title: Political ideas in the North Briton, 1762-1763: A 'Whig-country' view of the English Constitution

authors: Knight, Anthony Wallace

abstract: This dissertation examines the constitutional ideas and attitudes which emerge from the North Briton's view of the state of English politics in 1762-3. The object of the study has been to determine the nature of these ideas and attitudes, and their place in the stream of political and constitutional ideas that grew into what historians have described as eighteenth century ‘radicalism’. 
An examination of later seventeenth and eighteenth century political thought reveals that the constitutional concerns of the North Briton were entirely unoriginal. Its view of the constitution has been labelled ‘Whig country' because it is from both Whiggish ideas and attitudes, and from the long tradition of country' ideas and opposition to government, that the North Briton draws its own constitutional outlook. 
Like almost all politically aware Englishmen in the eighteenth century, the authors of the North Briton held that the constitution was balanced, and the liberty of the subject thereby guaranteed, by the equipoise of the constitution's three components - king, lords and commons. However, this idea was capable of different interpretations depending upon the political ends for which it was utilized. 
Almost all agreed the constitutional balance was in danger of upset, but men in opposition invariably disagreed with those in power as to the source of the danger. 
The North Briton, in opposition to the ministry of Lord Bute, clearly echoes the obsessive ‘country' fear of the corrupting influence of power in its charges that the administration is working in its own interests rather than in those of the people, and is thereby upsetting the balance of the constitution. The people are regarded as legitimate critics and even supervisors of government by the North Briton; their role being to restore the constitutional balance by ensuring that parliament properly represents the people. 
The North Briton's political solution to present problems is to get men they believe can be trusted to look after the people's interests back into power. Such men, it argues, are the Whigs (specifically Lord Temple) and William Pitt, whose ability and public esteem had previously been so amply demonstrated. 
The authors of the North Briton have no intention of upsetting the balance of the constitution in favour of the democratic element. Nevertheless, their emphasis on the role of the people has within it a potential for the development of later 'radical' ideas that came to view the people as an entity separate from the traditional parts of the constitution. 
Although the North Briton is on the verge of interpreting 'the people' as a separate entity, its retention of the Whig solution counters the 'radical' potential of its 'country• views. Thus in 1762-3 the North Briton continues to voice non-'radical' 'Whig-country' attitudes. 
By 1768 the Whigs and Pitt had demonstrated that they were incapable of providing a viable solution to contemporary problems. "The Continuation" of the North Briton, no longer inhibited by trust in a Whiggish solution, discards its conservative Whiggism, becomes wholly 'country' oriented, and by 1771 appears to be well and truly 'radical' in its demands for proportional representation and in its hints at support for a democratic franchise.

text: Political ideas in the North Briton, 1762-1763: A 'Whig-country' view of the English Constitution This dissertation examines the constitutional ideas and attitudes which emerge from the North Briton's view of the state of English politics in 1762-3. The object of the study has been to determine the nature of these ideas and attitudes, and their place in the stream of political and constitutional ideas that grew into what historians have described as eighteenth century ‘radicalism’. 
An examination of later seventeenth and eighteenth century political thought reveals that the constitutional concerns of the North Briton were entirely unoriginal. Its view of the constitution has been labelled ‘Whig country' because it is from both Whiggish ideas and attitudes, and from the long tradition of country' ideas and opposition to government, that the North Briton draws its own constitutional outlook. 
Like almost all politically aware Englishmen in the eighteenth century, the authors of the North Briton held that the constitution was balanced, and the liberty of the subject thereby guaranteed, by the equipoise of the constitution's three components - king, lords and commons. However, this idea was capable of different interpretations depending upon the political ends for which it was utilized. 
Almost all agreed the constitutional balance was in danger of upset, but men in opposition invariably disagreed with those in power as to the source of the danger. 
The North Briton, in opposition to the ministry of Lord Bute, clearly echoes the obsessive ‘country' fear of the corrupting influence of power in its charges that the administration is working in its own interests rather than in those of the people, and is thereby upsetting the balance of the constitution. The people are regarded as legitimate critics and even supervisors of government by the North Briton; their role being to restore the constitutional balance by ensuring that parliament properly represents the people. 
The North Briton's political solution to present problems is to get men they believe can be trusted to look after the people's interests back into power. Such men, it argues, are the Whigs (specifically Lord Temple) and William Pitt, whose ability and public esteem had previously been so amply demonstrated. 
The authors of the North Briton have no intention of upsetting the balance of the constitution in favour of the democratic element. Nevertheless, their emphasis on the role of the people has within it a potential for the development of later 'radical' ideas that came to view the people as an entity separate from the traditional parts of the constitution. 
Although the North Briton is on the verge of interpreting 'the people' as a separate entity, its retention of the Whig solution counters the 'radical' potential of its 'country• views. Thus in 1762-3 the North Briton continues to voice non-'radical' 'Whig-country' attitudes. 
By 1768 the Whigs and Pitt had demonstrated that they were incapable of providing a viable solution to contemporary problems. "The Continuation" of the North Briton, no longer inhibited by trust in a Whiggish solution, discards its conservative Whiggism, becomes wholly 'country' oriented, and by 1771 appears to be well and truly 'radical' in its demands for proportional representation and in its hints at support for a democratic franchise.

