Edmund Barton

Australian politician

• Born: January 18, 1849
• Birthplace: Sydney, New South Wales (now in Australia)
• Died: January 7, 1920
• Place of death: Medlow Bath, Australia

Barton was the leader of the movement to form a federated Australian Commonwealth and was one of the authors of the new nation’s constitution. During the twentieth century, he served as Australia’s first prime minister and also served as a judge on the first High Court of Australia.

Early Life

Edmund Barton was born in Sydney, Australia, on January 18, 1849. He was the second youngest of eleven children born to William and Mary Louisa Barton. William Barton was the younger son of a London merchant who had come to the colony of New South Wales as an agent for an agricultural company. Although a notable figure in the commercial life of Sydney—he was its first stockbroker—William Barton did not become a wealthy man. At one stage, his wife conducted a girls’ school to assist in supporting the family.

Edmund, who was often known as “Ted” or “Toby,” was a healthy young man, in many ways typical of the new breed of Australian-born youth. The Sydney of his time was a bustling colonial community, still somewhat wild, and very aware of itself as one of several coastal toeholds on a vast continent waiting to be developed. The young Barton was first sent to the government school at Fort Street, often known as the “Model School.” He then went to Sydney Grammar School. There he met Richard O’Connor, with whom he was to form a lifelong friendship and who was to be his partner in later political life. Twice school captain of Sydney Grammar School, Barton took the classics prize and went on to Sydney University.

At the university, Barton took several prizes and scholarships, culminating in first-class honors in classics. He also fell under the influence of the noted English classical scholar and humanist Dr. Charles Badham, who brought Barton to a wide appreciation of culture. In 1870, he completed his university education with a master of arts degree. There were few opportunities in commercially minded Sydney for a classical scholar, even one of Barton’s ability, and he took to the law. He started out as an articled clerk in the firm of Burton Bradely, a Sydney solicitor (a lawyer in the lower courts), and later studied under G. C. Davis, a barrister. He was called to the New South Wales bar in 1872.

As a young man, Barton was large, more than six feet tall, and in his middle age he became quite stout. His features were always handsome, and he was described as dignified and well dressed. Throughout his life he was criticized for indolence, a charge difficult to support in the light of his achievements. There is no doubt that he loved the pleasures of the cultured gentleman: good company, intelligent conversation, fine wine and food. These he often found in the Athenaeum Club in Sydney, which from 1880 to 1920 was frequented by many of Australia’s most prominent lawyers, politicians, and men of letters. Although once described as Australia’s greatest orator, the power of his speeches came not from thundering tones or emotional rhetoric, but rather from carefully chosen phrases, which slowly and methodically established his position.

In 1876, Barton was visiting Newcastle with the Sydney cricket team, of which he was a member. There he met Jean Mason Ross, the daughter of a Scottish engineer who had emigrated to New South Wales. Their courtship lasted a year, and they were married on December 28, 1877. Together they had six children.

Life’s Work

Barton was first elected to the New South Wales legislative assembly in 1879, as the representative of the graduates of the University of Sydney. Within a year his somewhat unusual constituency was abolished, and he ran for the Sydney seat of Wellington and was returned to office without opposition. He was described as a moderate free trader and supporter of the government of Sir Henry Parkes. He spoke to all the issues of the day, particularly the questions of public instruction and the laws governing the opening up of the lands in the interior. The period 1879-1883 was marked by instability in the governments of New South Wales. No less than seven ministries were formed and dissolved, and, not surprisingly, little legislative progress was made. Barton’s equanimity and grasp of parliamentary procedure were recognized early, and on January 3, 1883, he was elected as the youngest speaker of the legislative assembly.

Barton’s four-year tenure as speaker brought him to great prominence in colonial affairs, helping to establish his reputation as a leader of deliberative assemblies. Shortly after he resigned as Speaker, he was appointed to the upper house, the Legislative Council, where he was to serve until 1894. He was attorney general in Sir George Richard Dibbs’s government, which included his friend Richard O’Connor. This government saw New South Wales through some of its stormiest times, including the great strikes of 1890 and 1891 and the constant controversy over protectionism.

