James Blair (Australian judge)
Encyclopedia
Sir James William Blair KCMG (16 May 187018 November 1944) was an Australian politician, lawyer and judge. He was a successful politician, being elected to the Queensland Parliament on several occasions. He held the office of Attorney-General and was also the Minister for Mines and introduced many successful law reforms measures in Queensland. In latter life, he took up an appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland
and went on to become the Chief Justice of that court. Blair took on many civic roles including that of Chancellor of the University of Queensland
.
His biographer states that Blair was thought of as a "dandy" because he wore a white gardenia
in his coat buttonhole and a silk handkerchief protruding from his breast pocket. Blair was said to be witty, possess a delightful personality, a gift of speech, and a love of humour, although author Frank Hardy
is accused of referring to Blair as "venal" through veiled references in the book "Power Without Glory
".
, Queensland on 16 May 1870. He was the son of Gordon Blair and Julie Blair (née Droughton). He was first educated by his mother but he later attended Ipswich West State School. He later attended Ipswich Grammar School between 1882 and 1888. He read for the preliminary Queensland Bar examinations in Brisbane. Blair lived in Swanwick at the time and was called to the Queensland Bar on 6 March 1894.
Blair shared chambers with the Queensland Attorney General of the time, Thomas Joseph Byrnes
. Blair appeared as junior counsel in many significant cases. One of those was the appeal to the Full Court of the Supreme Court of Queensland by Patrick Kenniff and James Kenniff. Both had been convicted of murdering a property owner and a police constable after the homestead they were staying in was burnt to the ground. The appeal did not succeed and Patrick Kenniff was executed soon after and his brother went on to serve a gaol term.
in the Queensland State elections. He was one of two elected to represented Ipswich in that election. Blair captured the hearts of the electorate by putting up heart shaped signs saying "Give Jimmy a vote" or "In the hearts of the people". In parliament he opposed Sunday trading for pubs and hotels, restricted hours for bars, prohibition of the sale of tobacco to children and the stringent enforcement against gambling. He also sought the takeover of private schools by the Government and the provision of more scholarships after their takeover.
In 1903, at the age of 33, Blair was invited to become Attorney-General of Queensland after Sir Arthur Morgan
became Premier of Queensland after the Liberal-Labour coalition victory. One of Blair's first acts was to abolish the office of sheriff
. This led to the sacking of Arthur Hoey David (or better known as author Steele Rudd). This led to many vicious personal attacks on Blair in Steele Rudd's Magazine. The office of sheriff was quickly restored when it was realized how much the sheriff actually did. In 1904, Blair additionally became the Minister for Mines. In 1905, Blair introduced the Worker's Compensation Act 1905 (Qld), a major change to workplace safety laws in Queensland. Previous efforts at reform in this area had stalled and this legislation changed the focus from the regulation of safety to instead requiring employers to compensate employees for workplace accidents. He introduced the Children's Court Act 1907 (Qld) providing for the first specialized children's courts in Queensland. These courts were a great success. These specialized children's courts continue to exist in modern times (see Childrens Court of Queensland. However, he was unable to gather support for changes to mining laws or to education. As joint editor, he published an annotated version of the Workers Compensation legislation in 1906. He also jointed revised the "Queensland Police Code and Justices' Manual of the Criminal Law" written by Robert Archibald Ranking. He continued in his executive offices after William Kidston
became Premier in 1906. He lost those offices in 1907 when Sir Robert Philp
became Premier, but was eventually re-appointed after Kidston regained the premiership in 1908.
A constitutional impasse over the Queensland Legislative Council between the Queensland Governor, Lord Chelmsford, and Kidston as Premier led to a general election. Blair introduced two pieces of legislation that became crucial in the later abolition of the upper house. The first reduced the requirement for a two-thirds majority for a bill to become law in Queensland. After this was passed, a further law change was made that allowed for referendum of the people to be held to make laws had been refused in two consecutive sessions of Parliament.
Kidston offered Blair an appointment to the Supreme Court of Queensland
in 1908. However, he declined it because it was to be a Northern Queensland appointment and he preferred a Brisbane placement. When Kidston formed a coalition with the Opposition, he removed Blair from his ministerial roles to allow for coalition members to be appointed. Blair went on to lead what became known as the "Independent Opposition". In 1911 he became president of Tattersall's Club. He held this role until 1922.
He married Christina Gibson on 29 February 1912 at St Andrew's Church of England, South Brisbane. They were to have no children. At the general election in that year, Blair stood as a Government candidate for Ipswich. He was elected and he returned to the ministry as Secretary for Public Instruction and held this office until 1915. In Parliament, he introduced law changes to raise the age of consent from 14 to 17 years of age. He also introduced changes to prevent wills excluding immediate family, as well as introducing rules that restricted corporate ownership of pharmacies to Family Societies. He also changed the criteria for the awarding of secondary school scholarships by making them available to all who qualified, rather than by way of competition.
