State Politics
In 1882, Gould was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly as the member for Patrick's Plains (renamed Singleton in 1894). Initially an opponent of the coalition associated with Henry Parkes and John Robertson, he later supported Robertson's government in 1885. By 1887 he was supporting his career with his own legal practice in Singleton and Sydney, and when the party system came into being in New South Wales in that year he identified as a Free Trader. In 1889 he was appointed Minister for Justice under Parkes, serving until 1891; he held the position again under George Reid from 1894 to 1898. During the first period of his ministry he became involved in a dispute with the Chief Justice, Sir Frederick Darley, over requests for improved court accommodation and a contested punishment for contempt of two witnesses. Despite embarrassing his premier, he remained close with Parkes throughout his state career and in later years frequently gave speeches in his memory.
Gould's career as justice minister was marked by consolidation of the law, tightening of licensing laws and reforms relating to police courts. A supporter of Federation, he nevertheless opposed the 1898 bill, which he believed deprived New South Wales of adequate recognition. He was defeated in the election of that year, but in 1899 he was one of Premier Reid's twelve appointments to the Legislative Council that enabled the passage of the legislation for a referendum on Federation.
Read more about this topic: Albert Gould
Famous quotes containing the words state and/or politics:
“Some are petitioning the State to dissolve the Union, to disregard the requisitions of the President. Why do they not dissolve it themselves,—the union between themselves and the State,—and refuse to pay their quota into its treasury? Do not they stand in the same relation to the State that the State does to the Union? And have not the same reasons prevented the State from resisting the Union which have prevented them from resisting the State?”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Every two years the American politics industry fills the airwaves with the most virulent, scurrilous, wall-to-wall character assassination of nearly every political practitioner in the country—and then declares itself puzzled that America has lost trust in its politicians.”
—Charles Krauthammer (b. 1950)