George reid siblings

&#;REID, SirGEORGE HOUSTOUN –), colonial politician, was born at Johnstone, Renfrewshire, 25 February , the son of the Rev. John Reid, a minister of the Church of Scotland. When seven years old he was taken to Australia, and spent his youth in the civil service of New South Wales.

George houstoun reid biography of william During this time, he studied law and obtained a diploma in Alfred Deakin [q. Images: 4 George Reid. Reid attended the Melbourne Academy and later moved to Sydney, where he began working as a clerk at the age of

Finding this too restricted a field for his ambitions, and attracted to political life by his fervent belief in free trade, he secured in admission to the colonial bar, and in was elected to the legislative assembly for East Sydney, which constituency, with a break in –, he continued to represent until His skill in advocacy secured him ere long a large and lucrative practice, and in politics also success was not delayed.

He was minister of public instruction from January to March , and on the fall of Sir Henry Parkes [q.v.] in , he stood out as leader of the opposition with such skill that on 3 August he attained the premiership of the colony. The general elections of and confirmed him in office, his ministry attaining the unprecedented duration of sixty-one months.

Useful work was done in re-establishing the financial position, shaken by the banking crisis of ; system was introduced in the public accounts, and an effort was made in the Land Act of to check the aggregation of land in private ownership.

The dominant issue of the time was federation, and on this topic Reid's attitude was ambiguous.

In retrospect he regarded his term of office as the period in which, as premier of the senior colony, &#;he carried the federation movement to a successful issue, and it was he who proposed at the Hobart Conference of the resolutions for the summoning of a convention to decide the terms of the federal constitution. But the knowledge that federation would mean the overthrow of free trade, and the fear that it would impose grave financial burdens on New South Wales and injure the importance of Sydney, rapidly cooled his ardour.

Biography of william shakespeare During his tenure as Prime Minister, he introduced several significant acts, including the Conciliation and Arbitration Act of Reid retained the leadership of the Free Trade and Liberal Association after federation, and consequently became Australia's first Leader of the Opposition. Retrieved 22 February Retrieved 23 May

When the draft constitution finally emerged from the convention, his attitude towards it in a speech at Sydney (28 March ) was so critical that it failed to secure at the ensuing referendum the 80, votes necessary for its acceptance. Reid used the result in order to obtain concessions at a conference in January , and only then exerted his influence to secure acceptance, on 20 June, of the amended draft.

At this juncture, when Reid might legitimately hope to become the first prime minister of the Commonwealth, sudden disaster befell him through defeat in the assembly on a minor personal issue, and he resigned office on 13 September In he entered federal politics as leader of the opposition to the movement for protection, but he found it hard to reconcile professional work in Sydney with attendance at the debates in Melbourne.

For a brief period (19 August to 3 July ) the feuds between the followers of Mr. Alfred Deakin [q.v.] and the labour party over the Conciliation and Arbitration Bill enabled him to secure the premiership through alliance with the labour party leader, Mr. Allan McLean. But the coalition rested on no secure basis; Mr. Deakin's attacks proved irresistible, and Reid was reduced to the position of leader of a dwindling fraction of the house of representatives.

George houstoun reid biography of william shakespeare Reid's career was aided by his quick wit and entertaining oratory; he was described as being "perhaps the best platform speaker in the Empire", [ 9 ] both amusing and informing his audiences "who flocked to his election meetings as to popular entertainment". Succeeded by Andrew Fisher. Alfred Deakin Andrew Fisher. In their old stronghold of New South Wales free traders had won 12 seats, but Labor won six, and the old compact between Labor and Reid was a thing of the past.

From this plight he was rescued by the coalition of his supporters with those of Mr. Deakin against Mr. Andrew Fisher's labour administration in on the issue of naval assistance to the Empire. Co-operation between him and Mr. Deakin in the same government was impossible, but a solution was found by his appointment as the first high commissioner of the Commonwealth in London (–).

The post was the more attractive to Reid as he had already created a favourable impression in England by his speeches in , when he represented New South Wales at Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee celebrations and at the conference of colonial premiers. By temperament in sympathy with liberal opinion in England, he met with the ready support of the imperial government in his efforts to magnify his office and to insist on the importance of the Commonwealth.

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To official life in London he became so deeply attached that he viewed with unconcealed dread the termination of his service under the Commonwealth, and it was with the utmost satisfaction that he accepted in January the offer of a seat in the House of Commons for St. George's, Hanover Square. But it was too late for him to adapt himself effectively to the conditions of the House of Commons, or to gain ministerial office.

To occupy his energies and serve the allied cause in the European War, he undertook an unofficial mission to the United States; his health suffered severely from the strain of this exertion, and his death, which took place in London on 12 September , was doubtless accelerated in consequence.

Without originality of political conception or great administrative capacity, Reid was able and ready in debate, and unquestionably the best platform orator in Australia in the decade before federation.

In England he won just repute as an after-dinner speaker; his fund of amusing anecdotes—often at his own expense—was endless, and his wit was delightful.

George houstoun reid biography of william hurt Lord Northcote. Deakin in the same government was impossible, but a solution was found by his appointment as the first high commissioner of the Commonwealth in London — Retrieved 31 March Alfred Deakin 's Protectionist minority government collapsed in April , and he was briefly succeeded by Labor's Chris Watson , who proved unable to govern and resigned after four months.

Amid the acerbities of colonial politics he preserved a remarkable measure of good humour and courtesy, and his genuine kindness of heart more than compensated for a natural vanity, which exhibited itself in the eagerness with which—unlike Mr. Deakin, his chief rival—he accepted not merely a privy councillorship in , but also the more formal honours of K.C.M.G.

(), G.C.M.G. (), and G.C.B. (); his action in this regard he justified by the value which he placed on the Crown as the symbol of imperial unity, although he was strongly opposed to any scheme of imperial federation.

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George reid death

Reid married in Flora, daughter of John Bromby, of Thornton, Cressy, Tasmania.