In 1915 Blair lost his seat in parliament at the general election, and he returned to private practice as a barrister. He appeared as junior counsel in the "Legislative Council referendum" case in which he argued that legislation abolishing the Upper House in Queensland was valid. The Full Court of the Supreme Court of Queensland ruled against the validity of that legislation. However, the High Court of Australia
overturned that decision and ruled that it was valid. Blair became a member of the senate of the University of Queensland in 1915 and 1916.
. He was appointed chief justice on 24 April 1925 on the death of McCawly. He was reappointed to the senate of the University of Queensland in 1926 and became chancellor in 1927. Blair was knighted
in the 1930 New Year Honours
.
In 1931 Blair heard a civil claim for damages against two former premiers of Queensland, William McCormack
and Edward Granville Theodore. They were both accused of conspiracy in respect of the purchase of two mines in Northern Queensland from the Munguna Mining Corporation. The case achieved public notoriety as Theodore was then the Treasurer of the Australian Government. The trial lasted twenty-days before a jury and had to be held in the Brisbane City Hall because of the number of defendants. It led to a verdict in favour of McCormack and Theodore.
In 1939, Blair and a jury held a trial in respect of a large of number of accused who had been part of the League for Social Justice. The accused had invaded the Legislative Council chambers armed with baton, barbed wire and hammers. Blair's biography states that Blair made it clear to the jury that the accused were guilty, but the jury found that they were not.
Frank Hardy's novel "Power Without Glory" uses thinly veiled references to Blair in the novel. Hardy uses the character in the novel to accuse Blair of venality. Blair's biographer dismisses these references as simply gossip. Blair was also to be the president of Queensland Rugby Union.
's Silver Jubilee King's Birthday Honours.
Blair retired as chief justice on 16 May 1940 but remained as lieutenant-governor. Blair was the subject of controversy when Justice Edward Douglas of the Supreme Court published a statement in the Brisbane based "Truth" newspaper in 1944 alleging that Blair had suppressed a pension plan for judges. Douglas further alleged that Blair had received a salary as lieutenant-governor and had been given large undisclosed sums of money by the government to suppress pensions for judges. The allegations caused the other judges of the Court to condemn Douglas and lend their support to Blair. It emerged later in the Queensland Parliament that Douglas was mistaken over the pensions issue, that Blair had not received a salary as lieutenant-governor, and that the undisclosed payments were in fact payment for untaken leave.
He died on 18 November 1944 at the Mater Misericordiae Hospital in South Brisbane. A service was held at St John's Cathedral, Brisbane
, and a state funeral proceeded to Bulimba cemetery (now called Balmoral Cemetery, or sometimes called Morningside Cemetery).
Supreme Court of Queensland
The Supreme Court of Queensland, which is based at the Law Courts Complex, is the superior court for the Australian State of Queensland and sits around the middle of the Australian court hierarchy...
and went on to become the Chief Justice of that court. Blair took on many civic roles including that of Chancellor of the University of Queensland
University of Queensland
The University of Queensland, also known as UQ, is a public university located in state of Queensland, Australia. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest and largest university in Queensland and the fifth oldest in the nation...
.
His biographer states that Blair was thought of as a "dandy" because he wore a white gardenia
Gardenia
Gardenia is a genus of 142 species of flowering plants in the coffee family, Rubiaceae, native to the tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, southern Asia, Australasia and Oceania....
in his coat buttonhole and a silk handkerchief protruding from his breast pocket. Blair was said to be witty, possess a delightful personality, a gift of speech, and a love of humour, although author Frank Hardy
Frank Hardy
Francis Joseph Hardy, or Frank, was an Australian left-wing novelist and writer best known for his controversial novel Power Without Glory. He also was a political activist bringing the plight of Aboriginal Australians to international attention with the publication of his book, The Unlucky...
is accused of referring to Blair as "venal" through veiled references in the book "Power Without Glory
Power Without Glory
Power Without Glory is a 1950 novel written by Australian writer Frank Hardy. It was later adapted into a mini-series by the Australian Broadcasting Commission .- Publication :...
".
Early years
Blair was born at Coalfalls, IpswichIpswich, Queensland
Ipswich is a city in South-East Queensland, Australia. Situated along the Bremer River Valley approximately 40 kilometres away from the state's capital Brisbane. The suburb by the same name forms the city's Central Business District and administrative centre...
