Stout, Sir Robert (1844-1930), was a Scottish-born lawyer and politician who twice served as premier, or prime minister, of New Zealand. He served briefly in August 1884, then again from that September until October 1887. New Zealand at that time was a colony of the United Kingdom.
Political parties as we know them did not exist in New Zealand when Stout was prime minister. He held liberal views and joined the Liberal Party that formed in the early 1890’s. Stout served as chief justice of New Zealand’s Supreme Court (now the High Court) from 1899 to 1926. He is the only person to have served both as New Zealand’s premier and as its chief justice.
Early life
Childhood.
Robert Stout was born on Sept. 28, 1844, in Lerwick, in Scotland’s Shetland Islands. He was the oldest in a family of six children. His father was Thomas Stout, a merchant and small landowner, and his mother was Margaret Smith Stout. Robert was an intelligent and studious child. He passed a teacher qualification test in 1858 and became a pupil-teacher (student who also teaches) at his parish school. In 1860, he qualified as a land and marine surveyor. 
Move to New Zealand.
After learning of a gold rush in New Zealand, Stout left Lerwick in October 1863. He arrived in Dunedin, on the eastern coast of New Zealand’s South Island, on April 8, 1864. He failed to find employment as a surveyor in the goldfields, so he became a mathematics teacher in Dunedin. In the late 1860’s, Stout began studying law. He was admitted to the bar in 1871 and soon formed a law partnership.
In 1871, Stout enrolled in New Zealand’s first university, the newly established University of Otago. Although he never completed a degree, he lectured in law there from 1873 to 1875.
Early political career
Entry into politics.
In 1852, the British government granted the colony of New Zealand a constitution that established six provincial governments. In August 1872, Stout was elected to represent the Dunedin suburb of Caversham in the Otago provincial council. He became provincial solicitor (lawyer) in May 1874.
Stout had gained a reputation as a skillful orator and intelligent politician. At a by-election (special election) on Aug. 20, 1875, he was elected to represent Caversham in New Zealand’s House of Representatives. At that time, the House was one of two chambers of New Zealand’s Parliament. At a general election that December, Stout was elected to represent Dunedin.
Stout became a leader in the campaign against the abolition of the colony’s provinces. Ultimately, the campaign was unsuccessful. Laws passed in 1875 and 1876, including the Abolition of Provinces Act, reorganized New Zealand into 63 counties.
Marriage and family.
On Dec. 27, 1876, Stout married Anna Paterson Logan (1858-1931). Her parents, John Logan and Jessie Alexander Pollack Logan, had been born in Scotland, and John had worked for the Otago provincial government. From 1878 to 1894, Anna and Robert had six children: Margaret, John, Robert, Thomas, Olaf, and Janet.
Anna and Robert both campaigned for women’s rights. Robert championed a number of bills in support of women’s rights. Anna’s writings on the subject appeared in magazines and pamphlets.
Attorney general.
On March 13, 1878, Prime Minister Sir George Grey appointed Stout to serve as New Zealand’s attorney general. On July 25, Stout also took the cabinet posts of minister for lands and minister for immigration. In these positions, he wrote or supported legislation on election matters, taxation, and trade unions.
Stout had continued his legal practice while he served in the government. On June 25, 1879, Stout resigned from the House and from his ministerial appointments. Stout claimed that he had resigned to focus on his law practice. However, Stout’s relationship with Grey had become strained after Grey disapproved of some of Stout’s business dealings.
Prime minister
Stout remained politically active after he resigned from Parliament. He published articles detailing his political beliefs, and in December 1881, he was appointed to the Otago Land Board. In a general election held in July 1884, the voters returned Stout to the House, this time representing Dunedin East.
Soon after returning to the House, the government of Prime Minister Harry Albert Atkinson was defeated in a vote of no confidence. In such a vote, Parliament decides whether there is a majority in support of the prime minister’s program. After Atkinson’s government lost the vote, Stout formed a coalition (partnership) government with former Prime Minister Sir Julius Vogel as treasurer. Vogel was the better-known politician, but ill health made him unfit to take up the position again. Stout’s first term as prime minister was extremely brief. It lasted only from August 16 to August 28, when it, in turn, lost a vote of no confidence. Atkinson then formed a new government that also was quickly defeated.
On September 3, Stout again formed a ministry with himself as prime minister and attorney general and Vogel as treasurer. Vogel promoted an economic policy that included the continued development of New Zealand’s railway system. However, as prime minister, Stout disapproved of some of Vogel’s ideas.
Under Stout, New Zealand passed legislation to remove political influence from civil service appointments. In addition, Stout had become an increasingly active prohibitionist—that is, a person who sought to prevent the drinking of alcoholic beverages through political action. During his prime ministership, the government banned the sale of liquor in King Country, a North Island area where many of New Zealand’s native Māori people lived.
New Zealand had entered an economic depression in the late 1870’s, and Stout and Vogel were unable to end it. In the September 1887 general election, Stout lost his House seat. In October, Harry Albert Atkinson again became prime minister.
Later life
End of political career.
John Ballance led a loose grouping of liberal politicians to victory in the December 1890 general election. He became prime minister the following month. Ballance united his allies, including Stout, into what became the Liberal Party.
Ballance relied on Stout as a trusted adviser. After Ballance fell seriously ill, he hoped that Stout would succeed him as prime minister. However, when Ballance died in April 1893, Stout did not have a seat in Parliament. Richard Seddon, who had been appointed acting prime minister when Ballance fell ill, then became prime minister.
Stout returned to the House in a by-election for a seat on the South Island’s west coast, which was held on June 8, 1893. However, by this time he had lost much of his political influence. Many people in government viewed Stout’s objections to Seddon’s policies as signs of personal bitterness toward Seddon. Stout was elected as the Liberal member for the City of Wellington electorate (voting district) in 1893 and again in 1896. He retired from politics in February 1898.
Other positions and honors.
Stout was recognized several times for his service to New Zealand. In 1886, he was made a Knight Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George. In 1921, he became a member of the Privy Council, a council based in the United Kingdom and appointed by the British monarch. Stout was on the council’s Judiciary Committee, which at that time served as the highest court of appeal in New Zealand’s judicial system.
Throughout his career, Stout was a champion of higher education. From 1885 to 1887, he served as minister of education. He served on the governing bodies of several of New Zealand’s institutions of higher learning. He was chancellor of the University of New Zealand from 1903 to 1923. Stout was also a key founder of Victoria College, Wellington (now Victoria University of Wellington). He served as its first chancellor. In 1984, in Stout’s honor, the university established the Stout Research Centre for New Zealand Studies.
Stout maintained his legal practice throughout his political career. He even argued cases in court during his time as prime minister. In June 1899, Prime Minister Seddon appointed Stout chief justice of New Zealand’s Supreme Court. He retired from the court on Jan. 31, 1926. That August, Stout was appointed to the Legislative Council, which at the time was the second house of New Zealand’s Parliament. He died in Wellington on July 19, 1930.
