Thomas Gregson

Thomas Gregson

Thomas George Gregson (born February 7, 1796 in Buckton , Northumberland , England , † January 4, 1874 in Risdon , Tasmania ) was a politician who was Prime Minister of Tasmania in 1857 . As a member of the Legislative Council, he was an avowed opponent of the shipment of prisoners to the Australian convict colony .

Life

Emigrated from England and settled in Tasmania

Gregson was the son of John Gregson, a squire from Lowlynn near Holy Island in Northumberland, and trained in Edinburgh . Due to family differences, he emigrated to Van Diemens Land and arrived in Hobart with his wife in 1821 . With the approval of Henry Bathurst, 3rd Earl Bathurst , William Sorell , the then Vice-Governor of Tasmania , granted him land in Jericho with a size of 1020 hectares in order to cultivate them. He named the house he built there after his English home in Northumbria .

Gregson later received additional land from 405 Hector near East Risdon and named the second house there Restdown . There he held festivals with his family that made him known. Due to his numerous public and social activities, he eventually sold Northumbria and only lived on his estate in East Risdon. His interest in horse racing and hunting led him to import a number of hunting dogs from England for the local hunting club, and in 1827 helped organize the first race in the colony.

Criticism of Lieutenant Governor Arthur's policies

In 1824, Gregson, one of the most active promoters of the settlers' freedom rights, wrote a petition for the detachment of Van Diemens land from the administration of New South Wales . A separation brought various advantages on the one hand, but undermined the power of the lieutenant governor. When the lieutenant governor, who was appointed in 1824, Colonel George Arthur , decided to keep the island as a prison and thus part of the convict colony of Australia and to subordinate the interests of the settlers to these intentions, the Gregson contradicted in every respect.

In 1829 he protested a bill that lifted a cap on lending rates. He justified this with the need for a public works program and the arbitrary power of Governor Arthur to ruin the settlers and then take possession of their lands and hold them for convict labor. He also took a leading role in the movement that demanded criminal judgments from a jury .

In addition, he supported the dissemination of public opinion the opposition daily Colonial Times , whose publication permission had been withdrawn by the lieutenant governor due to the Press Licensing Act of 1827 . Gregson, along with others, also organized a demonstration and successfully requested the Secretary of State to repeal this law. He claimed the success of this decision for himself, but on the other hand refused the offer of 202 hectares offered by some colonists.

In July 1832 Gregson founded The Colonist, his own daily newspaper, which he co-financed with George Meredith in order to develop it into " The Journal of the People" . Due to personal attacks contained therein against Lieutenant Governor Arthur and civil servants, he soon found himself exposed to defamation suits. The fine of 80 pounds , however, were paid by public support.

In September 1835 organized Gregson finally a political association that a petition to the British Colonial Office ( Colonial Office ) submitted. This called for the establishment of a Legislative Council consisting of elected members instead of a member appointed by the government. When there was no response, another petition was filed with King William IV of Britain summarizing the colony's complaints. In reply, the State Secretary claimed that the complainants had exaggerated.

Recall of Lieutenant Governor Arthur and friendship with Lieutenant Governor Franklin

Gregson then realized that there could be no progress as long as Lieutenant Governor Arthur remained in office. Because of this, he filed a series of charges against the lieutenant governor with the Colonial Ministry. After more than twelve years in office, Arthur was finally dismissed on October 29, 1836, while his administrative staff remained in office. Shortly thereafter there was a duel between Gregson and Henry Jellicoe, one of Arthur's supporters. He also injured Henry Arthur, a nephew of the lieutenant governor and tax collector, with a horse whip.

Jellicoe was rushed to hospital, seriously injured, while Henry Arthur filed charges against Gregson for the attack. In the criminal case, Gregson was sentenced to three months' imprisonment and a fine of £ 200. A petition signed by 1,400 people called for the conviction to be commuted. After the new Lieutenant Governor John Franklin had received the petition, he lifted the remaining sentence "as an act of grace to calm public feelings" ('as an act of grace calculated to allay public feeling') .

