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Born at Johnstone, near
Paisley, Scotland, on 25 February 1845, was the son of the Rev. John Reid,
a Presbyterian clergyman, who came to Melbourne with his family in May
1852. At Melbourne Reid was sent to the recently established Melbourne
Academy which afterwards became the Scotch College. In 1858, when Reid was
13 years of age, his father removed to Sydney to become the colleague of
the Rev. John Dunmore Lang (q.v.), and the boy immediately obtained a
position as junior clerk in a Sydney merchant's office. At 15 he joined a
debating club and began to learn how little he knew. He tells us in his
autobiography, that a more crude novice than he was never began the
practise of public speaking. In July 1864 he obtained a position in the
colonial treasury and remained in that department until 1878, when he was
appointed secretary to the crown law offices. So far back as 1866 he had
been advised by Sir Julian Salomons (q.v.) to study for the bar, and Reid
long dallied with the idea. It was not until 1879 that he passed his final
examination and was admitted to practise. In 1875 he had published his
Five Essays on Free Trade, which brought him an honorary membership of
the Cobden Club, and in 1878 the government published his New South
Wales, the Mother Colony of the Australias, for distribution in
Europe. In November 1880 he resigned from the crown law offices and became
a candidate for an East Sydney seat in the legislative assembly. There
were several candidates for the four seats, including Sir Henry Parkes
(q.v.), and Reid, though previously almost unknown, headed the poll. He
was to represent East Sydney, except for one defeat, for the remainder of
his Australian political life.
Reid was an active member
of parliament from the beginning. As a private member in his first
parliament he submitted three bills, succeeded in passing one of them, the
width of streets and lanes act, and moved for an inquiry into the working
of the land laws. After 20 years of free selection, 96 people owned
8,000,000 acres of land in New South Wales and there was often evasion of
the law by dummying. After much pressure the Parkes-Robertson (q.v.)
government brought in an amending bill which was felt to be quite
inadequate and led to the defeat of the government. At the subsequent
election it lost many seats. The new premier, Alexander Stuart (q.v.),
offered Reid the position of colonial treasurer in January 1883, but he
thought it wiser to accept the junior office of minister for public
instruction. He was 14 months in office and succeeded in passing a much
improved education act, which included the establishment of high schools
in the leading towns, technical schools, and the provision of evening
lectures at the university. He lost his seat in parliament owing to a
technicality; the requisite notice had not appeared in the Government
Gazette declaring that the minister for public instruction was capable
of sitting. At the new election Reid was defeated by a small majority. In
1885 he was elected again and took a great part in the free trade or
protection issue. He supported Sir Henry Parkes on the free trade side
but, when Parkes came into power in 1887, declined a seat in his ministry.
Parkes offered him a portfolio two years later and Reid again refused. He
did not like Parkes personally and felt he would be unable to work with
him. When payment of members of parliament was passed Reid, who had always
opposed it, paid the amount of his salary into the treasury.
By this time federation was
much in the air. After the Melbourne conference of 1890 it was debated in
the New South Wales parliament and Reid adopted a critical attitude; he
was not prepared to sacrifice the free trade policy of New South Wales,
and suggested that the constitution when drafted should be submitted to
the various parliaments. After the convention he took a similar position,
objecting strongly to what he considered to be the neglect of the special
interests of New South Wales by its delegates. In September 1891 the
Parkes ministry was defeated, the Dibbs (q.v.) government succeeded it,
and Sir Henry Parkes retired from the leadership of his party. Reid was
elected leader of the opposition in his place. Though he had never
accepted office under Parkes, Reid had always worked against any
suggestion to form a "cave" in the party. At the 1894 election he made the
establishment of a real freetrade tariff with a system of direct taxation
the main item of his policy, and had a great victory. Barton (q.v.) and
other well-known protectionists lost their seats, the Labour following was
reduced from 30 to 18, and Reid formed his first cabinet. One of his
earliest measures was a new lands bill which provided for the division of
pastoral leases into two halves, one of which was to be open to the free
selector, while the pastoral lessee got some security of tenure for the
other half. Classification of crown lands according to their value was
provided for, and the free selector, or his transferee, had to reside on
the property. Sir Henry Parkes at an early stage of the session raised the
question of federation again, and Reid invited the premiers of the other
colonies to meet in conference on 29 January 1895. As a consequence of
this conference an improved bill was drafted which ensured that both the
people and the parliaments of the various colonies should be consulted.
