Kōrero: Self-government and independence

Grand Reform Banquet

Grand Reform Banquet

This poster advertises a Grand Reform Banquet that was held in Wellington in 1849 to promote self-government. The event attracted nearly 200 people, comprising 'the most respectable of every class in the settlement.' Speakers railed against the existing system of irresponsible (non-representative) government. In the words of Isaac Featherston, it violated the maxim 'that the public were themselves the best judges of their own interests, and that those interests would only be uniformly consulted when they themselves had the management of their own affairs.' (Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, 17 March 1849, p. 10.) The sentiment was received with cheers from the audience.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: Eph-D-POLITICS-1849-01

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Te tuhi tohutoro mō tēnei whārangi:

W. David McIntyre, 'Self-government and independence - New Zealand Constitution Act 1852', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/mi/ephemera/32918/grand-reform-banquet (accessed 29 March 2024)

He kōrero nā W. David McIntyre, i tāngia i te 20 Jun 2012