James Henry Young (15 May 1834 – 9 May 1908) was an Australian colonial businessman and politician and

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

of 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 ...

Early life and business

Young was born at Moor Court, near

Romsey Romsey ( ) is a historic market town in the county of Hampshire, England. Romsey was home to the 17th-century philosopher and economist William Petty and the 19th-century British prime minister, Lord Palmerston, whose statue has stood in the t ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

to Martha Druce and James Young, a farmer. At age 14 he was an apprentice with the

Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company P&O (in full, The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company) is a British shipping and logistics company dating from the early 19th century. Formerly a public company, it was sold to DP World in March 2006 for £3.9 billion. DP World c ...

. He arrived in Sydney in August 1852 on the inaugural voyage of the ''Chusan'', a steam ship that completed the voyage from Southampton in 80 days, a significant reduction from the usual 121–130 days. He spent two years working on the gold fields, however was not successful and took employment with the Sydney & Melbourne Steam Packet Co. He settled in the

Port Macquarie Port Macquarie is a coastal town in the local government area of Port Macquarie-Hastings. It is located on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, about north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. The town is located on the Tasman Sea co ...

region in the late 1850s, working as a harbour pilot then as a shop keeper. He married Ellen Kemp on 21 July 1859 at Port Macquarie. In around 1876 he established a business as a produce merchant in Sydney, with interest in coastal shipping.

Political career

In 1880 Young contested the new district of Hastings and Manning which included Port Macquarie, finishing on top of the poll. He represented the district until the abolition of multi-member districts in 1894. He was appointed

Minister of Public Instruction Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of governme ...

in the fifth Robertson Ministry from December 1885 to February 1886. He joined the

Free Trade Party The Free Trade Party which was officially known as the Australian Free Trade and Liberal Association, also referred to as the Revenue Tariff Party in some states, was an Australian political party, formally organised in 1887 in New South Wales, ...

on its establishment in 1887 and was elected Speaker of the Assembly in March 1887, on a salary of £1,500 per year. He was a commissioner for New South Wales for the exhibition in Adelaide in 1887 and Melbourne in 1888. He was re-elected speaker after the 1889 election, but rowdy members of the assembly, such as

John McElhone John McElhone (16 June 1833 – 6 May 1898) was an Australian politician. He was born in Sydney to milk vendor Terence McElhone and Catherine Mallon. He attended St Mary's Seminary School and was an apprentice seaman from 1851. In 1859 he w ...

Adolphus Taylor Adolphus George Taylor (14 June 1857 – 18 January 1900) was an Australian journalist and populist politician, active in New South Wales the 1880s and 1890s. Early life Reputed the illegitimate son of a gentleman father, Taylor was born in Mudg ...

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 ...

and William Willis were difficult for Young to deal with. In 1890 he entered into a compromise with his creditors in which they received one quarter of the value of their debts. The matter was raised in the Assembly and the

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

, George Simpson QC gave an opinion that Young was not disqualified from parliament as a court had not made a sequestration order. Crick moved that Young's seat be referred to the elections and qualifications committee, however this was defeated along party lines 52 to 30. The leader of the opposition,

George Dibbs Sir George Richard Dibbs KCMG (12 October 1834 – 5 August 1904) was an Australian politician who was Premier of New South Wales on three occasions. Early years Dibbs was born in Sydney, son of Captain John Dibbs, who 'disappeared' in the sa ...

gave notice of a motion that would remove Young as Speaker and he resigned as Speaker on 21 October 1890. His financial position recovered and he was appointed Secretary for Public Works in the

fifth Parkes ministry Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a contagious rash that ...

on 14 August 1891 and held the post until the retirement of the ministry on 22 October 1891. Multi-member electorates were abolished in 1894 and Young successfully contested the new district of The Manning. He was appointed Secretary for Public Works in the Reid ministry on 3 August 1894 until a reshuffle on 3 July 1899 saw him moved to be Secretary for Lands. He assisted

Sydney Smith Sydney Smith (3 June 1771 – 22 February 1845) was an English wit, writer, and Anglican cleric. Early life and education Born in Woodford, Essex, England, Smith was the son of merchant Robert Smith (1739–1827) and Maria Olier (1750–1801), ...

at the 1898 Hastings and Macleay by-election against

Edmund Barton Sir Edmund "Toby" Barton, (18 January 18497 January 1920) was an Australian politician and judge who served as the first prime minister of Australia from 1901 to 1903, holding office as the leader of the Protectionist Party. He resigned to ...

. Justice William Owen was subsequently appointed to conduct a Royal Commission into allegations concerning his conduct during the by-election, The major allegation was that the effect of Young's statements were that he would favour Smith more than Barton in dealing with the requirements of the electorate. Justice Owen found Young had not abused the powers of his office, however rebuked him for a "grave indiscretion" in the way he spoke. He was defeated for The Manning at the 1901 election by John Thomson. The Manning was abolished as a consequence of the

1903 New South Wales referendum A referendum concerning the reduction of the members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly was put to voters on 16 December 1903, in conjunction with the 1903 federal election. The referendum was conducted on the basis of optional preferen ...

, and partly absorbed by

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

. The sitting member for Gloucester,

Richard Price Richard Price (23 February 1723 – 19 April 1791) was a British moral philosopher, Nonconformist minister and mathematician. He was also a political reformer, pamphleteer, active in radical, republican, and liberal causes such as the French ...

, did not contest the election and Young defeated John Thompson at the Gloucester at the 1904 election, however the return of Richard Price saw Young defeated at the 1907 election.

Later life and death

He died of heart failure in Chatswood on , survived by his wife Ellen, six daughters and two sons.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Henry James 1834 births 1908 deaths Colony of New South Wales people Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Speakers of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Free Trade Party politicians 19th-century Australian politicians