New South Wales was the most densely populated and most commercial of the Australian colonies. The other colonies, particularly Victoria, favored intercolonial tariffs, for the protection of their local industries. One of the arguments for federating the Australian states was the removal of such tariffs and their replacement with national customs and excise. Barton first became interested in the issue when, as acting premier of New South Wales, he attended a conference on Asian immigration, in 1888. After a conference to consider the problems of colonial defense, Sir Henry Parkes stopped at Tenterfield in northern New South Wales to deliver what became known as the “Tenterfield Oration,” one of the earliest calls for a federated Australia by a prominent figure. Barton, who by this time was in the camp opposite Parkes in New South Wales politics, wrote to him and pledged his support for the federal cause.

A few days later, on November 3, 1889, Barton made his first public speech in support of federation, at a meeting of the Australian Natives Association at Sydney’s town hall. As a member of the protectionist party led by Dibbs, Barton’s support for the free trader Parkes brought much criticism. Barton worked hard with Parkes, O’Connor, and others to secure support for a National Australasian Convention, the first meeting of which was held in Sydney in March of 1891. At this gathering of the most prominent men in the colonies, Barton distinguished himself as a speaker and member of the Drafting Committee. He, Sir Samuel Griffith of Queensland, and Sir Charles Kingston of South Australia are noted for having retired to the Queensland government yacht, called the Lucinda, cruising the Hawkesbury River, on March 27. On March 29, they emerged with a finished constitution, which formed the basis for all further debate.

The draft bill passed by the convention had then to be accepted by the colonial parliaments. This process and the accompanying referenda were to take until 1900 and involved Barton in his greatest work. He was embarrassed, after the defeat of Parkes in 1892, by having served in the protectionist Dibbs ministry, whose leader was opposed to federation. During these difficult times, he was faced with a parliament concerned with local issues and, at best, indifferent to the cause to which Barton had devoted himself.

Eventually Barton’s position in the Dibbs government became untenable, and he resigned in 1894. Having been instrumental in the founding of the populist group the Federation League, he now became a missionary for the federalist cause. During the next three years, it is recorded that he addressed three hundred meetings in New South Wales alone and, despite the difficulties of intercolonial travel, visited the other colonies and spoke at a total of a thousand meetings. Whether speaking to the profederation Australian Natives Association or the Federation League, or addressing hostile antifederalist businesspeople or trade unionists, Barton stated his case simply and forcefully.

Other colonial politicians responded to the growing popularity of federation, and a second Australasian National Convention met in Adelaide on March 22, 1897. Barton, despite holding no political office, was elected first to represent New South Wales, ahead of the premier, George Reid. Barton was almost unanimously elected to the leadership of the convention and faced his greatest test within the first week, when the issue of representation and powers for the Senate, the state’s house, was hotly contested. His speech on the morning of April 14, 1897, is said to have been his greatest, and the division shortly afterward approved the draft for the Senate, which has remained as the compromise between the smaller and larger states in the Australian Commonwealth.

Once again, a draft bill was passed and Barton worked tirelessly for its acceptance by all the colonies. On June 3, 1898, the bill was put to a referendum in four of the six colonies and failed by eight thousand votes to achieve the requisite majority. There are tales of Barton traveling through the bush to address a small meeting and of taking fresh horses for the drive through the night to the next town. When the bill was again put to a vote, this time in all six colonies, in 1899 (1900 in Western Australia), it passed in each colony.

Barton now faced the task of leading the colonial delegation to the imperial parliament at Westminster. Although not opposed to federating the Australian colonies, the powerful colonial secretary, Joseph Chamberlain, insisted that the Privy Council in London remain as the highest court of appeal. Barton realized that the Constitution Bill must be passed in its original form if it was to retain support in Australia. After much negotiation, he secured a compromise amendment, retaining the right of appeal to the Privy Council but making such an appeal dependent on a certificate of the High Court of Australia. The bill was passed and given royal assent on July 9, 1900.

