Jack Want
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John Henry Want (4 May 1846 – 22 November 1905) was an Australian barrister and politician, as well as the 19th
Attorney-General of New South Wales The attorney general of New South Wales, in formal contexts also attorney-general or attorney general for New South Wales See, e.g. Attorney General for New South Wales v Burns & Ors', ''Leahy v Attorney-General for New South Wales'' and ''Makin ...
.


Early life

Want was born at
the Glebe The Glebe is a neighbourhood in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is located just south of Downtown Ottawa in the Capital Ward. As of 2016, the neighbourhood had a population of 13,055. The Glebe is bounded on the north by the Queensway, on the e ...
,
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
, the fourth son of nine children of Randolph John Want, a
solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...
, and his wife, Hariette, ''née'' Lister. Want was educated at Rev. W. H. Savigny's Collegiate School,
Cooks River The Cooks River, a semi-mature tide-dominated drowned valley estuary, is a tributary of Botany Bay, located in south-western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The course of the urban waterway has been altered to accommodate various developme ...
, and reportedly in
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,
Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...
, France, where he learned to speak fluent French. Want worked in his father's office but soon became bored with the legal practice, went on the land in
Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
, and afterward worked in a mine at Lithgow. Want then returned to Sydney and read in the chambers of Sir Frederick Darley. Want was
called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...
on 13 November 1869 and established a large practice as a barrister. He also engaged in many profitable
commercial Commercial may refer to: * (adjective for) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and services ** (adjective for) trade, the trading of something of economic value such as goods, services, information or money * a dose of advertising ...
ventures, some of a "suspicious character".


''The Mignonette''

Want was a keen
yacht A yacht () is a sail- or marine propulsion, motor-propelled watercraft made for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a ...
sman, his father had been a founding member of the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron in 1862, and in 1883 Want travelled to England to look for a new vessel. He purchased the ''Mignonette'' at
Cowes Cowes () is an England, English port, seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina, facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east bank. The two towns are linked b ...
, a 19.43
net tonnage Net tonnage (NT, N.T. or nt) is a dimensionless index calculated from the total moulded volume of the ship's cargo spaces by using a mathematical formula. Defined in ''The International Convention on Tonnage Measurement of Ships'' that was adopte ...
, 52 foot
cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several operational roles from search-and-destroy to ocean escort to sea ...
built in 1867. The yacht could only reasonably be transported to Australia by sailing her there but she was a small vessel and the prospect of a 15,000 mile voyage hampered Want's initial attempts to find a suitable crew. However, she finally set sail for
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
from
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on 19 May 1884 with a crew of four: Tom Dudley, the captain; Edwin Stephens; Edmund Brooks; and Richard Parker, the cabin boy. Parker was aged 17 and an inexperienced seaman. On 5 July, the yacht was running before a
gale A gale is a strong wind; the word is typically used as a descriptor in nautical contexts. The U.S. National Weather Service defines a gale as sustained surface wind moving at a speed between .
at 27°10' south, 9°50' west, around 1,600 miles northwest of the
Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...
. Though the weather was by no means extreme and the vessel was not in any difficulties, a
wave In physics, mathematics, engineering, and related fields, a wave is a propagating dynamic disturbance (change from List of types of equilibrium, equilibrium) of one or more quantities. ''Periodic waves'' oscillate repeatedly about an equilibrium ...
struck the yacht and washed away the lee bulwarks. Dudley instantly realised that the yacht was doomed and ordered the single 13-foot lifeboat to be lowered. The ''Mignonette'' sank within five minutes of being struck and the crew abandoned ship for the lifeboat, only managing to salvage vital navigational instruments along with two tins of
turnip The turnip or white turnip ('' Brassica rapa'' subsp. ''rapa'') is a root vegetable commonly grown in temperate climates worldwide for its white, fleshy taproot. Small, tender varieties are grown for human consumption, while larger varieties a ...
s and no fresh water. There have been various theories about the
structural A structure is an arrangement and organization of interrelated elements in a material object or system, or the object or system so organized. Material structures include man-made objects such as buildings and machines and natural objects such as ...
inadequacies of the yacht that led to such a catastrophic failure in routine weather. The crew were adrift for 24 days and resorted to cannibalism, with Parker being killed and eaten and Dudley and Stephens later prosecuted in England in a landmark case.


