Dillon Bell - Political Career

Political Career

In 1851, Grey appointed Bell to the Legislative Council. When the Legislative Council was reformed, becoming merely the upper house of the new General Assembly (now called Parliament), Bell's appointment was reconfirmed. In 1854, the Legislative Council demanded that one of its members should be appointed to the Executive Council (roughly corresponding to Cabinet). Bell was selected to join the four members of the lower house who had already been appointed, and took his place on 30 June. On 11 July, however, he was forced to resign due to the ill health of his wife.

In the 1855 elections, Bell stood for the lower house in the Hutt electorate, and was successful. When Henry Sewell became New Zealand's first Premier and formed the Sewell Ministry, Bell was appointed Colonial Treasurer on 7 May 1856 (the office from which the modern post of Minister of Finance is descended). Sewell's premiership lasted only two weeks, however, and Bell lost his position. He resigned from Parliament on 10 October 1856 and moved to Otago.

Bell contested a 17 May 1858 by-election against Charles Brown in the Grey and Bell electorate. Brown and Bell received 75 and 61 votes, respectively. Brown was thus declared elected.

In 1859, he contested a supplementary election for the new electorate of Wallace, and was elected on 30 November. He was re-elected in the 1860 elections, and elected as MP for Mataura in the following two elections. As an MP, he was highly active in campaigning for Southland to become an independent province, a goal which came to fruition on 1 April 1861.

When Alfred Domett became Premier in 1862, Bell became Colonial Treasurer once again, and also Minister of Native Affairs. Bell was relatively experienced in negotiating with Māori, and spoke the Māori language fluently. Bell was not particularly active in his Native Affairs role, however, as he believed that the Governor – not Parliament – should have primary responsibility for Māori relations. When Domett was ousted as Premier by William Fox, Bell lost both roles. From 1869 to 1871, Bell was a minister without portfolio.

After the 1871 elections, Bell was appointed Speaker of the House. He is generally regarded to have been a competent speaker, having few strong views that might have biased him. He was knighted in 1873.