Hugh Francis Carleton (3 July 1810 – 14 July 1890) was a New Zealand journalist and politician. He was New Zealand's first member of parliament.

Early life

Carleton was born in 1810. He was the son of Francis Carleton (1780–1870) and Charlotte Margaretta Molyneux-Montgomerie (d. 1874).

Hugh Carleton, 1st Viscount Carleton Hugh Carleton MRIA, 1st Viscount Carleton, PC (I), SL (11 September 1739 – 25 February 1826) was an Irish politician and judge. Early life Carleton was possibly born in Cork city, son of Francis Carleton (1713–1791) and Rebecca (d.1791 ...

was the brother of his grandfather, John Carleton. His family was living in Clare,

County Tipperary County Tipperary () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary (tow ...

and then Greenfield,

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

, Ireland. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

. He studied law in London, then art in Italy.

Life in New Zealand

Carleton settled in the

Bay of Islands The Bay of Islands is an area on the east coast of the Far North District of the North Island of New Zealand. It is one of the most popular fishing, sailing and tourist destinations in the country, and has been renowned internationally for ...

in 1842. On 30 November 1859, he married Lydia Jane Williams, youngest daughter of the missionary

Henry Williams Henry Williams may refer to: Politicians * Henry Williams (activist) (born 2000), chief of staff of the Mike Gravel 2020 presidential campaign * Henry Williams (MP for Northamptonshire) (died 1558), member of parliament (MP) for Northamptonshire ...

and

Marianne Williams Marianne Williams, together with her sister-in-law Jane Williams, was a pioneering educator in New Zealand. They established schools for Māori children and adults as well as educating the children of the Church Missionary Society (CMS) in the ...

; they had no children.

Journalism career

Carleton became a journalist in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

and edited the ''New Zealander'' then established the ''Anglo-Maori Warder'', which followed an editorial policy in opposition to Governor

George Grey Sir George Grey, KCB (14 April 1812 – 19 September 1898) was a British soldier, explorer, colonial administrator and writer. He served in a succession of governing positions: Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, Gov ...

. In 1856 he became the editor of the ''Southern Cross''.

Political career

Carleton was a member of New Zealand's

first First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

second The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...

third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (di ...

, and fourth Parliaments, representing the electorate from 1853 to 1870, when he was defeated. Owing to the system of staggering used in the first general election, Carleton was actually the first MP ever elected in New Zealand (though he was elected unopposed), hence he liked to be called the

Father of the House Father of the House is a title that has been traditionally bestowed, unofficially, on certain members of some legislatures, most notably the House of Commons in the United Kingdom. In some legislatures the title refers to the longest continuously ...

. Carleton was the second Chairman of Committees, succeeding Frederick Merriman on 17 April 1856, i.e. just after the opening of the first session of the 2nd Parliament. He remained Chairman of Committees until he left Parliament in 1870. He had a strong interest in parliamentary procedure, and unsuccessfully lobbied for the position of

Speaker Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...

. He is known for his unsuccessful campaign against the availability of alcoholic beverages at Bellamy's, the parliamentary restaurant. He was also a critic of the idea that all voting districts should contain the same number of voters, saying that this system gave "a preponderating control" of the political world to one specific class. He was described as "scholarly" by his allies and "pedantic" by his critics.

Later life in England

Carleton returned to England and spent the last ten years of his life there. He died at

Lewisham Lewisham ( ) is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified in ...

, Surrey, England, on 14 July 1890. His wife, Lydia, died in Napier, New Zealand, on 28 November 1891.

Publications

* (1874) – ''The life of Henry Williams, Archdeacon of Waimate''. Auckland NZ.
Online available
from

Early New Zealand Books Early New Zealand Books (ENZB) is a project from the library of the University of Auckland, New Zealand, launched in 2005, that aims at providing keyword-searchable text of significant books published about New Zealand in the first two-thirds o ...

(ENZB).

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Carleton, Hugh 1810 births 1890 deaths Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Unsuccessful candidates in the 1871 New Zealand general election New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates People educated at Eton College Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Irish emigrants to New Zealand New Zealand editors New Zealand magazine editors New Zealand journalists 19th-century New Zealand politicians Williams family (New Zealand)