Meanwhile Reid had great trouble in passing his land and income tax bills.
When he did get them through the assembly the council threw them out. Reid
obtained a dissolution, was victorious at the polls, and eventually
succeeded in passing his acts. They appear very moderate now, but the
council fought them strenuously, and it was only the fear that the chamber
might be swamped with new appointments that eventually wore down the
opposition. Reid was also successful in bringing in reforms in the keeping
of public accounts and in the civil service generally. Other acts dealt
with the control of inland waters, and much needed legislation relating to
public health, factories, and mining, was also passed.
At the election of 10
delegates from New South Wales for the federal convention of 1897 held at
the beginning of that year, Reid was returned second to Barton. The
convention met on 22 March at Adelaide and adjourned a month later. In the
interval much important business was done, the work being facilitated by
constitutional, finance and judiciary committees formed from the members.
It is possibly significant that Reid was not a member of any committee. In
his My Reminiscences he prints the complimentary remarks on his
work made at the close of the conference by Deakin (q.v.), Kingston
(q.v.), Barton, Braddon (q.v.), and Turner (q.v.) He probably deserved
them but he was always looked upon as uncertain in his support of
federation. On 10 May 1897 he left for England to attend the diamond
jubilee celebrations, and during his absence the federal bill was
considered by the New South Wales assembly and council. Soon after his
arrival in England Reid was made a privy councillor. He heard some of the
most distinguished speakers of the day and was complimented on his own
speaking by Lord Rosebery. At the premiers' conference where such
difficult problems as preferential trade, coloured immigration, and naval
subsidies, were considered he had a full share in the discussions, but
realized that as Great Britain and New South Wales both had a freetrade
policy there was little scope for preference in their cases. At his native
town of Johnstone Reid had a tumultuous reception, and characteristically
gave as his reason for leaving it at the age of two months, that he wished
to make more room for his struggling fellow countrymen.
Reid returned to Sydney on
1 September 1897 and the federal convention immediately resumed its
sittings. The amendments proposed by the various legislatures were in most
cases not important, and some of the more contentious clauses were
postponed until the convention should meet again in Melbourne in January
1898. In the meantime a bill was introduced by a private member in the New
South Wales house requiring an absolute majority of the electors in favour
of federation. An amendment substituting 100,000 was moved, and as a
compromise 80,000 was suggested by Reid. He has been blamed for this but
stated afterwards that had he not suggested that number it would have been
100,000. At the Melbourne convention Sir George Turner in Reid's absence
carried an amendment that the parliament of the Commonwealth shall take
over the debts of the individual colonies. On Reid's arrival he had the
question re-opened, and eventually carried by one vote the substitution of
"may" for "shall". After the close of the convention Reid, on 28 March,
made his famous "Yes-No" speech at the Sydney town hall. He told his
audience that he intended to deal with the bill "with the deliberate
impartiality of a judge addressing a jury". After speaking for an hour and
three-quarters the audience was still uncertain about his verdict. He
ended up by saying that while he felt he could not become a deserter to
the cause he would not recommend any course to the electors. He
consistently kept this attitude until the poll was taken on 3 June 1898.
The referendum in New South Wales resulted in a small majority in favour,
but the yes votes fell about 8000 below the required number of 80,000. At
the general election held soon after Barton accepted Reid's challenge to
contest the East Sydney seat and Reid defeated him, but his party came
back with a reduced majority. When parliament met resolutions were passed
providing that the federal capital should be in New South Wales, that the
use of rivers for irrigation should be safeguarded, that the senate should
not have power to amend money bills, and that the Braddon clause should be
removed. Of these it was agreed at the next meeting of the convention that
the capital should be in New South Wales with the added proviso that it
must be at least 100 miles from Sydney, and the Braddon clause was limited
to a period of 10 years. Reid fought for federation at the second
referendum and it was carried in New South Wales by a majority of nearly
25,000, 107,420 Votes being cast in favour of it. If Reid could have held
his position as premier of New South Wales for another year he might
possibly have been the first federal prime minister, but he was at the
mercy of the Labour party, in September 1899 he was defeated, and Sir
William Lyne (q.v.) formed a ministry.