Despite his acknowledged leadership of the movement for federation, Barton almost did not become the first prime minister of the Commonwealth he did so much to create. Lord Hopetoun, the first governor-general, was so much impressed by the premier of New South Wales, Sir William Lyne, that on December 19, 1900, he commissioned him to form the first Commonwealth government. Lyne, who had been an active opponent of federation, failed to attract men of sufficient standing to form a successful government. On December 24, therefore, he returned his commission, and the next day Barton was asked to form a ministry that was sworn in when the new parliament was opened in 1901 by the duke of York. The elections held three months later confirmed Barton’s place as prime minister.

As the leader of the new Commonwealth, Barton’s principal task was the establishment of the organs of government, particularly the High Court. He attended the coronation of Edward VII in 1902 and was knighted by the new king. Upon his return, after the Imperial Conference, Barton’s government addressed itself to the questions of immigration, defense, and the setting up of seven new departments. After thirty-three months in office, Barton resigned to take a seat on the first bench of the High Court of Australia.

Although Barton was himself a successful lawyer—he had been a King’s Counsel since 1889—he recommended the chief justice of Queensland, Sir Samuel Griffith, rather than himself, to be the first chief justice of the Commonwealth of Australia. Critics have commented on the number of times he concurred with Griffith rather than publish his own judgment. It may be pointed out that on these occasions he had often written his own reasons, but concurred in order to clarify judicial precedent. His years on the Court were marked by appreciation of his wisdom and courtesy from the bench. On the morning of January 7, 1920, he collapsed after a bath and died immediately. Barton was given a state funeral and was buried at South Head Cemetery, Sydney.

Significance

To attribute the creation of the Commonwealth of Australia solely to Sir Edmund Barton is unrealistic. There were many others who worked for federation. Barton’s role was, however, pivotal. A man not normally known for passionate commitment, he threw himself into what he considered the great cause of his time. His parliamentary skills, urbanity, and capacity for advantageous compromise were essential to the success of the constitutional conventions, made up, as they were, of strong-minded, colonially interested politicians. The respect he commanded as prime minister was important for a smooth start for the fledgling Commonwealth. In his own words, the establishment of the Commonwealth of Australia saw for the first time in history “a continent for a nation and a nation for a continent.”

Bibliography

Bolton, Geoffrey. Edmund Barton. St. Leonards, N.S.W.: Allen & Unwin, 2000. The first full-length biography of Barton in more than 50 years. Bolton is the general editor of the Oxford History of Australia and the author of numerous books about Australian history.

Headon, David, and John Williams, eds. Makers of Miracles: The Cast of the Federation Story. Carlton, Victoria: Melbourne University Press, 2000. One of several books commemorating the centenary of Australian federation, this book focuses on the people who were instrumental in creating a unified Australian nation.

Irving, Helen, ed. The Centenary Companion to Australian Federation. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1999. Information about Barton is included in this reference book. The book features essays on each colony that eventually joined the federation and alphabetical entries on key people in the federation movement.

Martin, A. W. Essays in Australian Federation. Melbourne, Vic.: Melbourne University Press, 1969. Barton’s role is discussed extensively in the chapters on the Australian Natives Association and the New South Wales referendum.

Norris, R. The Emergent Commonwealth. Melbourne, Vic.: Melbourne University Press, 1975. Gives a detailed account of the proceedings at the constitutional conventions and of Barton’s tenure as prime minster.

Quick, John, and Robert Garran. The Annotated Constitution of the Australian Commonwealth. Sydney: Angus and Robertson, 1901. Written by two convention participants, this is the most authoritative work on the Australian constitution. The chapter “Historical Introduction” deals, not uncritically, with Barton’s role.

Reynolds, John. Edmund Barton. Sydney: Angus and Robertson, 1948. One of the few detailed accounts of Barton’s life. Scholarly, though dated, it treats him well. The forewords in the 1979 edition are worth reading.