Busby's colonialism usurped by Hobson

[Sir Richard] Bourke's appointment of [William] Hobson to examine the 'difficult question' of New Zealand was set against the backdrop of a shift in the culture, policies and operations of the Colonial Office. In 1834, James Stephen, the Assistant Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies, had drafted a minute that outlined his view on the construction of colonial governments. He was not at all concerned that they resemble the Westminster model of parliamentary democracy recognizing that a system of such intricacy, which was dependent on a large bureaucracy, was not often suited to the needs of fledgling colonies. Instead, he emphasized the pragmatic over the idealistic. Colonial administrations, he insisted, 'must be [a] matter of compromise and of adaptation to the particular conditions, character, wants and resources of the place'. In New Zealand's case, the Residency [of James Busby] had manifestly fallen short of adapting to the particular conditions of the country, and so a revised look at New Zealand's requirements was warranted.

The 'Stephen Doctrine' began to transform from proposition to policy in 1836, when he took over from Spring Rice to become Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies - a post he would hold for the next eleven years. The recommendations contained in Hobson's report were broadly in keeping with Stephen's insistence on accommodating the circumstances of a territory when considering further intervention. Stephen may also have been inclined to support Hobson's proposals because he had developed a distaste for the sort of approach to influencing policies that James [Busby] had employed. The Resident had previously relied on support from friendly politicians, and unannounced visitations to the Colonial Office, where he held casual discussions with officials about his plans. Stephen insisted that all communications be dealt with through a much more formal process, with full written records maintained of all meetings and decisions, and was disdainful of casual, private, and disordered contact of the sort James had depended on. Stephen was determined that the earlier Colonial Office culture, which was focussed mainly on the broad and vague sweep of colonial policy, would be replaced approach that paid much more attention to detail. It would henceforth concern itself with the smallest tart as well as the largest pie, as Dickens partially parodied it.

- Paul Moon, The Rise and Fall of James Busby, London, 2020, p.210-11.

See also:

Blog: An enemy whose hostility was to be unabated, 1 March 2017

Blog: Waitangi Day 1890, 6 February 2015

Blog: Forest lords & mission houses, 16 January 2009