little chance of unseating theLiberals.William Russell, theLeader of the Opposition, was able to command only 15 votes. Massey brought increased vigour to the conservative faction and became oppositionwhip.[9]
By June 1900, following a heavy defeat at the1899 general election, the opposition strength fell considerably. The conservative MPs could not agree on a new leader after holding their first caucus of the session. For over two years the conservatives were virtually leaderless and many despaired of ever toppling the Liberal Party. Massey, as chief whip, informally filled the role as leader and eventually succeeded Russell as Leader of the Opposition formally in September 1903.[10]
As leader, the conservatives rallied for a time, though support for the Liberals increased markedly during theSecond Boer War, leaving the conservatives devastated at the1902 general election. Massey's political career survived the period: despite a challenge byWilliam Herries, he remained the most prominent opponent to the Liberal Party.[5]
After Seddon's death the Liberals were led byJoseph Ward, who proved more vulnerable to Massey's attacks. In particular, Massey made gains by claiming that alleged corruption and cronyism within the civil service was ignored or abetted by the Liberal government. His conservative politics also benefited him when voters grew concerned about militantunionism and the supposed threat of socialism.[5]
In February 1909,[11] Massey announced the creation of theReform Party from his New Zealand Political Reform League. The party was to be led by him and backed by his conservative colleagues.
In the1911 election the Reform Party won more seats than the Liberal Party but did not gain an absolute majority. The Liberals, relying on support from independents who had not joined Reform, were able to stay in power until the following year, when they lost a vote of confidence.
Massey was sworn in asprime minister on 10 July 1912. Two days later it was reported in the press on 12 July that he had accepted the appointment of Honorary Commandant of the Auckland District of the Legion of Frontiersmen. Some members of the Reform Party grew increasingly frustrated at Massey's dominance of the party. He earned the enmity of many workers with his harsh response tominers' andwaterfront workers' strikes in 1912 and 1913. The use of force to deal with the strikers made Massey an object of hatred for the emerging left-wing, but conservatives (many of whom believed that the unions were controlled by the far left) generally supported him, saying that his methods were necessary. His association with the Legion of Frontiersmen assisted him greatly during this period as a number of mounted units, including Levin Troop, rode to Wellington in mufti and assisted as Special Constables. In the Levin Troop was a youngBernard Freyberg, who would shortly earn the Victoria Cross near Beaumont Hamel.
Amongst the first Acts enacted by Massey's government was one that "enabled some 13,000 Crown tenants to purchase their own farms."[12]
All we are and all we have is at the disposal of the British Government.
— Cable from Massey to the British Government, 1914[12]
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The outbreak of theFirst World War diverted attention from these matters. The1914 election left Massey and his political opponents stalemated in parliament, with neither side possessing enough support to govern effectively. Massey reluctantly invitedJoseph Ward of theLiberals to form a war-time coalition, created in 1915. While Massey remained prime minister, Ward gainedde facto status as joint leader. Massey and Ward travelled to Britain several times, both during and after the war, to discuss military co-operation and peace settlements. During his first visit, Massey visited New Zealand troops, listening to their complaints sympathetically. This angered some officials, who believed that Massey undermined the military leadership by conceding (in contrast to the official line) that conditions for the troops were unsatisfactory. The war reinforced Massey's strong belief in the British Empire and New Zealand's links with it. He attended theParis Peace Conference in 1919 and signed theTreaty of Versailles on behalf of New Zealand.[13] Although turning down knighthoods and a peerage, he accepted appointment as a Grand Officer of theOrder of the Crown (Belgium) from the King of Belgium in March 1921 and a Grand Officer of theLegion of Honour by the President of France in October 1921.[14]
Massey has also been criticised for his policies regardingphosphate mining inNauru, with Massey University scholar Matt Wynyard claiming he was "behind its utter devastation".[15]
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Partly because of the difficulty in obtaining consensus to implement meaningful policies, the coalition government had grown increasingly unpopular by the end of the war. Massey was particularly worried by the rise of theLabour Party, which was growing increasingly influential. Massey also found himself fighting off criticism from within his own party, including charges that he was ignoring rural concerns. He dissolved the coalition in 1919, and fought both theLiberals andLabour on a platform of patriotism, stability, support for farmers, and a public works program. He successfully gained a majority.
The Immigration Restriction Amendment Act of 1920 aimed to further limit Asian immigration into New Zealand by requiring all potential immigrants not of British or Irish parentage to apply in writing for a permit to enter the country. The Minister of Customs had the discretion to determine whether any applicant was "suitable." Prime Minister William Massey asserted that the act was "the result of a deep seated sentiment on the part of a huge majority of the people of this country that this Dominion shall be what is often called a 'white' New Zealand."[16]
According to New Zealand historian Tony Wilson, Massey was known for his anti-Bolshevik and anti-Soviet sentiments. He disliked domestic socialist elements like the "Red Feds", the predecessor to theNew Zealand Federation of Labour, and theNew Zealand Labour Party. As Prime Minister, Massey was opposed to Communist influence. He regarded theRed Terror (1919–20) in theSoviet Union, which followed theBolshevik Revolution in 1917, as proof of the "inherently oppressive orientation" of socialism. In response to the Red Scare the government passed the War Regulations Continuance Act, which continued wartime emergency regulations including censorship. This led to a ban on Communist-oriented literature, which continued to 1935.[17]
Economic problems lessened support for Reform. In the1922 election Massey lost his majority, and was forced to negotiate with independents to keep his government alive. He was also alarmed by the success of Labour, which was now only five seats behind the Liberals. He began to believe that the Liberals would eventually disappear, with their supporters being split, the socially liberal wing to Labour and the economically liberal wing to Reform. He set about trying to ensure that Reform's gain would be the greater.
In 1924 cancer forced him to relinquish many of his official duties, and the following year he died. TheMassey Memorial was erected as hismausoleum in Wellington, paid for mostly by public subscription.Massey University is named after him, the name chosen because the university had a focus onagricultural science, matching Massey's own farming background.[5]
His widow,Christina, was awarded theGBE in 1926, one year after his death.[18]
Two of his sons became Reform MPs:Jack (1885–1964), who represented his father'sFranklin electorate from 1928 to 1935, and from 1938 to 1957 for National; andWalter William (1882–1959), who representedHauraki from 1931 to 1935.
His son Frank George Massey (1887–1975) enlisted in World War I, and transferred to theBritish Expeditionary Force where he commanded a battalion as a Major.[19]
Massey's British Israelite philosophy was extreme, not to say eccentric[...].
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)| Government offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of New Zealand 1912–1925 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Minister of Railways 1919–1922 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of Police 1919–1920 | Succeeded by |
| New Zealand Parliament | ||
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament for Waitemata 1894–1896 | Succeeded by Richard Monk |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament for Franklin 1896–1925 | Succeeded by |
