Adolphus Taylor
Encyclopedia
Adolphus George Taylor was an Australia
n journalist and politician, elected as a member of the New South Wales
Legislative Assembly
.
and was educated at the local Church of England School and became a teacher in Mudgee by 1875. He joined the New South Wales Permanent Artillery as a private
, but was court-martial
led for "insubordination" in 1878. He then joined or returned to the Mudgee Independent as a journalist.
from 1882 until 1887. He became an expert in parliamentary procedure and constitutional law and showed that George Reid
's appointment as a Minister for Public Instruction in 1883, made him ineligible to hold his seat, forcing to stand for a by-election, which he lost. In 1885, Taylor married Rosetta Nicholls. His emotional and often drunken harangues of the House led to frequent expulsions and as a result of being suspended twice in a row for a week by the Speaker, Edmund Barton
, he successfully sued Barton for ₤
1,000. In 1886, he travelled to London
to fight Barton's appeal to the Privy Council
, having raised his fare by lecturing on "The Iron Hand in Politics" and selling his stamp collection. He took "his wife, his mother, a cockatoo, a parrot and a magpie" to England and won his own case, although he then refused to accept the damages on the basis that they would come out of the taxpayers pockets rather than Barton's.
In April 1887, Taylor resigned from Parliament so that he could be appointed examiner of patent
s. He was re-elected to parliament as the member for West Sydney
in 1890 but was defeated in the 1891 election, following widespread criticism of his delayed report of the rape of his 12-year old maid servant by clerical imposter, James Joseph Crouch. He ran unsuccessfully for Sydney-King
in 1894.
in 1890 and 1891 and he returned to edit it in 1894. He also edited the Spectator in 1892 and he also worked as a journalist in 1897. In 1898, he was admitted to the Hospital for the Insane in the Sydney suburb of Callan Park
, where he died, survived by his wife.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n journalist and politician, elected as a member of the New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
Legislative Assembly
New South Wales Legislative Assembly
The Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The other chamber is the Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney...
.
Early life
Taylor was born in Mudgee, New South WalesNew South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
and was educated at the local Church of England School and became a teacher in Mudgee by 1875. He joined the New South Wales Permanent Artillery as a private
Private (rank)
A Private is a soldier of the lowest military rank .In modern military parlance, 'Private' is shortened to 'Pte' in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries and to 'Pvt.' in the United States.Notably both Sir Fitzroy MacLean and Enoch Powell are examples of, rare, rapid career...
, but was court-martial
Court-martial
A court-martial is a military court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment.Most militaries maintain a court-martial system to try cases in which a breach of...
led for "insubordination" in 1878. He then joined or returned to the Mudgee Independent as a journalist.
Political career
Taylor represented MudgeeElectoral district of Mudgee
Mudgee was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales first created in 1859, partly replacing Wellington and Bligh and named after and including Mudgee. Following the abolition of Goldfields West in 1880, it elected three members simultaneously,...
from 1882 until 1887. He became an expert in parliamentary procedure and constitutional law and showed that George Reid
George Reid (Australian politician)
Sir George Houstoun Reid, GCB, GCMG, KC was an Australian politician, Premier of New South Wales and the fourth Prime Minister of Australia....
's appointment as a Minister for Public Instruction in 1883, made him ineligible to hold his seat, forcing to stand for a by-election, which he lost. In 1885, Taylor married Rosetta Nicholls. His emotional and often drunken harangues of the House led to frequent expulsions and as a result of being suspended twice in a row for a week by the Speaker, Edmund Barton
Edmund Barton
Sir Edmund Barton, GCMG, KC , Australian politician and judge, was the first Prime Minister of Australia and a founding justice of the High Court of Australia....
, he successfully sued Barton for ₤
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
1,000. In 1886, he travelled to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to fight Barton's appeal to the Privy Council
Privy council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...
, having raised his fare by lecturing on "The Iron Hand in Politics" and selling his stamp collection. He took "his wife, his mother, a cockatoo, a parrot and a magpie" to England and won his own case, although he then refused to accept the damages on the basis that they would come out of the taxpayers pockets rather than Barton's.
In April 1887, Taylor resigned from Parliament so that he could be appointed examiner of patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
s. He was re-elected to parliament as the member for West Sydney
Electoral district of West Sydney
West Sydney was an electoral district for the Legislative Assembly in the Australian State of New South Wales created in 1859 from part of the electoral district of Sydney, covering the western part of the current Sydney central business district, Ultimo and Pyrmont, bordered by George Street,...
in 1890 but was defeated in the 1891 election, following widespread criticism of his delayed report of the rape of his 12-year old maid servant by clerical imposter, James Joseph Crouch. He ran unsuccessfully for Sydney-King
Electoral district of Sydney-King
Sydney-King was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales, created in 1894 in central Sydney from part of the electoral district of East Sydney and named after Governor King. It was initially east of George Street, north of Liverpool Street and...
in 1894.
Later life
Taylor became the first editor of the TruthTruth (Sydney newspaper)
The Truth was a newspaper published in Sydney, Australia. It was founded in August 1890 by William Nicholas Willis and its first editor was Adolphus Taylor. In 1891 it claimed to be "The organ of radical democracy and Australian National Independence" and advocated "a republican Commonwealth...
in 1890 and 1891 and he returned to edit it in 1894. He also edited the Spectator in 1892 and he also worked as a journalist in 1897. In 1898, he was admitted to the Hospital for the Insane in the Sydney suburb of Callan Park
Callan Park, New South Wales
Callan Park is a heritage listed site in Lilyfield, a suburb in the Municipality of Leichhardt in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia....
, where he died, survived by his wife.