year: 1972

title: Denis Murphy: a miner and farmer in the Te Aroha district

authors: Hart, Philip

abstract: After the death of his father, Denis Murphy and his family settled in New Zealand in 1865, moving to Thames once the goldfield opened, mining there for several years. At Thames he was a director of one mining company and became acquainted with James Brown, who would assist him with a mining enterprise at Te Aroha 40 years later. After prospecting in the Ohinemuri district during the early 1870s, he participated in the opening rush there in 1875 and became a director of another company, but concentrated on being a storekeeper and publican. He also acquired a small farm, and was a prominent member of the community, but as the Ohinemuri goldfield declined so did his income, and he was forced into bankruptcy. 
Before Te Aroha was opened to mining, he a another farm at Te Aroha West, which he slowly developed while earning an income as both a carter and a contractor making drains and roads. One of his enterprises, operating a punt at the Waiorongomai landing, led to his being accused of over-charging and exploiting his position on the county council for personal gain. Prominent in the local community, he assisted its progress, especially after becoming a member of the county council. As a councillor he supported the needs of the mining industry, and, courting much controversy, campaigned to include Waiorongomai in a proposed Te Aroha borough.
Murphy claimed to have prospected the district before it was opened to mining, and after its proclamation as a goldfield in 1880 helped to develop the Prospectors’ Claim. Apart from some minimal involvement with Waiorongomai mining, which he strongly supported on the council (including trying to reduce the tramway charges), he was not actively involved in mining again until 1908, when, with James Brown, he worked ‘Murphy’s Find’, close to the original discovery of 1880. Like all other mines in that portion of the field, it was unsuccessful.
His private life became a matter of public interest in the ‘Rotorua scandal’, involving a suicide and his apparent seduction of another man’s wife. Although he strongly denied the allegations made against him, his subsequent behaviour refuted his denials. During the last years of his life he suffered from miners’ complaint, a consequence of his years of mining.

text: Denis Murphy: a miner and farmer in the Te Aroha district After the death of his father, Denis Murphy and his family settled in New Zealand in 1865, moving to Thames once the goldfield opened, mining there for several years. At Thames he was a director of one mining company and became acquainted with James Brown, who would assist him with a mining enterprise at Te Aroha 40 years later. After prospecting in the Ohinemuri district during the early 1870s, he participated in the opening rush there in 1875 and became a director of another company, but concentrated on being a storekeeper and publican. He also acquired a small farm, and was a prominent member of the community, but as the Ohinemuri goldfield declined so did his income, and he was forced into bankruptcy. 
Before Te Aroha was opened to mining, he a another farm at Te Aroha West, which he slowly developed while earning an income as both a carter and a contractor making drains and roads. One of his enterprises, operating a punt at the Waiorongomai landing, led to his being accused of over-charging and exploiting his position on the county council for personal gain. Prominent in the local community, he assisted its progress, especially after becoming a member of the county council. As a councillor he supported the needs of the mining industry, and, courting much controversy, campaigned to include Waiorongomai in a proposed Te Aroha borough.
Murphy claimed to have prospected the district before it was opened to mining, and after its proclamation as a goldfield in 1880 helped to develop the Prospectors’ Claim. Apart from some minimal involvement with Waiorongomai mining, which he strongly supported on the council (including trying to reduce the tramway charges), he was not actively involved in mining again until 1908, when, with James Brown, he worked ‘Murphy’s Find’, close to the original discovery of 1880. Like all other mines in that portion of the field, it was unsuccessful.
His private life became a matter of public interest in the ‘Rotorua scandal’, involving a suicide and his apparent seduction of another man’s wife. Although he strongly denied the allegations made against him, his subsequent behaviour refuted his denials. During the last years of his life he suffered from miners’ complaint, a consequence of his years of mining.

year: 2016

title: Te Nahi o Te Taniwha: Teeth of the Taniwha

authors: Rout, Matthew

abstract: This report outlines the scope of the project He oranga whānau: mahi ngātahi Whānau livelihoods within the context of work and Māori economies of wellbeing, which has been funded by Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga—the New Zealand Māori Centre of Research Excellence. Its purpose is to set the direction and design for the research project. To say the creation of such economies will be a complex task is an understatement. Three factors make this task a ‘wicked problem’.

text: Te Nahi o Te Taniwha: Teeth of the Taniwha This report outlines the scope of the project He oranga whānau: mahi ngātahi Whānau livelihoods within the context of work and Māori economies of wellbeing, which has been funded by Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga—the New Zealand Māori Centre of Research Excellence. Its purpose is to set the direction and design for the research project. To say the creation of such economies will be a complex task is an understatement. Three factors make this task a ‘wicked problem’.

year: 2022