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43-770: The NLU was formed in August 1901, as a successor to the Queensland Political Association. In 1902, Protectionist Party leader Alfred Deakin said in a letter to The Morning Post , a London newspaper, that "Ministerial forces were best under control" in southern Queensland through the NLU. As the Protectionists were not active in Queensland at the time, the NLU endorsed candidates in the House of Representatives and Senate for

86-620: A Senator, and parliamentary sessions in Melbourne greatly interfered with the running of his Sydney law practice. He had been offered a knighthood by Barton in 1902 but refused, lest he appear as "Sir Richard" before the bankruptcy courts. The number of salaried ministers was capped by the Constitution, but O'Connor was forced to write to the Attorney General , his friend Alfred Deakin , that he could not continue to work without remuneration. As

129-455: A bill twice, Cook called the 1914 election . The election had been called before the declaration of war in August 1914, and the campaign was conducted with the caretaker government going onto a war footing. At the election, the Liberals were soundly defeated with another Labor majority in both houses. While the party itself disappeared into history, many of its key legislative initiatives, such as

172-633: A merger. The party wound up splitting as a result. The main body, including Deakin and his supporters, merged with the Anti-Socialist Party in May 1909 to become the Commonwealth Liberal Party (CLP), popularly known as "the Fusion Party", with Deakin as leader and Cook as deputy leader. The more liberal Protectionists defected to Labour. Deakin and the new CLP now held a majority on the floor of

215-518: A position in which he worked closely with his friend Barton, who was Attorney General . O'Connor also served as Solicitor General from 19 July to 13 September 1893. In these portfolios he worked for electoral reform and supported the cause of Federation . After becoming Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council in 1892 he exercised considerable control over that body, but his influence

258-499: A result, Deakin arranged for O'Connor's ministerial colleagues to each contribute £200 a year to a fund for honorary ministers. On 29 July 1903, O'Connor introduced legislation for the establishment of a High Court of Australia , describing it as vital in "maintaining the balance of the Constitution". Attacked as extravagant, the Judiciary Act was nonetheless passed, and O'Connor resigned his portfolio on 24 September, resigning from

301-532: The 1903 federal election . Two NLU MPs were elected, but none of the organisation's three senate candidates were successful. The NLU remained active for a number of years, although they were largely replaced by the Anti-Socialist Party at the 1906 federal election . The only Protectionist candidate in Queensland was Darling Downs MP Littleton Groom , however by that time he did not appear to be linked to

344-513: The 1906 federal election , held in December, it changed its name to the Anti-Socialist Party . At the election, the Protectionists, whose protectionist policies were by then redundant, won only 16 seats to Labour's 26, but Labour still led by Watson continued to support Deakin who formed the well known third Deakin Protectionist government . Labour now under Andrew Fisher withdrew its support of

387-672: The Echo and the Evening News . He was admitted to the bar on 15 June 1876. An enthusiastic debater, he was a regular participant at the Sydney School of Arts Debating Club, encountering future political foes and personal friends William McMillan and George Reid . Establishing his own law practice, he served as Crown Prosecutor for the northern district. He married Sarah Jane Hensleigh on 30 October 1879 at St Joseph's Catholic Church in Delegate on

430-519: The Free Trade Party . On 25 August 1903, legislation to set up the High Court of Australia consisting of three judges was finally passed. Barton resigned his party leadership position on 24 September 1903 to be replaced by Deakin who then formed the first Deakin government . Then, on 5 October 1903, Deakin appointed Barton, as well as the party's Senate leader, Richard O'Connor , to be justices of

473-529: The High Court of Australia , which he had helped to create. He had a reputation as a liberal and independent-minded justice who occasionally voted with the progressives on industrial matters after 1906. He was also the first president of the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration from 1905 to 1907, and he continued to serve on the High Court until his early death in 1912. Richard Edward O'Connor

