Major Francis Eastwood Campbell (1823 – 27 September 1911) was the second Clerk of the New Zealand House of Representatives ("Clerk of the House"), serving for 35 years from 1854. An unusual aspect of Campbell's tenure as Clerk of the House was that for the last 21 years that he held this office he also served as the Clerk of Parliaments, an office traditionally reserved for the clerk of the upper house in a Westminster parliamentary system.
He was the son of Lieutenant Colonel James Campbell, Commissioner of Crown Lands in Canterbury from 1851 to 1853.The Early Canterbury Runs, 1946, LDG Acland, page 131
Family and arrival in New Zealand Campbell and his father James Campbell were members of the Society of Canterbury Colonists that was formed in London on 25 April 1850 "for the purpose of making suggestions and expressing the opinions of the Colonists upon matters relating to the welfare of the proposed Colony"Minute Book of the Society of Canterbury Colonists, April 1850 to December 1851, pages 2,3 and 17 in Canterbury New Zealand.
Campbell arrived in Auckland from London on the ship Victory on or about 1 February 1851.Daily Southern Cross, 4 February 1851, page 2 He was accompanied on the voyage by his parents (Lieutenant Colonel James and Lady Campbell), his sister (Blanche Emily, who later married AG AndersonOtago Witness, 4 May 1851, page 4 and whose daughter was Dame Adelaide Mary AndersonScrapbooks of Dame Adelaide Anderson, The Women's Library, London School of Economics) and a servant.New Zealander, 5 February 1851, page 2
On 26 July 1860 Campbell married Elizabeth ("Eliza") Susan Downing, daughter of Irwin Downing, in Auckland.Daily Southern Cross, 31 July 1860, page 2New Zealander, 1 August 1860, page 5 Elizabeth died on 13 February 1908 and is buried at Feilding Cemetery.
In 1885 the Campbells' only surviving child, daughter Jessie Mary, married Arthur Hylton Brisco, son of Sir Robert Brisco the 3rd Brisco Baronet of Crofton Place.The Peerage, page 17817 Campbell's oldest grandson Sir Hylton Musgrave Campbell Brisco became the 7th Brisco Baronet.Dod's peerage, baronetage and knightage of Great Britain and Ireland, 1915, page 105Debrett's peerage, baronetage, knightage, and companionage, 1893, page 67 Arthur Hylton Brisco died, aged 79, on 27 January 1927Evening Post, 20 January 1927, page 11New Zealand Herald, 27 January 1927, page 12 and Jessie Mary died on 24 October 1932.New Zealand Herald, 26 October 1932, page 14
Military career
Campbell joined the British army in 1842, at 19 years of age, and attained the rank of 2nd Lieutenant on 16 April 1842; Lieutenant on 29 March 1844; and captain (without purchasing a commission) on 24 July 1849.The New Annual Army List for 1850, Major HG Hart, page 174 He is known to have served with the Royal Welch Fusiliers (23rd Regiment of Foot) in Montreal in 1850.Items K.69.49.1-8 held by the Southland Museum and Art Gallery At 26 years old he was reported to be the youngest captain to hold that rank in the Royal Welch Fusiliers. He sold his commissionThe New Annual Army List for 1851, Major HG Hart, page 549 and retired from the British army at the age of 28 to come to New Zealand in 1851.Dictionary of New Zealand Biography 1940, volume 1, Editor Guy Scholefield, page 134
Campbell was commissioned by Governor Thomas Gore Browne as a captain in the Auckland Battalion of the New Zealand Militia with effect from 3 December 1856.NZ Government Gazette, 10 January 1857, page 2Daily Southern Cross, 13 January 1857, page 2New Zealander, 14 January 1857, page 1
Campbell's commission as a captain and adjutant with the No. 1 Company of the 1st Battalion of the Auckland Regiment of the New Zealand Militia was promulgated with effect from 26 April 1860.NZ Gazette, 30 April 1860, page 81New Zealander, 2 May 1860, page 6Daily Southern Cross, 1 May 1860, pages 2&3 As battalion adjutant Campbell regularly issued instructions to militiamen via newspaper advertisements in the Daily Southern Cross and New Zealander.Eg: Daily Southern Cross, 29 May 1860, page 2 As adjutant he also prosecuted, under the Militia Act 1858, militiamen who were absent without leave from drill or service.Daily Southern Cross, 19 June 1860, page 2New Zealander, 18 May 1861, page 3
Campbell resigned from 1st Battalion of the Auckland Regiment in early 1862NZ Gazette, 7 February 1862, page 90 and was appointed captain with the newly formed Royal Company of Auckland Rifle Volunteers with effect from 1 March 1862.NZ Gazette, 23 April 1862, page 163New Zealander, 26 April 1862, page 6New Zealander, 8 March 1862, page 6
Campbell resigned from the Auckland Rifle Volunteers in late 1862NZ Gazette, No 41, 6 December 1862, page 356Daily Southern Cross, 10 December 1862, page 3 (possibly due to the birth in August 1862 of his first child, a son,New Zealander, 30 August 1862, page 3 who did not survive) and was reappointed, with the Rank of Major, with effect from 23 June 1863.NZ Gazette, No 24, 25 June 1863, page 242New Zealander, 27 June 1863, page 7 With two Lieutenant Colonels Theodore Haultain and HM Nation, Major Campbell was appointed as the third member of the Board of Exemption established to hear applications from men seeking exemption from militia service.New Zealander, 1 September 1863, page 1
Campbell continued to be the senior officer of the Auckland Rifle VolunteersNew Zealander, 13 January 1865, page 5New Zealander, 7 March 1865, page 6 until he resigned on 27 May 1865Auckland Libraries, New Zealand Militia, Volunteers and Armed Constabulary 1863 - 1871 databaseNZ Gazette, No 19, 7 June 1865, page 175 to move to Wellington when Parliament relocated from Auckland. In announcing Campbell's resignation the New Zealand Herald wrote: "During the late war in this province the Auckland Rifle Volunteers did their share and more than their share of the duty which made every man at that time a soldier. To the exertions of the major commanding was due in great measure the efficiency of the corps which distinguished itself on more than one occasion".New Zealand Herald, 21 June 1865, page 4