Reid did his most useful
work in New South Wales in the years 1895-9. Though there were drought
conditions for part of the time he afterwards claimed that "the loads upon
our current year caused by the annual charges in respect of past
deficiencies were all paid and a surplus of £135,000 remained". He also
did excellent work in breaking down the opposition of an extremely
conservative upper house to any new measures brought forward that affected
financial interests. After the first federal election Reid as leader of
the free trade section had a party of 26 out of 75 in the house of
representatives, in the senate he had 17 Out of 36. In the long tariff
debate Reid was at a disadvantage as parliament was sitting in Melbourne
and he could not entirely neglect his practice as a barrister in Sydney,
but his party succeeded in getting a number of reductions in the proposed
duties. At the second federal election, held in 1903, Labour was the only
party to make gains, but the opposition had suffered less than the
ministry. When Deakin brought in his conciliation and arbitration bill,
Reid supported the ministry in resisting the amendment to include the
public services in the bill. But many of his supporters voted for the
amendment, and J. C. Watson's (q.v.) Labour government came into power. It
in turn was defeated a few months later, and a coalition government was
formed in August 1904 by Reid's party and a large section of the followers
of Deakin who, however, declined to take office himself. This ministry
never had a majority of more than two but managed to keep going until the
recess which ended in June 1905. On 24 June Deakin made a speech at
Ballarat which Reid and his fellow ministers felt could only be taken as a
withdrawal of his support. Reid decided to abandon the policy speech he
had prepared and substitute one which simply proposed electoral business.
Deakin moved and carried as an amendment to the address in reply the
addition of the words "But we are of opinion that practical measures
should be proceeded with". Reid asked for a dissolution but it was
refused, and Deakin immediately formed a new administration. At the
election held in November 1906 Deakin was returned with a reduced
following, but carried on with Labour support until November 1908 when the
first Fisher (q.v.) ministry came in. Reid as leader of the opposition had
been unable to have much influence on the legislation that was passed, but
often showed himself to be a formidable opponent. He now found it
necessary to resign the leadership of his party and was succeeded by
Joseph Cook, who joined forces with Deakin in June 1909 to defeat the
Labour government and form what was known as the "Fusion Government". The
office of high commissioner in London was created towards the close of
1909, and the position was offered to Reid who accepted it. He arrived in
London in February 1910 and carried out his duties with success for about
six years. He visited many cities on the continent with business objects
in view, and made a tour of Canada and the United States. He retired on 21
January 1916 and though 70 years of age felt full of energy. A few days
before he had been elected without opposition for the St George's Hanover
Square seat in the house of commons. He found the atmosphere of that house
very different from that of Australian parliaments, and had scarcely had
time to adapt himself to this when he died at London on 12 September 1918.
Made a privy councillor in 1897 he was created K.C.M.G. (1909), G.C.M.G.
(1911), and G.C.B. (1916). He married in 1891, Flora, daughter of John
Bromby, who survived him with two sons and a daughter.
Portly in middle life Reid
became even more so as he grew older, and full advantage was taken of this
by the caricaturists. Yet it is doubtful whether any of them succeeded in
disclosing the real man, he remained something of an enigma. A first-rate
tactician his opponents thought him unreliable, selfish, and
coarse-grained; his own statements about his youth might be considered by
some to support this view. He said in his Reminiscences that "A
thinner skin, a keener sense of shame, a less resolute endurance, a more
diffident estimate of my abilities might have spoilt my chances for life".
But Reid was not doing himself justice. He was not over-sensitive, he was
not strictly speaking an idealist, yet his refusing for a period to accept
his salary as a legislator, his loyalty to Parkes, and the financial
sacrifices incurred by the neglect of his practice while in politics, do
not suggest a selfish nature. He claimed with truth that he was the first
man in New South Wales to make wealth pay a fair share towards the burdens
of the community, and he was the first legislator to bring in laws to
break up the virtual land monopoly. As a barrister he was an excellent
advocate, as a politician he was a great platform speaker and an admirable
debater. Many stories of his powers of repartee and readiness are told.
One that has appeared in more than one form may help to explain his
success with popular audiences. Once at an open-air meeting a bag of flour
was thrown at him which burst all over his capacious waistcoat. Without a
pause Reid went on "When I came into power the people had not enough flour
to make bread for themselves and now (displaying himself) they can afford
to throw it about like this". His autobiography was disappointing but his
proverbial good temper shines through the book, and his accounts of past
conflicts have no trace of bitterness. He was extremely shrewd, knew how
to appeal to the average man, and took his politics seriously. But he
never took himself too seriously, and no man could say that he ever
endeavoured to obtain advantages for himself while working for his
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