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516-615: The White Australia policy and tariff protection for industry, were maintained by successive Australian governments for a large part of the 20th century. However, Labor could also take credit or be blamed (as the case may be) as many of the bills were passed during the Protectionist-Labour minority governments as part of Labour's agreement for supporting a Protectionist government. Richard Edward O%27Connor Richard Edward O'Connor QC (4 August 1851 – 18 November 1912)

559-595: The 75 seats in the House of Representatives to the Liberal's 31. Deakin retired from Parliament in April 1913 and Cook took over the Liberal leadership before the calling of the 1913 election . The Liberals under Cook won government in 1913 by a single seat, however, Labor retained a Senate majority. Cook called a double dissolution , the first time one would be called. When the Senate rejected

602-526: The Arbitration Court in 1907. With the appointment of H. B. Higgins to the High Court with Isaacs in 1906, that body had become far less unanimous, with O'Connor sometimes agreeing with the two new justices on industrial matters. Assailed by ailing health but forced to continue working since he still lacked a pension, he travelled overseas in 1907–08 and 1912. O'Connor, still a sitting justice, died from pernicious anaemia at St Vincent's Hospital in

645-626: The Court's increasing expenses and no decision was reached until Isaac Isaacs , taking office with the expansion of the Court in July 1906, was able to broker a compromise. O'Connor was appointed the first president of the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration in February 1905, a position he accepted with reluctance. He found it difficult to keep up with both positions, despite taking "a good deal of trouble with [arbitration] decisions", and resigned from

688-452: The Deakin government on 13 November 1908 and formed a minority government. The Fisher government passed a large number of its legislation. A scandalised establishment, believing an anti- socialist alliance was necessary to counter Labor's growing electoral dominance, pressured Deakin and Anti-Socialist Party's new leader, Joseph Cook , to begin merger talks. The more liberal Protectionists opposed

731-703: The Federal Convention that drafted the Australian Constitution . A member of the first federal ministry as Vice-President of the Executive Council , O'Connor led the government in the Senate , the first person to do so, from 1901 to 1903, playing a key role in the development of that chamber's role in Australian politics. O'Connor resigned from Parliament in 1903 to become one of the inaugural justices of

774-473: The High Court to get them out of politics, but they were qualified for the judicial position, as they had been lawyers. Higgins was Attorney-General in the Labour government of 1904 (Labour did not have a lawyer to appoint), and Isaacs was Attorney-General in 1905 in the Deakin government. The Free Trade Party recognised that the issue of tariffs had been settled and that the main issue was the Labour resurgence. Before

817-582: The High Court, before calling the 1903 federal election for December and going into caretaker government mode. At the election, the number of seats won by the Protectionists declined to 26 while Labour's increased to 22, but Labour continued its policy of supporting a minority Deakin Protectionist government. After a falling-out in April 1904 between Labour's Watson and Deakin, Deakin resigned office. Free Trade leader George Reid declined to take office, leaving Watson and Labour to form its first minority government, which lasted for four months. In August 1904, Reid

860-565: The House of Representatives and the Fisher government fell in a vote on 27 May 1909. Fisher failed to persuade the Governor-General Lord Dudley to dissolve Parliament. The Deakin CLP government was in power for less than a year until the 1910 election , where Labour under Fisher formed Australia's first elected federal majority government, and the first elected Senate majority, winning 42 of

903-449: The Legislative Council on 16 July 1898, in order to contest the lower house seat of Young against the sitting Labour member, Chris Watson . He focused his campaign on Federation issues but was surprised to be easily defeated by 1,244 votes to 876. Financial difficulties necessitated his focus on legal work rather than campaigning during the second Constitution referendum in 1899, although he still managed to speak most nights. Following

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946-858: The NLU anymore. Herbert Beaumont Marks served as the party's secretary for its Townsville branch in 1909. The NLU faded away around that time, which is when the Liberal Party was formed out of a 'fusion' of the Protectionists and Anti-Socialists. Protectionist Party The Protectionist Party , also known as the Protectionist Liberal Party or Liberal Protectionist Party , was an Australian political party , formally organised from 1887 until 1909, with policies centred on protectionism . The party advocated protective tariffs , arguing it would allow Australian industry to grow and provide employment. It had its greatest strength in Victoria and in

