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| politics_the_post_office [2023/11/09 10:59] – judith | politics_the_post_office [2023/11/09 11:14] – judith |
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| TLM-P's periods as Postmaster-General are as follows:\\ | TLM-P's periods as Postmaster-General are as follows:\\ |
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| 1. **1862 - 1 March 1866**: TLM-P's formal notice of appointment appeared in the press in January 1863.((//The Courier//, 17 January 1863, p.6)) After taking up his appointment, he 'immediately set out on a tour of inspection' returning on 6 January 1862. After TLM-P served as Postmaster-General for four years, Parliament voted for the position of Postmaster-General to be again held by a politician. In order to retain his position, on 22 February 1866, the State Governor appointed TLM-P to Queensland's upper house, the [[wp>Queensland_Legislative_Council|Legislative Council]], which was dominated by conservative squatting interests. Such appointments were for life so he remained a member until his death in 31 December 1892.(({{https://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/members/former/member-register|Qld parliament former members register}})) \\ | 1. **1862 - 1 March 1866**: TLM-P's formal notice of appointment appeared in the press in January 1863.((//The Courier//, 17 January 1863, p.6)) After taking up his appointment, he 'immediately set out on a tour of inspection' returning on 6 January 1862. After TLM-P served as Postmaster-General for four years, Parliament voted for the position of Postmaster-General to be again held by a politician. In order to retain his position, on 22 February 1866, the State Governor appointed TLM-P to Queensland's upper house, the [[wp>Queensland_Legislative_Council|Legislative Council]]\\ |
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| The concept of the Legislative Council was that the Legislative Councillors 'shall be a body of gentlemen of independent means and character, possessing a special aptitude for politics and inspired with a high sense of public duty. They are supposed ... [to be] the best possible substitutes for the hereditary claims to pre-eminence and the inherited capacity for statesmanship, [of the British peerage]'. The //Brisbane Courier// warned that, if they did not live up to this 'standard of political superiority' then they could not 'justify their continued political existence' in a democracy.((28 October 1885))\\ | |
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| For a sample entry of one day of his 1862 diary about his work as Postmaster-General, see [[tlm-p_s_diaries|TLM-P's Diaries]]\\ | For a sample entry of one day of his 1862 diary about his work as Postmaster-General, see [[tlm-p_s_diaries|TLM-P's Diaries]]\\ |
| {{:telegraph_staff_1870s.jpg?400|}}TLM-P has written on the back that this photo is of the 'Telegraph Department, officials Chief Office[ers?] Brisbane 1870 [? the last digit is unclear].((Provenance: J. Godden))\\ | {{:telegraph_staff_1870s.jpg?400|}}TLM-P has written on the back that this photo is of the 'Telegraph Department, officials Chief Office[ers?] Brisbane 1870 [? the last digit is unclear].((Provenance: J. Godden))\\ |
| Following Tom A. M-P's initiative, this plaque on the Brisbane GPO has recently been restored.{{:gpo_plaque.jpg?500|}} \\ | Following Tom A. M-P's initiative, this plaque on the Brisbane GPO has recently been restored.{{:gpo_plaque.jpg?500|}} \\ |
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| | ===== Legislative Council ===== |
| | TLM-P was appointed to Queensland's upper house, the [[wp>Queensland_Legislative_Council|Legislative Council]] on 22 February 1866. Such appointments were for life so he remained a member until his death in 31 December 1892.(({{https://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/members/former/member-register|Qld parliament former members register}})) \\ |
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| | The Legislative Council was dominated by conservative squatting interests, men whose interests aligned with TLM-P's. The concept was that the Legislative Councillors 'shall be a body of gentlemen of independent means and character, possessing a special aptitude for politics and inspired with a high sense of public duty. They are supposed ... [to be] the best possible substitutes for the hereditary claims to pre-eminence and the inherited capacity for statesmanship, [of the British peerage]'. The //Brisbane Courier// warned that, if they did not live up to this 'standard of political superiority' then they could not 'justify their continued political existence' in a democracy.((28 October 1885)) TLM-P defended the reputation of the Council against the Brisbane Courier's criticism. He argued that the article was, 'if not a breach of privilege, ... very uncalled for. He said he was not in the habit of taking notice of what appeared in the papers, but as the journal in question was widely read by people outside, it might tend to place the Council in a very undeserved position. He had been away from the Council for the past fortnight, and if he had read "Hansard" correctly, he believed the Postmaster-General called the attention of the House to the fact of members being absent. The speaker admitted that he was one of those absent members, but he did not think his remarks applied to him at all, because if he were wanted, whatever his private business might be, his presence in the House was always to be relied upon. The Postmaster-General here interjected an encouraging "Hear, hear," and Mr. Murray Prior continued that the government representative in that House had no doubt good reason for what he had said. He read the article which appeared in the Courier of Monday last, ... to the effect that the Legislative Council had spent very little time over legislation, and they ought to be able to do a little real work now that there was an accumulation of work before the Upper House, that a nominee legislative body had no other strength than that given to it by public esteem, and that the prestige of the Council would be woefully impaired if it could be |
| | shown that its members hindered public business out of sheer indolence. Such a paragraph, said Mr. Murray-Prior, was almost insolent, .... Instead of there being an accumulation of work, everything was gone through as rapidly as was consistent with the matter in hand. He hardly thought it was the duty of the Council, when a bill was before the other Chamber for three or four months, to pass it in a very short time, and bills had |
| | been well considered by several hon. gentlemen before they were passed. The Postmaster General agreed in some measure with what had fallen from Mr. Murray-Prior. He could fairly claim to support the hon. gentleman in |
| | his statement ... and concluded by declaring that no fault could be found with the progress of business in this section of the Legislature. \\ |
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| ====== Other aspects of TLM-P's Political Career ====== | ====== Other aspects of TLM-P's Political Career ====== |