, Queensland on 16 May 1870. He was the son of Gordon Blair and Julie Blair (née Droughton). He was first educated by his mother but he later attended Ipswich West State School. He later attended Ipswich Grammar School between 1882 and 1888. He read for the preliminary Queensland Bar examinations in Brisbane. Blair lived in Swanwick at the time and was called to the Queensland Bar on 6 March 1894.
Blair shared chambers with the Queensland Attorney General of the time, Thomas Joseph Byrnes
Thomas Joseph Byrnes
Thomas Joseph Byrnes was Premier of Queensland from April 1898 until his death, having previously served in several ministerial positions in his parliamentary career.-Early life:...
. Blair appeared as junior counsel in many significant cases. One of those was the appeal to the Full Court of the Supreme Court of Queensland by Patrick Kenniff and James Kenniff. Both had been convicted of murdering a property owner and a police constable after the homestead they were staying in was burnt to the ground. The appeal did not succeed and Patrick Kenniff was executed soon after and his brother went on to serve a gaol term.
Political career
Blair's association with Byrnes led to his interest in politics. Blair contested a general election in 1902 as an independent candidate for IpswichElectoral district of Ipswich
The district of Ipswich is a Queensland Legislative Assembly electoral district on the Brisbane River, west of Brisbane in the Australian state of Queensland...
in the Queensland State elections. He was one of two elected to represented Ipswich in that election. Blair captured the hearts of the electorate by putting up heart shaped signs saying "Give Jimmy a vote" or "In the hearts of the people". In parliament he opposed Sunday trading for pubs and hotels, restricted hours for bars, prohibition of the sale of tobacco to children and the stringent enforcement against gambling. He also sought the takeover of private schools by the Government and the provision of more scholarships after their takeover.
In 1903, at the age of 33, Blair was invited to become Attorney-General of Queensland after Sir Arthur Morgan
Arthur Morgan
Arthur Morgan may refer to:* Arthur Ernest Morgan , U. S. administrator, educator and engineer* Arthur Morgan , Premier of Queensland, Australia...
became Premier of Queensland after the Liberal-Labour coalition victory. One of Blair's first acts was to abolish the office of sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
. This led to the sacking of Arthur Hoey David (or better known as author Steele Rudd). This led to many vicious personal attacks on Blair in Steele Rudd's Magazine. The office of sheriff was quickly restored when it was realized how much the sheriff actually did. In 1904, Blair additionally became the Minister for Mines. In 1905, Blair introduced the Worker's Compensation Act 1905 (Qld), a major change to workplace safety laws in Queensland. Previous efforts at reform in this area had stalled and this legislation changed the focus from the regulation of safety to instead requiring employers to compensate employees for workplace accidents. He introduced the Children's Court Act 1907 (Qld) providing for the first specialized children's courts in Queensland. These courts were a great success. These specialized children's courts continue to exist in modern times (see Childrens Court of Queensland. However, he was unable to gather support for changes to mining laws or to education. As joint editor, he published an annotated version of the Workers Compensation legislation in 1906. He also jointed revised the "Queensland Police Code and Justices' Manual of the Criminal Law" written by Robert Archibald Ranking. He continued in his executive offices after William Kidston
William Kidston
William Kidston was an Australian politician and Premier of Queensland, from January 1906 to November 1907 and again from February 1908 to February 1911.-Early life:...
became Premier in 1906. He lost those offices in 1907 when Sir Robert Philp
Robert Philp
Sir Robert Philp, KCMG was a Queensland businessman and politician who was Premier of Queensland from December 1899 to September 1903 and again from November 1907 to February 1908.-Early life:...
became Premier, but was eventually re-appointed after Kidston regained the premiership in 1908.
A constitutional impasse over the Queensland Legislative Council between the Queensland Governor, Lord Chelmsford, and Kidston as Premier led to a general election. Blair introduced two pieces of legislation that became crucial in the later abolition of the upper house. The first reduced the requirement for a two-thirds majority for a bill to become law in Queensland. After this was passed, a further law change was made that allowed for referendum of the people to be held to make laws had been refused in two consecutive sessions of Parliament.
Kidston offered Blair an appointment to the Supreme Court of Queensland
Supreme Court of Queensland
The Supreme Court of Queensland, which is based at the Law Courts Complex, is the superior court for the Australian State of Queensland and sits around the middle of the Australian court hierarchy...
in 1908. However, he declined it because it was to be a Northern Queensland appointment and he preferred a Brisbane placement. When Kidston formed a coalition with the Opposition, he removed Blair from his ministerial roles to allow for coalition members to be appointed. Blair went on to lead what became known as the "Independent Opposition". In 1911 he became president of Tattersall's Club. He held this role until 1922.