989-570: The Senate on 27 September. He and Barton, who had likewise resigned, were appointed the first Puisne Justices of the High Court, with Sir Samuel Griffith as Chief Justice. O'Connor was a liberal justice who saw judges as "not only the interpreters, but also the guardians of the Constitution", advocating the Court's primacy over the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council on these matters. He worked well with Griffith and Barton, although he

1032-589: The Wentworth medal for the best English essay in 1870, and received a Bachelor of Arts in 1871 and a Master of Arts in 1873. While studying for his master's degree from 1871 to 1874, O'Connor worked as a clerk in the New South Wales Legislative Council , after which he was articled with Frederick Darley (afterwards Chief Justice ), remaining solvent with contributions to the Freeman's Journal ,

1075-572: The border between New South Wales and Victoria (Sarah came from Bendock ). In the dispute between protection and free trade that formed the backbone of Australian colonial politics in the late nineteenth century, O'Connor was a committed protectionist. Despite this, Sir Henry Parkes , the Premier of New South Wales and a free trader, had him appointed to the New South Wales Legislative Council on 8 February 1888. The protectionist George Dibbs appointed him Minister for Justice on 23 October 1891,

1118-589: The commencement of the Commonwealth of Australia , Governor-General-designate , The 7th Earl of Hopetoun , appointed Edmund Barton (after the Hopetoun Blunder ), leader of the Protectionist Party, to head a caretaker government from 1 January 1901 until the election of a Parliament. At the first federal election in 1901 , the Protectionists won 31 of the 75 seats in the House of Representatives . Barton

1161-603: The issue during the Federation campaigns, and was significant in the negotiations that led to Lyne's resignation of the commission in Barton's favour. On 1 January 1901, O'Connor was appointed Vice-President of the Executive Council , an honorary post, in Barton's Cabinet . O'Connor stood for the Senate at the 1901 federal election in March and was elected in the fourth position, with 40% of

1204-478: The pianist and composer Roy Agnew . His eldest and youngest sons, Richard and Roderic, were killed at Armentières in 1916; the others, Arthur and Desmond, survived. After his death he received tributes from, among others, Barton, who believed "that assiduous toil did much to shorten a life that was most precious", and Griffith, who described O'Connor as "absolutely fearless in the performance of his judicial duties". Billy Hughes , then serving as Attorney General in

1247-513: The prominent Tasmanian pioneer Roderic O'Connor among their relations. Richard Edward, sometimes known as Dick, attended St Mary's College, a Benedictine school in Lyndhurst , from 1861 to 1866 before matriculating at Sydney Grammar School in 1867 and studying at the University of Sydney . From a young age his closest friend was Edmund Barton , in whose Cabinet O'Connor would later serve. He won

1290-737: The protectionist demagogue Paddy Crick against conspiracy charges relating to the George Dean attempted murder case; he was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1896 and acted as a judge on the Supreme Court from November 1898 to March 1899. He also remained active politically. As a founding member of the Australian Federation League in 1893, he was appointed a vice-president of the People's Federal Convention held at Bathurst in November 1896. He

1333-415: The rural areas of New South Wales . Its most prominent leaders were Sir Edmund Barton and Alfred Deakin , who were the first and second prime ministers of Australia . The party was initially centred on New South Wales , where its leaders were George Dibbs and William Lyne . It dominated New South Wales colonial politics before federation . It first contested the 1887 New South Wales election . On

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1376-408: The site for the national capital. He was also an advocate of proportional representation for the Senate as representative of the "true majority", and managed to guide the 1902 Customs Tariff Act through the Senate with minimal interference. He worked during this period under great financial difficulty as his position as Vice-President of the Executive Council carried with it no salary beyond that of

