James Ashton (8 May 1864 – 6 August 1939) was an Australian politician. Born at Ashby near

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

to coffee-roaster James Ashton and Mary Ann Kinsman Brittan, he attended Sandhurst Grammar School until he left at the age of ten to work in a printing office. He moved to

Echuca Echuca ( ) is a town on the banks of the Murray River and Campaspe River in Victoria, Australia. The border town of Moama is adjacent on the northern side of the Murray River in New South Wales. Echuca is the administrative centre and largest s ...

at the age of thirteen and then to

Hay Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticat ...

. He spent the next period working as a station agent and then as a journalist and part-owner of the '' Riverine Grazier''. Although about his partner, John Johnston, this reference has much on Ashton. He sold his interest in 1892 and bought the ''

Narrandera Argus The ''Narrandera Argus'', previously published as ''The Narandera Argus'' ''and Riverina Advertiser,'' is a weekly English language compact format newspaper published in Narandera, New South Wales (now officially "Narrandera"). History First p ...

''. On 6 March 1899 he married Helen Willis, with whom he had four sons. A Free Trader, he was elected to the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...

as the member for

in 1894 and re-elected in 1895. One of the major issues at the time was the question of federation and while he supported federation, he opposed the convention bill, particularly equal representation of the States in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, which he thought should be proportional, that the constitution should not be amended without the support of all of the states and that a national referendum should be used to break deadlocks between the houses of parliament. Despite Ashton's opposition, the convention bill was overwhelmingly supported in his electorate. He decided to contest

Goulburn Goulburn ( ) is a regional city in the Southern Tablelands of the Australian state of New South Wales, approximately south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Canberra. It was proclaimed as Australia's first inland city through letters pate ...

at the 1898 election, where he was successful and served until 1907. He was unsuccessful as the Free Trade candidate at the 1901 election for the federal division of Riverina. The

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper i ...

attributed his narrow loss to his views on federation, while his biographer Martha Rutledge attributed it in part to him expressing sympathy for the Boers in the

South African War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

, having given a speech in parliament opposing sending NSW troops, describing it as "the wickedest war of modern times". While in parliament he studied law, passing his exams in 1902 and qualifying for the bar, but did not seek admission, deciding to continue working as a land agent. He was appointed Secretary for Lands in the

Carruthers ministry The Carruthers ministry was the 32nd ministry of the New South Wales Government, and was led by the 16th Premier of New South Wales, Premier, Joseph Carruthers. The title of Premier was widely used to refer to the Leader of Government, but was n ...

on 29 August 1904, serving until 1 October 1907. The highest profile of issues in his tenure as minister were allegations of bribery made against former minister

Paddy Crick William Patrick Crick (10 February 1862 – 23 August 1908) was an Australian politician, solicitor and newspaper proprietor. He was described by author Cyril Pearl as an irresistible demagogue, who "looked like a prize fighter, dressed like a ...

, which resulted in the appointment in 1905 of Justice William Owen to conduct a Royal Commissioner to investigate the administration of the Lands Department. The Royal Commission handed down an interim report in May 1906 and the conclusions included (i) that Crick had received corrupt payments but not any officer of the department and (ii) the administration of the Lands Department should be conducted by non-political Board of Commissioners. Crick was charged, however the jury could not agree on a verdict and Crick was ultimately expelled from parliament. Ashton attempted to implement the appointment of a Board of Commissioners, however the bill lapsed. He retired at the 1907 election, and was appointed to the Legislative Council. He was a minister without portfolio in the

Wade ministry The Wade ministry was the 33rd ministry of the New South Wales Government, and was led by the 17th Premier of New South Wales, Premier, Charles Wade. The title of Premier was widely used to refer to the Leader of Government, but was not a forma ...

from 2 October 1907 until he resigned with effect on 25 June 1909, due to the pressure of private business. He continued to serve on the Legislative Council until 1934 when the council was reformed by members indirectly elected by the Parliament. His most successful investment was in 1910 with Sir Samuel McCaughey in the Coreena Pastoral Co which owned sheep and cattle stations, which Ashton attributed to putting him on

Easy Street Easy Street may refer to: Film * ''Easy Street'' (1917 film), a Charlie Chaplin comedy * Easy Street (1930 film), by Oscar Micheaux, US * ''Easy Street'' (TV series), 1986–87 US sitcom Music *Easy Street (band), UK, 1970s **''Easy Street'', ...

. Ashton died at

Double Bay Double Bay is a harbourside eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 4 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district. It is the administrative centre of the local government area of the Municipality of ...

on .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashton, James 1864 births 1939 deaths Free Trade Party politicians Nationalist Party of Australia members of the Parliament of New South Wales United Australia Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council Politicians from Geelong Australian journalists