Background
Sewell was born on 7 September 1807 in the town of Newport, on England's Isle of Wight.
Sewell was born on 7 September 1807 in the town of Newport, on England's Isle of Wight.
n late July 1853, Sewell decided that he would stand for Parliament in the 1853 general election. In late 1856, Sewell stepped down as Treasurer and resigned his seat, but remained an unofficial member of the Executive Council, to return to England. There, he negotiated a number of deals for New Zealand. In the 18 January 1860 by-election, Sewell contested the Christchurch electorate successfully against Michael Hart. In 1861, he was appointed by Fox to the Legislative Council, a position that he held until 1865. Later in his political career, Sewell briefly held positions as Attorney-General, Minister of Justice, and Colonial Secretary. During his career he represented the Town of Christchurch 1853–56 (resigned) & 1860 (retired), and the Town of New Plymouth 1865–66. He was defeated in 1866 for Lyttelton. He served on the Legislative Council from 1861 to 1865.
He realised that the opposing pulls of centralism and provincialism were potentially destructive and he sought compromises to facilitate administration. However, he was hampered in the role of conciliator by his reserved, aloof manner and élitist views.
In 1844, Sewell suffered from the untimely death of his wife Lucinda, whom he had married on 15 May 1834 and had six children with. Sewell remarried Elizabeth Kittoe.