1419-548: The suburb of Darlinghurst on 18 November 1912, aged 61; he had suffered from chronic nephritis for some years. He was buried in the Anglican section of Rookwood Cemetery , though with Catholic rites. He was survived by his wife Sarah, who died in 1925, and by six of his seven children. Of his two daughters, Winifred married Alexander Maclay (son of the Russian anthropologist and explorer Nicholas Miklouho-Maclay ), and Kathleen married

1462-429: The success of Federation, O'Connor was to be a member of the first Commonwealth ministry, and was instrumental in the affair that became known as the Hopetoun Blunder . Lord Hopetoun , Australia's first Governor-General , had commissioned Sir William Lyne to form a government, since Lyne was Premier of the largest state, New South Wales. O'Connor was one of those who refused to serve under Lyne, who had been lukewarm on

1505-426: The upper house, tabled standing orders for the Senate on 10 May 1901 in conjunction with those tabled in the House of Representatives, but the chamber instead adopted a committee to formulate standing orders of its own. He was a vigorous supporter of the White Australia policy , although he also supported voting rights for Aborigines and other "coloured persons who are naturalised subjects", and supported Dalgety as

1548-444: The vote (electors cast six votes, with the six candidates with the highest totals winning election). The only Protectionist Senator from New South Wales, he was appointed Leader of the Government in the Senate, and was instrumental in the evolution of that house as subordinate to the House of Representatives , although he encouraged the introduction of legislation into the Senate. O'Connor, who had only one ministerial colleague in

1591-411: Was able to form a Free Trade government with Protectionist support. Reid's government lasted until 5 July 1905, when the Protectionists and Labour reconciled, and the previous arrangement was restored, with the formation of the second Deakin government . On 12 October 1906, the size of the High Court was increased to five justices, and Deakin appointed prominent Protectionists Higgins and Isaac Isaacs to

1634-557: Was able to form the Barton minority government with the support of the Labour Party led by Chris Watson , which held the balance of power with 14 seats, on the understanding that the Protectionists would implement a number of social reforms desired by Labour. Labour's program, however, was frequently too radical for many Protectionists, creating internal conflict between those who, like H. B. Higgins , were sympathetic to Labour, while conservatives like Allan McLean preferred to support

1677-453: Was an Australian politician and judge. A barrister and later Queen's Counsel, O'Connor was active in the campaign for Australian Federation and was a close associate of Edmund Barton . He served as New South Wales Minister for Justice in the Dibbs ministry from 1891 to 1893 while a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council (1888–98), and was a member of the constitutional committee at

1720-599: Was born in the Sydney suburb of Glebe on 4 August 1851. His mother was Mary Anne, née Harnett, while his father was Richard , an Irish-born Catholic who at that time served as librarian to the New South Wales Legislative Council , and would later become Clerk of the Legislative Assembly , chairing its first meeting. His family believed itself to be descended from the Irish republican rebel Arthur O'Connor , and also counted

1763-526: Was elected as a delegate to the Australian Federal Convention in 1897 and served on the constitutional committee with Barton and the former South Australian Premier Sir John Downer . He organised the "nexus clause" which guaranteed the Senate half as many members as the House of Representatives , arguing that this would act as an incentive to keep parliamentary numbers, and therefore expenditure, comparatively low. O'Connor resigned from

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1806-445: Was greatly diminished after he and Barton were forced to resign from the ministry on 14 December 1893, having accepted briefs in a case in which they were required to argue against the railway commissioners, a government department. O'Connor remained in the Legislative Council but embarked on an overseas tour, travelling to Egypt , Italy , England and Ireland . In 1895, O'Connor returned to New South Wales and successfully defended

1849-414: Was the most frequent dissenter in their decisions. The Court demanded a high standard of advocacy and acquired a reputation for overturning decisions made by the state supreme courts, and the justices' travelling expenses were cut by Sir Josiah Symon , Attorney General in the short-lived Reid government , in December 1904. O'Connor argued that abolishing tipstaves was a more efficient way of dealing with

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