Albert Rubidge Washington Stumbles, GLM, ICD (20 January 1904 – 2 August 1978) was a Southern Rhodesian lawyer and politician. After serving as a minister under Garfield Todd and Edgar Whitehead, Stumbles became the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Southern Rhodesia (House of Assembly from 1970) in 1964, a post he held until 1972. As Speaker, Stumbles is best remembered for his acceptance of Southern Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence in 1965.
Biography
Stumbles was born in Fort Beaufort, Cape Colony, the son of Robert Washington Stumbles, a bank manager and a distant relative of George Washington. In 1913, he moved with his family from Bloemfontein to Southern Rhodesia, where they settled in Bulawayo. He was educated at the Milton High School in Bulawayo and St. Andrew's School, Bloemfontein. After a short spell in the Southern Rhodesian civil service as a clerk, Stumbles was admitted to practice law in Southern Rhodesia in 1926. He moved with his parents to Salisbury in 1928, where he continued his legal practice.
In the 1946 Southern Rhodesian general election, Stumbles entered the Legislative Assembly of Southern Rhodesia for Avondale as a member of the Liberal Party, but he was defeated in 1948. He was returned to the Assembly unopposed for Avondale in 1953 as a member of Garfield Todd's United Rhodesia Party, which became the United Federal Party in 1957. Stumbles was appointed Minister of Justice and Internal Affairs in 1954, Minister of Local Government and Minister of Native Education in 1957, Minister of Roads, Irrigation and Lands in 1958, and Minister of Justice and Internal Affairs, Minister of Law and Order, and Minister of Roads in 1962. In 1958, he and his Cabinet colleagues resigned in order to oust Todd, whose moderate native policy alienated them.
Having previously served as Deputy Speaker and Chairman of the Committees, Stumbles was elected Speaker of the Legislative Assembly in 1964, whereupon he resigned his seat. As Speaker, his most momentous decision was his recognition of the legitimacy of Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence in 1965. The United Kingdom government had passed an order-in-council which forbade the Legislative Assembly from meeting after 11 November, but Stumbles, a supporter of UDI, decided to ignore the prohibition.
When the Assembly met again on 25 November, Stumbles ruled that those members who considered themselves bound by the British order-in-council forbidding the sitting should not be present at all. When Dr Ahrn Palley, an opponent of UDI, opposed the ruling, Stumbles named him and he was excluded from the Assembly.
Awards
Legion of Merit (Grand Officer - Civilian) (GLM)
Independence Commemorative Decoration (ICD)
Family
Stumbles married Mary Dallas Atherstone, a descendant of the 1820 Settlers, in 1932. They had two sons, Robert Atherstone Stumbles (1934–2010) and James Rubidge Washington Stumbles (born 1939).
Robert Stumbles was a prominent Zimbabwean lawyer and opponent of racial discrimination; as Chancellor of the Diocese of Harare, Stumbles became famous for his attempts to bring to trial the disgraced Bishop of Harare, Nolbert Kunonga.
References
- ^ Stumbles, Rubidge (1980). Some Recollections of a Rhodesian Speaker. Bulawayo: Books of Rhodesia.
- "OBITUARY: CHANCELLOR ROBERT ATHERSTONE STUMBLES". Church Times. 30 March 2010.
Further reading
- Stumbles, Albert Rubidge Washington (1980). Some Recollections of a Rhodesian Speaker. Volume 3 of Men of our time. Salisbury: Books of Rhodesia. ISBN 9780869201961.
| Southern Rhodesian Legislative Assembly | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded byHarry Bertin | Member of Parliament for Avondale 1946 – 1948 |
Succeeded byDendy Young |
| Preceded byDendy Young | Member of Parliament for Avondale 1954 – 1964 |
Succeeded byJack Pithey |
| Preceded byWalter Alexander | Speaker of the Legislative Assembly 1964 – 1970 |
Assembly dissolved |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded byGarfield Toddas Minister of Internal Affairs and Justice | Minister of Justice and Internal Affairs 1954 – 1958 |
Succeeded byAlan Lloyd |
| Preceded byGeoffrey Ellman-Brownas Minister of Local Government and Housing | Minister of Local Government 1957 |
Succeeded byGeoffrey Ellman-Brown |
| Preceded byGarfield Todd | Minister of Native Education 1957 |
Succeeded byRalph Drew Palmer |
| Preceded byGeoffrey Ellman-Brownas Minister of Roads and Road Traffic Minister of Irrigation |
Minister of Roads, Irrigation and Lands 1958 – 1962 |
Succeeded byGeoffrey Ellman-Brownas Minister of Roads and Road Traffic Minister of Irrigation |
| Preceded bySir George Davenportas Minister of Mines, Lands and Surveys | Succeeded byHerbert Jack Quintonas Minister of Lands and Natural Resources | |
| Preceded byReginald Knight | Minister of Justice and Internal Affairs 1962 |
Succeeded byBlair Vincent Ewingas Minister of Internal Affairs |
| Succeeded byHimselfas Minister of Justice Minister of Law and Order | ||
| Preceded byHimselfas Minister of Justice and Internal Affairs | Minister of Justice Minister of Law and Order 1962 |
Succeeded byClifford Dupont |
| House of Assembly of Rhodesia | ||
| New title | Speaker of the House of Assembly 1970 – 1972 |
Succeeded byGeorge Holland Hartley |
| Speakers of the House of Assembly of Zimbabwe and its antecedents | ||
|---|---|---|
| Southern Rhodesia (1923–1965) |  | |
| Rhodesia (1965–1979) | ||
| Zimbabwe Rhodesia (1979) | ||
| Southern Rhodesia (1979–1980) | ||
| Zimbabwe (1980–present) | ||
- Recipients of the Rhodesian Legion of Merit
- White Rhodesian people
- 1904 births
- 1978 deaths
- Rhodesian lawyers
- Rhodesian politicians
- Education ministers of Rhodesia
- Interior ministers of Rhodesia
- Justice ministers of Rhodesia
- Members of the Legislative Assembly of Southern Rhodesia
- Members of the Parliament of Rhodesia
- Immigrants to Southern Rhodesia
- South African emigrants