Political career


Lower house

Want was a candidate for the
New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House ...
seat of
Gundagai Gundagai is a town in New South Wales, Australia. Although a small town, Gundagai is a popular topic for writers and has become a representative icon of a typical Australian country town. Located along the Murrumbidgee River and Muniong, Honeys ...
at the 1884 by-election, but was unsuccessful. Want was successful at the 1885 election, His parliamentary skills were recognised and he became
Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...
in the first ministry of
George Dibbs Sir George Richard Dibbs KCMG (12 October 1834 – 5 August 1904) was an Australian politician who was Premier of New South Wales on three occasions. Early years Dibbs was born in Sydney, son of Captain John Dibbs, who 'disappeared' in the ...
(October to December 1885) and in the Patrick Jennings ministry (February 1886 to January 1887). He was a staunch free-trader and with the emergence of political parties in 1887 could not continue to work with Dibbs and Jennings who had formed the
Protectionist Party The Protectionist Party, also known as the Protectionist Liberal Party or Liberal Protectionist Party, was an Politics of Australia, Australian political party, formally organised from 1887 until 1909, with policies centred on protectionism. T ...
, but neither could he work under
Henry Parkes Sir Henry Parkes, (27 May 1815 – 27 April 1896) was a colonial Australian politician and the longest-serving non-consecutive Premier of New South Wales, premier of the Colony of New South Wales, the present-day state of New South Wales in ...
who led the bulk of free traders. Want stood as an
independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...
free trade candidate at the 1887 election where he was re-elected. For a while he formed a small corner party which he facetiously referred to as "the home for lost dogs". In January 1889 Want moved to adjourn the Assembly, so as to censure the appointment of William Meeke Fehon as one of the Railway Commissioners, and the motion was carried 37 to 23. The then premier, Sir Henry Parkes, treated this as a
vote of no confidence A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...
and resigned. Want was sent for by the governor but declined the task of forming a ministry, with the
Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
,
Lord Carrington Peter Alexander Rupert Carington, 6th Baron Carrington, Baron Carington of Upton (6 June 1919 – 9July 2018), was a British Conservative Party politician and hereditary peer who served as Defence Secretary from 1970 to 1974, Foreign Secreta ...
accepting his recommendation to call for George Dibbs to form his second ministry. Dibbs never commanded a majority on the floor of the Assembly and almost immediately parliament was dissolved and an election called. For the resulting election Want was a candidate for
Paddington Paddington is an area in the City of Westminster, in central London, England. A medieval parish then a metropolitan borough of the County of London, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Paddington station, designed b ...
, standing as an independent free trader, despite his views on Parkes and his role in moving for the adjournment of the house, and was the first elected of four members. In May 1891 four free traders, Want,
George Reid Sir George Houston Reid (25 February 1845 – 12 September 1918) was a Scottish-born Australian and British politician, diplomat, and barrister who served as the fourth Prime Minister of Australia, prime minister of Australia from 1904 t ...
, John Haynes and Jonathan Seaver, voted against the fifth Parkes Ministry in a motion of no confidence, which was only defeated by the casting vote of the Speaker. Whilst the government survived the motion, parliament was dissolved on 6 June 1891 and his opposition to Parkes meant that Want reverted to standing as an independent free trade candidate for the 1891 election. He was the second elected of four members. He was not anxious for office and temporarily retired from politics in 1894. Want was appointed a
Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...
in 1887, and had an immense practice particularly in jury trials, both civil (''
nisi prius ''Nisi prius'' () (Latin: "unless before") is a historical term in English law. In the 19th century, it came to be used to denote generally all legal actions tried before judges of the King's Bench Division and in the early twentieth century for a ...
'') and criminal cases. No other barrister of his period in Australia earned more in fees or had a greater reputation.