In a 1908 letter to the Manawatu Standard, Campbell wrote an account of a battle that took place near Tuakau in September 1863, while he was commander of the Auckland Rifle Volunteers.Manawatu standard, 12 June 1908, page 5
Civilian and Parliamentary career On 29 December 1851 Campbell applied for a sheep and cattle run on Crown land on the Wai-au Ua Plains in Canterbury.Lyttelton Times, 17 January 1852, page 2
However it appears unlikely that Campbell actually farmed in Canterbury because on 24 June 1853 he was appointed Chief Clerk of the Office of the Auditor General in Auckland.Blue Book of Statistics 1854, IA12/15 page 112
The Administrator of the Government Robert Wynyard appointed Campbell as Clerk of the House on 10 July 1854, following the untimely death of James Coates five weeks after the House's first sitting.Notice of appointment, NZ Government Gazette, No 17, 2 August 1854, page 85 Votes and Proceedings of the House of Representatives, 11 July 1854Blue Book of Statistics 1854, IA12/15 page 116
In 1856 the Wellington Independent newspaper, in a series of articles about the General Assembly, described Campbell and his work as Clerk of the House: "The Clerk in suit of solemn black and scarlet stockings, sits immediately under the Speaker's chair, at the head of the long table which runs through the center of the House for a third of its length. Charged with the whole of the documentary business of the House, he revels in red tape and pigeon holes, and ought to have (we have no doubt: Mr Campbell has) the organs of order and memory enormously developed. His business in the House consists in taking accurate minutes of the proceedings, recording divisions, reading documents, etc. But independently of this he has his hands full of office work connected with reports of committees, summoning committee men, printing orders of the day, and so forth. Nor do his labours cease with the session. The preparation of the blue books [containing the proceedings of the House], the publication of the Acts, and other multifarious business is his; and very well he earns his salary before he gets it. During the session he has an Assistant Clerk [Alexander S. Martin, of whom Campbell complained to the Colonial Secretary about his "continued non-attendance... caused by his having abandoned himself to habits of intemperance"Campbell letter to Andrew Sinclair of 18 October 1855, Archives NZ document R23523528] and several Committee Clerks to help him."Wellington Independent, 29 Oct 1856
In 1858 Campbell was appointed as Librarian to the General assembly,NZ Gazette, No 26, 20 September 1858, page 131 a role he held until 1865 (when Parliament relocated to Wellington) while also carrying out his roles as an officer in the New Zealand Militia and Clerk of the House. As the first head of the Parliamentary Library Campbell was responsible for establishing the library's collection and, in March 1865, overseeing the transfer of its 80 cases of books to Wellington by the SS Queen.Parliament's Library 150 years, John E Martin, 2008, page 23New Zealand Herald, 14 March 1865, page 1New Zealander, 15 March 1865, page 2
In 1858 Campbell was designated as the Clerk of the General AssemblyNZ Gazette, No 26, 20 September 1858, page 131 and on 22 December 1868, on the recommendation of Premier Edward Stafford, he was designated as the Clerk of Parliaments.Parliamentary Debates, 1871, page 219 The title of Clerk of Parliaments is traditionally conferred on the clerk of the upper house in a Westminster parliamentary system but Stafford advised the Governor to appoint Campbell to this office as he was far more experienced than the clerk of the Legislative Council.Parliamentary Debates, 1872, page 269 The Legislative Council refused to recognise Campbell as anything more than acting in the role of the Clerk of Parliaments, stating that he was not correctly appointed (the Council was not consulted and the appointment was not Gazetted) and that his duties were never defined.Journal of the Legislative Council of New Zealand, 1871, pages 181-182Appendix to the Journal of the Legislative Council of New Zealand, 1871, pages 218-223Journal of the House of Representatives, 1868, page 262 A compromise resolution to this impasse was eventually reached with the passing of The Clerk of Parliaments Act, 1872, which provided that Campbell would continue to be the Clerk of Parliaments for as long as he held the office of Clerk of the House of Representatives; after which subsequent appointments would be made "in accordance with the law and usage of the Imperial Parliament".The Clerk of Parliaments Act, 1872Evening Post, 9 October 1889, page 2 Accordingly, Leonard Stowe, who was appointed Clerk of the Legislative Council in 1865, was appointed as the Clerk of Parliaments when Campbell retired in 1889.Cyclopedia of New Zealand (Wellington Provincial District), page 98
In 1862, as Clerk of the House, Campbell was called as a witness in the Supreme Court case Busby vs Bell, in which former British Resident James Busby sued for libel Francis Dillon Bell (as Land Claims Commissioner). This case addressed the important issue of whether the Clerk of the House was required to produce in court potentially libelous documents that had been tabled in Parliament. With the Speaker's (Sir David Monro) concurrence, Campbell expressed the opinion that to do so without an order from the House would be likely to be a breach of Parliamentary Privilege. Chief Justice Arney disagreed and required Campbell to produce the documents.Daily Southern Cross, 9 June 1862, page 3New Zealander, 11 June 1862, page 6New Zealander, 17 December 1862, page 4Daily Southern Cross, 16 December 1862, page 3Daily Southern Cross, 17 December 1862, page 3