Friday, January 3, 2014

John Douglas and the Queensland Mackenzie Ministry of 1868

The fourth Queensland parliament was characterised by extreme turbulence and antagonism, and the Mackenzie government was forced to resign only a week after it commenced. [1]  A contemporary newspaper account vividly captured the mood:

Responsible government indeed!  Why, the very words now stink in the nostrils of every respectable, honest man.  We here confess candidly that we could almost make up our minds to form one of a mob to drive the present miserable horde of so-called representatives of the people from the precincts of the people’s chamber which they so wantonly pollute.[2]

Into this cesspit of intrigue and duplicity, Douglas fearlessly waded, and was soon hopelessly mired.  His independent streak manifested itself through him verbally savaging the opposition, criticism then used by the government to discredit and embarrass them.  Douglas was especially scornful of Thomas Fitzgerald, a leading member of the opposition, who Douglas accused of being unfit to hold high office, responsible for “many of the evils connected with the Land Act,” and not to be trusted with the finances of the colony.[3]

It is difficult to know what Douglas was trying to achieve, for Fitzgerald was poised to become premier and, like Douglas, aligned with the liberal side of politics.  Moreover, despite desperately needing the income a ministerial position would have provided, Douglas, through these remarks, had seemingly ruled himself out of any potential ministerial positions.[4]  One can only assume that this was Douglas speaking from the heart without fear or favour.  He genuinely believed that Fitzgerald was unsuited for the position of premier and was prepared to put the interests of the colony ahead of those of the liberal group.  Douglas was a politician who consistently attempted to put Queensland first.  As the journalist Spencer Browne would later observe, he brought to the parliament an “absolute purity of motive.”[5]

This episode stamped Douglas as a politician unique among his peers, one whose morality and concern for the public good overrode all else.  However, in the real world of politics, inhabited by men possessed of fragile, overblown egos and venal ambition, people who frequently lusted after power, this principled stand was a recipe calculated to make enemies and damage the opposition.  As Douglas later recalled, “he made many political enemies, although no personal ones, by invariably fighting in the liberal ranks.”[6]

However, being a maverick went down well with the electorate, who recognised his honesty and determination to do what was best for the colony rather than for himself.  Nevertheless, the government made political capital out of Douglas’s comments by gleefully supporting his observation that the opposition were unfit for office.[7]  However, Douglas believed he had done his duty by his electorate and the parliament in publicly raising his concerns.[8]


[1] Bernays, p. 49
[2] Quoted in Bernays, pp. 49-50
[3] Brisbane Courier, 19 November 1868, p. 2; Mr Douglas.  “Address in Reply to Opening Speech.”  Queensland Parliamentary Debates, vol 8, 1869, pp. 26-27
[4] Ibid., p. 26
[5] Browne (1927), p. 73
[6] “Hon John Douglas C.M.G.”  Torres Strait Daily Pilot and New Guinea Gazette, 19 December 1903
[7] Mr Forbes.  “Address in Reply to Opening Speech.”  Queensland Parliamentary Debates, vol 8, 1869, p. 29; The Colonial Secretary.  “Address in Reply to Opening Speech.”  Queensland Parliamentary Debates, vol 8, 1869, p. 46.  Douglas had talked openly about the antagonism between Fitzgerald and Macalister.  (Mr Douglas.  “Address in Reply to Opening Speech.”  Queensland Parliamentary Debates, vol 8, 1869, p. 26; The Colonial Secretary.  “Address in Reply to Opening Speech.”  Queensland Parliamentary Debates, vol 8, 1869, p. 46)
[8] The Postmaster-General.  “Ministerial Statement.”  Queensland Parliamentary Debates, vol 8, 1869, p. 80