Upper house

Want was nominated to the
New South Wales Legislative Council The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. Along with the New South Wales Legislative As ...
in 1894 and from 18 December 1894 until April 1899 (apart from 10 weeks in 1898) was attorney-general in the ministry of
George Reid Sir George Houston Reid (25 February 1845 – 12 September 1918) was a Scottish-born Australian and British politician, diplomat, and barrister who served as the fourth Prime Minister of Australia, prime minister of Australia from 1904 t ...
. Want returned to politics partly because he wanted to keep the free trade party together and partly because he had always been opposed to
Federation A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...
, and could carry on the fight better in parliament. He believed in the pre-eminence of his own colony, New South Wales, and he feared that under any kind of union it would lose its position. How strongly he felt can be seen by a quotation from one of his speeches: "I would rather see almost anything than see this hydra-headed monster called federation basking in its constitutional beastliness--for that is what it is--in this bright and sunny land. ... I was the first public man to assert my intention of opposing to the bitter end any system of federation, because there can be none which would not involve the surrender of our independence and liberty". In 1897, in the face of a ferocious rear guard action by Edward Barton, Want successfully steered through the Legislative Council, a requirement that the 1898 referendum on Federation receive at least 80,000 Yes votes (or 50 percent of the electorate) to be deemed successful. Want was still a member of Reid's ministry on 28 March 1898 when Reid made his famous Yes-No speech on the referendum, and could not understand how his leader could conclude without asking his hearers to vote against Federation, which Reid's very speech had shown to be "rotten, weak, and unfair". Want resigned from the ministry a few days later, and successfully led the No campaign against Federation. After the defeat of the first referendum, Want rejoined the ministry as Attorney General, but effectively abdicated his role of leader of the opposition to Federation. In January 1899 Want left Australia for an extended journey to Europe via the Suez Canal, just as Australia's premiers were to meet and decide on a second referendum on a somewhat revised federal constitution. The upshot was that the Attorney General of New South Wales - the minister responsible for the provision of expert advice on the Constitution - was only to learn of the premiers decision when a copy of the Daily Graphic reached him on his desert wanders through Egypt. He resigned from the ministry in the following April. With no obvious cause, Want was absent from the campaign over the second referendum held in June 1899, when New South Wales voted in favour of federation. Want's abdication of his responsibility and role in the struggle over Federation remains mysterious.


Later life

Want continued to fight for the rights of his state after Federation, and protested the basing of the new High Court of Australia in Melbourne. He was never held office again. He died of
appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the Appendix (anatomy), appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, fever and anorexia (symptom), decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these t ...
on 22 November 1905.


Personality and assessment

Want was over six feet (180 cm) in height, had a rugged jaw and flashing eyes. He was "flamboyant and ostentatious, usually going by the name of "Jack" or "Jimmy" It was said of him that he was "as honest and honourable as he was bluff and unconventional, a generous foeman and a true friend". In politics he found it impossible to be a party man, and although a capable administrator he had little ambition. Want could have been Premier in 1889 but let the Governor know he would be 'damned' if he would accept the appointment, and he twice declined the position of Chief Justice.William Coleman,''Their Fiery Cross of Union. A Retelling of the Creation of the Australian Federation, 1889-1914'', Connor Court, Queensland, 2021, p.179. He felt strongly only on the question of federation. He was, however, a great advocate unequalled in his presentation of his
evidence Evidence for a proposition is what supports the proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the proposition is truth, true. The exact definition and role of evidence vary across different fields. In epistemology, evidence is what J ...
to the
jury A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence, make Question of fact, findings of fact, and render an impartiality, impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a sentence (law), penalty or Judgmen ...
, taking it into his confidence with an appealing frankness, emphasizing the strong points of his case, and gently sliding over its weaknesses. He used his wide knowledge of
human nature Human nature comprises the fundamental dispositions and characteristics—including ways of Thought, thinking, feeling, and agency (philosophy), acting—that humans are said to have nature (philosophy), naturally. The term is often used to denote ...
with great effectiveness both in his addresses to the jury and in
cross-examination In law, cross-examination is the interrogation of a witness by one's opponent. It is preceded by direct examination (known as examination-in-chief in Law of the Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the Law of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom, Austra ...
, in which he was a master. In arguing before the full court he could adapt his methods to his audience, and though like so many great advocates not really a great lawyer his knowledge was sufficient for his purposes. He was married twice and left a widow, there were no children.


References

* *   {{DEFAULTSORT:Want, John Henry 1846 births 1905 deaths Colony of New South Wales people Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council Attorneys general of the Colony of New South Wales Australian King's Counsel Politicians from Sydney Deaths from appendicitis 19th-century Australian politicians