Editing Harry Atkinson (section)

==Premier of New Zealand==
{{Conservatism New Zealand}}

===First term===

In 1876, Vogel retired, and Atkinson managed to secure the Premiership. One of his first acts was to abolish the [[Provinces of New Zealand|provinces]]. He also took over direct responsibility for financial policy, and implemented a less aggressive strategy for borrowing. He attempted to reform the system by which money was handled, placing all responsibility for borrowing with the government while increasing control of spending at a district or municipal level. However, growing economic problems caused his plan to encounter difficulties. As the economy declined, Atkinson became more and more unpopular.

===Second and third terms===
Atkinson lost power in 1877, only slightly over a year after he gained it. He entered opposition, continuing to promote his ideas of financial caution. He also proposed a number of other measures, including national insurance. In 1883, he managed to make a comeback, gaining the Premiership for eleven months before losing it to [[Robert Stout]]. The two then engaged in a protracted struggle for the leadership. A strong counter-offensive by Atkinson enabled him to unseat Stout again after only twelve days. Stout, however, was not so easily defeated, and took the Premiership again after seven days. This time, Stout held his position for three years, defeating Atkinson's attempts to oust him.

===Fourth term===
There was confusion in Wellington in September 1887 when the members gathered to form a government. [[John Bryce]], [[Robert Stout]] and [[William Rolleston]] had all lost their seats. Sir [[John Hall (New Zealand)|John Hall]] said he was too old. Sir [[Julius Vogel]]'s policies had been rejected by the voters. So there was no alternative to Harry Atkinson, and after two weeks of negotiations he announced a ministry on 11 October. Only two ministers had served with him before. The ''Scarecrow Ministry'' was not expected to last, but did. The years 1887 and 1888 were the worst of the Long Depression, and Atkinson cut salaries, raised loans and raised customs duties. He was not popular with the wealthy, but they feared the Opposition leaders Grey and Ballance even more.

During this term, Atkinson was [[Minister of Finance (New Zealand)|Colonial Treasurer]] (1887–1891), Postmaster-General (1887–1889), Commissioner of Telegraphs (1887–1889), [[Minister of Marine (New Zealand)|Minister of Marine]] (1887–1891), Commissioner of Stamps (1887–1891), [[Minister of Education (New Zealand)|Minister of Education]] (1889), and Commissioner of Trade and Customs.{{sfn|Wilson|1985|p=70}} In January 1888, Atkinson was appointed a [[Order of St Michael and St George|Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George]].<ref name="DNZB Atkinson">{{DNZB|last=Bassett|first=Judith |id=1a10|title=Atkinson, Harry Albert|access-date=13 May 2013}}</ref> A [[Freemasonry|Freemason]], he was installed as the Wellington district grand master in May 1888.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=EP18880529.2.12 | title=Installation of Sir H. A. Atkinson | date=29 May 1888 | work=[[The Evening Post (New Zealand)|The Evening Post]] | access-date=14 March 2015 | page=2}}</ref>

By 1890 Atkinson was too ill to make speeches in the House.

===Defeat===
[[File:Harry Atkinson Grave.jpg|thumb|Harry Atkinson's grave in Karori Cemetery.]]
In 1891, Atkinson was finally superseded as Premier by [[John Ballance]] of the newly created [[New Zealand Liberal Party|Liberal Party]], the country's first organised political party. Atkinson acceded to the wishes of his friends, and on 23 January 1891 he was appointed to the [[New Zealand Legislative Council|Legislative Council]], along with six other men, to attempt to block any radical bills that Ballance might introduce in the Lower House. Ballance became Premier on 24 January, and appointed Atkinson as Speaker of the Legislative Council.{{sfn|Reeves|1901}}

The Liberals, who represented the ideas of William Fox, Julius Vogel, and many other of Atkinson's opponents, were to hold power for 21 years after Atkinson's defeat, but Atkinson was not to see this. After presiding over the first meeting of the Council on 28 June in the 1892 session, Atkinson returned to the Speaker's Room, where he died.{{sfn|Reeves|1901}} He was buried in [[Karori Cemetery]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://wellington.govt.nz/services/community-and-culture/cemeteries/cemeteries-search/details?id=67714&serviceType=Burial |title=Cemeteries search |date=12 July 2012 |publisher=Wellington City Council |access-date=14 March 2015}}</ref>