He married Christina Gibson on 29 February 1912 at St Andrew's Church of England, South Brisbane. They were to have no children. At the general election in that year, Blair stood as a Government candidate for Ipswich. He was elected and he returned to the ministry as Secretary for Public Instruction and held this office until 1915. In Parliament, he introduced law changes to raise the age of consent from 14 to 17 years of age. He also introduced changes to prevent wills excluding immediate family, as well as introducing rules that restricted corporate ownership of pharmacies to Family Societies. He also changed the criteria for the awarding of secondary school scholarships by making them available to all who qualified, rather than by way of competition.
In 1915 Blair lost his seat in parliament at the general election, and he returned to private practice as a barrister. He appeared as junior counsel in the "Legislative Council referendum" case in which he argued that legislation abolishing the Upper House in Queensland was valid. The Full Court of the Supreme Court of Queensland ruled against the validity of that legislation. However, the High Court of Australia
High Court of Australia
The High Court of Australia is the supreme court in the Australian court hierarchy and the final court of appeal in Australia. It has both original and appellate jurisdiction, has the power of judicial review over laws passed by the Parliament of Australia and the parliaments of the States, and...
overturned that decision and ruled that it was valid. Blair became a member of the senate of the University of Queensland in 1915 and 1916.
Judicial career
In 1922, Blair was again offered an appointment as a judge on the Northern Queensland bench. This time he accepted and he and his family moved to Townsville. He subsequently moved to the Central Queensland bench in 1923 which was based at RockhamptonRockhampton, Queensland
Rockhampton is a city and local government area in Queensland, Australia. The city lies on the Fitzroy River, approximately from the river mouth, and some north of the state capital, Brisbane....
. He was appointed chief justice on 24 April 1925 on the death of McCawly. He was reappointed to the senate of the University of Queensland in 1926 and became chancellor in 1927. Blair was knighted
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
in the 1930 New Year Honours
New Year Honours
The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, being a civic occasion on the New Year annually in which new members of most Commonwealth Realms honours are named. The awards are presented by the reigning monarch or head of state, currently Queen Elizabeth II...
.
In 1931 Blair heard a civil claim for damages against two former premiers of Queensland, William McCormack
William McCormack
William McCormack , was Premier of Queensland, Australia, from 1925 to 1929.He was born in Purnam, Queensland and died in Brisbane on 21 November 1947....
and Edward Granville Theodore. They were both accused of conspiracy in respect of the purchase of two mines in Northern Queensland from the Munguna Mining Corporation. The case achieved public notoriety as Theodore was then the Treasurer of the Australian Government. The trial lasted twenty-days before a jury and had to be held in the Brisbane City Hall because of the number of defendants. It led to a verdict in favour of McCormack and Theodore.
In 1939, Blair and a jury held a trial in respect of a large of number of accused who had been part of the League for Social Justice. The accused had invaded the Legislative Council chambers armed with baton, barbed wire and hammers. Blair's biography states that Blair made it clear to the jury that the accused were guilty, but the jury found that they were not.
Frank Hardy's novel "Power Without Glory" uses thinly veiled references to Blair in the novel. Hardy uses the character in the novel to accuse Blair of venality. Blair's biographer dismisses these references as simply gossip. Blair was also to be the president of Queensland Rugby Union.
Vice-regal roles
Blair acted as deputy governor for brief periods whilst chief justice. He also served as Administrator of Queensland pending the arrival of the new governor in April 1932. He was appointed lieutenant-governor of Queensland on 31 May 1933. He was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) on 3 June 1935 in George VGeorge V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
's Silver Jubilee King's Birthday Honours.
Blair retired as chief justice on 16 May 1940 but remained as lieutenant-governor. Blair was the subject of controversy when Justice Edward Douglas of the Supreme Court published a statement in the Brisbane based "Truth" newspaper in 1944 alleging that Blair had suppressed a pension plan for judges. Douglas further alleged that Blair had received a salary as lieutenant-governor and had been given large undisclosed sums of money by the government to suppress pensions for judges. The allegations caused the other judges of the Court to condemn Douglas and lend their support to Blair. It emerged later in the Queensland Parliament that Douglas was mistaken over the pensions issue, that Blair had not received a salary as lieutenant-governor, and that the undisclosed payments were in fact payment for untaken leave.
He died on 18 November 1944 at the Mater Misericordiae Hospital in South Brisbane. A service was held at St John's Cathedral, Brisbane
St John's Cathedral, Brisbane
St John's Cathedral is the Anglican cathedral of Brisbane and the metropolitan cathedral of the ecclesiastical province of Queensland, Australia...
, and a state funeral proceeded to Bulimba cemetery (now called Balmoral Cemetery, or sometimes called Morningside Cemetery).