Appointed member of the Legislative Council

During the six-year term that followed, he maintained close relationships with Lieutenant Governor Franklin. Shortly before the end of his term of office, Gregson was appointed by Franklin to a member of the Legislative Council in 1843, which was an important influence on the achievement of self-government in the colony.

As a member of the Legislative Council, he consistently called for free immigration and fought for education in a speech published in Hobart in 1850. However, his main contribution grew due to the economic depression of the 1840s, when Gregson criticized the penitentiary system, particularly spending on police and prisons, which contributed significantly to the colony's financial problems. On the other hand, he spoke out against a bill to impose taxes and duties on tea, sugar and tobacco, and refused to support further taxation without a House of Representatives.

When the annual budget consultation was held in October 1845, Gregson and five other members walked out of the Legislative Council meeting without voting. The six patriots (Patriotic Six) resigned as members, but were reappointed members of the Legislative Council on the instructions of the Colonial Ministry after being temporarily occupied by other people. For his leadership of the six, Gregson received 2000 guineas from his supporters at a public dinner .

First election of the Legislative Council in 1851

By 1850, criticism of the penal colony system had peaked with protests at public gatherings and anti-shipping associations, while Gregson and his supporters obstructed obstruction of all legislation. As a concession to this unrest, the British House of Commons added a clause to the Australian Colonies Government Act , according to which a legislative council of 24 members was to be established in Van Diemens Land, 16 of whom were elected and the remaining eight should be nominated by the governor.

The first elections on October 31, 1851 led to a victory for the anti-transportationists and Gregson himself was elected a member of the Legislative Council in the Richmond constituency. He and his supporters in the new council drafted a resolution declaring their opposition to any further spending in prison facilities. They also called for an investigation by the convict authorities, with Gregson leading an attack against their general controller, Major John Hampton . At the end of 1852 the British government was convinced that the shipping of prisoners had to cease and with this ban the main obstacle to good governance disappeared.

A committee, including Gregson, was formed to work out a constitution that provided the colony with a parliament with two fully elected chambers.

First free elections in 1856 and Prime Minister in 1857

In the first free elections, despite a well-organized opposition to him, Gregson was elected as a member of the House of Assembly , the new lower house of parliament, in the Richmond constituency with a narrow majority, mostly from the working class .

The first cabinet of the Tasmanian Self-Government was headed by Prime Minister William Champ and was in office from November 1, 1856 to February 26, 1857. During this time, Gregson served as the opposition leader in the House of Assembly.

After Champ resigned on February 26, 1857 because of a resolution to reduce the governor's salary, which he unsuccessfully criticized, Gregson succeeded him as prime minister. However, he stayed in office for barely two months until April 25, 1857, when he was replaced by William Weston . At the same time he held the post of Colonial Secretary in his government .

His land reform proposals and cuts in the civil service aroused bitter press opposition, and his advocacy for a government loan sparked unrest that led to the resignation of ten members of the House of Assembly. Ultimately, the motion to initiate a vote of no confidence led to the end of his government, especially since his previous extra-parliamentary successes of emotional advocacy for his goals and the radical agitation used for them did not fit into a parliamentary system of government.

Opposition leader and withdrawal from political life

On the other hand, however, after the end of his tenure as prime minister, he took over the function of opposition leader in the House of Representatives and held it until July 1862. In this position, he attributed the problems of a responsible government to the poor economic conditions. For the lack of constructive reforms, he blamed the self-interest of large landowners, whose previous political involvement would have given them power and the establishment of their economic oligarchy.

After finishing his position as opposition leader, he remained a member of the House of Assembly until September 30, 1872.

Gregson was the father of three daughters and one son. One of the daughters was married to James Whyte , who was also Tasmania's Prime Minister between 1863 and 1866. His son John Compton Gregson , who died in 1867, completed a law degree in Great Britain, then worked as a barrister in Hobart and served as Attorney General in his father's cabinet from February 26 to April 25, 1857 .

Web links

• Entry on the homepage of the Parliament of Tasmania
• Ministers - House of Assembly - 1856 to 1950
• Entry in the Australian Dictionary of Biography