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was the son of Robert
Service and was born at Kilwinning, Ayrshire, Scotland, in November 1823.
He was educated at the local school, and was for some time a schoolmaster
before entering on commercial life in the business of Thomas Corbett of
Glasgow. He became a junior partner in this business and when he came to
Australia in 1853 was for a time its representative. However, about the
year 1855, he founded the business of James Service and Company, importers
and wholesale merchants, which became a large and prosperous organization
still in business many years after his death. When the suburb Emerald
Hill, now South Melbourne, was made a municipality, Service became the
first president of the council, and in 1857 was elected to represent
Melbourne in the legislative assembly. At the next election he was elected
for Ripon and Hampden and in October 1859 became president of the board of
land and works in the Nicholson (q.v.) ministry. As minister he brought in
a lands bill which first introduced the principle of deferred payments. It
was, however, so mutilated by amendments that in 1860 he resigned from the
cabinet. In the next parliament he took charge in the assembly, as a
private member, of the Torrens transfer of real property act which had
been introduced in the legislative council by George Coppin (q.v.). In
1862 Service resigned his seat, was absent in England for some time, and
after his return was three times rejected by the electors when he
attempted to enter parliament again.
Service was out of politics
for more than 10 years. He was a convinced free-trader and protection was
steadily gaining ground. In 1874 he was returned for Maldon and became
treasurer in the Kerford (q.v.) ministry which only lasted until August
1875. He sat in opposition to the McCulloch (q.v.) ministry but strongly
supported the formation of the Melbourne harbour trust, and as a private
member carried an act relating to bills of sale and fraudulent preference
to creditors. When Berry (q.v.) was elected with a large following in 1877
he offered Service the treasurership. This he could not accept but sat in
the ministerial corner for about a year until he became leader of the
opposition. At the election held early in 1880 Berry was defeated and
Service formed his first administration taking the positions of premier
and treasurer. Much time had been wasted in the past by the quarrels of
the two houses of parliament and Service brought in a very reasonable
reform bill which provided that if any bill were passed by the assembly in
two consecutive sessions and rejected by the council, the governor might
dissolve both houses. If the new assembly passed the bill again and the
council again rejected it, the two houses would sit together and the
majority would rule. This bill was rejected by two votes in August, and on
going to the country Berry obtained a majority. In the following year
Service resigned his seat and went to England for more than a year. In
1883 he was elected for Castlemaine and the parties being nearly equal a
coalition government was formed, Service becoming premier and treasurer,
and Berry chief secretary. This ministry did more useful work than any
other Victorian ministry up to this date. A judicature act was passed with
the object of simplifying and cheapening legal procedure, a public service
act was brought in with a competitive examination for applicants, and
under the railway management act a board of commissioners was established
with the object of doing away with parliamentary influence. Other
important acts dealt with the early closing of shops, the regulation of
public houses, and the factories, work rooms and shops act was the
fore-runner of much important social legislation. In June 1883, at a
banquet at Albury celebrating the opening of the railway line between
Sydney and Melbourne, Service raised again the question of federation. He
supported Sir Thomas McIlwraith (q.v.) in his action with regard to the
annexation of New Guinea, and suggested the inter-colonial conference
which was held at Sydney in November 1883. There a bill constituting a
federal council was framed which was carried by Service through the
Victorian parliament in 1884. Service himself desired the establishment of
a federal government, but the other premiers were comparatively lukewarm
and the proposed council was to have very limited powers. New South Wales,
however, stood out and for this reason the council was able to do little.
Yet it was an important step in the direction of federation, and Service
had shown himself to be a true leader. His health compelled him to retire
from the ministry in 1886 and he again visited England. Before his
departure a public subscription was made and his portrait by G. F.
Folingsby was presented to the national gallery of Victoria. In the
following year he was one of the representatives of Victoria at the
colonial conference, where he was content to let the young and ardent
Deakin (q.v.) take the lead. Returning to Australia he entered the
legislative council for Melbourne province. He continued to take an
interest in the federation question and at a banquet held in connexion
with the federal conference of 1890 at Melbourne he was selected to
propose the toast of "A United Australasia". He acutely pointed out that
the lion in the path was the tariff question which federalists must either
slay or be slain by. Henceforth he did not take any prominent part in
public life. When the colony was passing through a troublesome time in
1892 the suggestion was made that he should come back to the legislative
assembly and lead a coalition government, but the state of his health
would not permit him to do this. He had hoped to live long enough to see
the adoption of federation and the 1898 referendum showed that it could
not be far off. He died at Melbourne on 13 April 1899.
Service had the respect of
all parties. He was a successful business man, keen and farseeing, but he
was also interested in more recondite matters, such as philosophy,
metaphysics, and political economy. In manner he was cautious and
self-restrained, in debate he was cool and logical. Never afraid to take
the unpopular side, his disinterestedness and personal integrity
everywhere won admiration, and he fully deserved Deakin's description as
"a man of large ideas and indomitable courage". Though usually ranked as a
conservative, during his second administration, in conjunction with Graham
Berry, his government passed some of our earliest social legislation of
value, and in the federal sphere, while recognizing the difficulties of
the position, he never wavered in his belief that these difficulties could
he overcome. |
