James Guy (13 November 1860 – 23 August 1921) was an Australian politician. A

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

by profession, he was one of the founders of the

Australian Labor Party (Tasmanian Branch) The Australian Labor Party (Tasmanian Branch), commonly known as Tasmanian Labor, is the Tasmanian branch of the Australian Labor Party. It has been one of the most successful state Labor parties in Australia in terms of electoral success. Histo ...

in 1903 and held senior office in the party for nearly two decades. He was a member of the

Tasmanian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or Lower House, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. The other is the Legislative Council or Upper House. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Hobart. The Assembly has 25 m ...

from 1909 to 1913 and a

Senator 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 ...

for

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from 1914 to 1920. His son

Allan Guy James Allan Guy, CBE (30 November 1890 – 16 December 1979) was an Australian politician who represented the Australian Labor Party in both the Tasmanian House of Assembly and the Federal House of Representatives, before leaving to represe ...

followed him into politics.

Early life

Guy was born on 13 November 1860 in

Launceston, Tasmania Launceston () or () is a city in the north of Tasmania, Australia, at the confluence of the North Esk and South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River (kanamaluka). As of 2021, Launceston has a population of 87,645. Material was copied ...

, the oldest of twelve children born to Margaret (née Polock) and Andrew Guy. He was educated at state schools and then began working as a

for W. Gurr and Son.

State politics

In 1903, Guy helped establish the Tasmanian Workers' Political League, the predecessor of the modern

, and was elected as the organisation's inaugural treasurer. He later served as president (1904–1906, 1908) and general secretary (1909–1921). Guy was elected to the

at the 1909 state election, winning the most votes in

Bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

. In parliament he supported the abolition of the Legislative Council, higher salaries for MPs, and the implementation of

wage controls Incomes policies in economics are economy-wide wage and price controls, most commonly instituted as a response to inflation, and usually seeking to establish wages and prices below free market level. Incomes policies have often been resorted t ...

. His share of the vote fell in 1912 and he lost his seat at a snap election the following year.

Federal politics

After standing unsuccessfully for the Senate in 1906 and

1913 Events January * January 5 – First Balkan War: Battle of Lemnos (1913), Battle of Lemnos – Greek admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis forces the Turkish fleet to retreat to its base within the Dardanelles, from which it will not ven ...

, Guy was elected to a six-year term at the 1914 double dissolution election. He spoke frequently on social policy, supporting the establishment of

widow's pension A widow's pension is a payment from the government of a country to a person whose spouse has died. Generally, such payments are made to a widow whose late spouse has fulfilled the country's requirements, including contribution, cohabitation, and l ...

s and full

prohibition of alcohol Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...

, specifically "the importation, manufacture, and sale of wines, beer, and spirituous liquors throughout the Commonwealth". He described the establishment of the

Commonwealth Bank The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), or CommBank, is an Australian multinational bank with businesses across New Zealand, Asia, the United States and the United Kingdom. It provides a variety of financial services including retail, busines ...

as "the greatest piece of legislation ever enacted in the world's history". During World War I, Guy reluctantly supported the war effort but was strongly opposed to any form of

conscription Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...

. In the lead-up to the 1916 conscription referendum he described overseas conscription as "iniquitous, oppressive, hateful, and repulsive". Guy remained with the ALP following the party split of 1916, serving in the Senate until 30 June 1920 following his defeat at the 1919 election. In 1917, there were rumours he had feigned illness in order to allow the Hughes government scope to cancel the upcoming federal election. He "emphatically denied" that he had done so.

Personal life

Guy married Margaret McElwee in Launceston on 13 November 1884. The couple had one daughter and four sons together. His son

and brother-in-law

George McElwee George Johnston McElwee (21 May 1879 – ?) was an Australian engineer and politician. He was born in Launceston, Tasmania. In 1940 he was elected to the Tasmanian Legislative Council as the Labor candidate to represent Launceston, beating t ...

were also members of parliament. He and his son are one of only two father-son pairs to both serve as senators, along with

Joseph Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

and

Edward Vardon Edward Charles Vardon (10 November 1866 – 23 February 1937) was an Australian businessman and politician. He served briefly as a Senator for South Australia (1921–1922) and was a member of the South Australian House of Assembly (1918–1921, ...

. Outside of politics, Guy was a trustee of the Chalmers Presbyterian Church in Launceston and taught

Sunday school A Sunday school is an educational institution, usually (but not always) Christian in character. Other religions including Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism have also organised Sunday schools in their temples and mosques, particularly in the West. Su ...

. He was also chairman of the Launceston United Friendly Societies' Dispensary, a director of the Permanent Building Society, and secretary of the

Independent Order of Rechabites The Independent Order of Rechabites (IOR), also known as the Sons and Daughters of Rechab,Alan Axelrod ''International Encyclopedia of Secret Societies and Fraternal Orders'' New York; Facts on File, inc 1997 p.206 is a fraternal organisation a ...

. He was in poor health at the time of his defeat and died at his home in

Inveresk Inveresk (Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic: ''Inbhir Easg'') is a village in East Lothian, Scotland situated to the south of Musselburgh. It has been designated a Conservation area (United Kingdom), conservation area since 1969. It is situated on s ...

on 23 August 1921.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guy, James Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian Senate for Tasmania Members of the Australian Senate 1860 births 1921 deaths 20th-century Australian politicians Australian blacksmiths Members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly Politicians from Launceston, Tasmania Australian Presbyterians Colony of Tasmania people