Thomas Michael Slattery (17 December 1844 – 25 July 1920) was an Irish-born Australian solicitor and politician. He was born in Greenane in

County Tipperary County Tipperary () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary (tow ...

to shoemaker Edward Slattery and Alice Walsh. His family arrived in

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 ...

in 1847 and he attended St Mary's Seminary School before becoming a junior clerk in 1864. First working for the Customs Department, he clerked for the

Supreme Court of New South Wales The Supreme Court of New South Wales is the highest state court of the Australian States and territories of Australia, State of New South Wales. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in civil law (common law), civil matters, and hears ...

from 1872, becoming chief clerk in 1874. In 1875, he was admitted as a solicitor, practising first in the matrimonial courts and then from 1880 privately. On 10 January 1867 he married Annie Genevieve O'Connor, with whom he had four children. His wife died in 1885 and on 23 November 1886 he married her sister Agnes Melanie O'Connor. In 1880 he was elected to 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 ...

as the member for

Boorowa Boorowa () is a farming village in the Hilltops Council, Hilltops Region in the South West Slopes, south west slopes of New South Wales, Australia. It is located in a valley southwest of Sydney around above sea-level. The town is in Hilltops C ...

. He served in the Assembly until 1895, during which time he became associated with 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 ...

. He was twice Minister of Justice (1885, 1889), and also served as from 1891 to 1894. In 1900 he was appointed 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 ...

, where he remained until 1905. In April 1905 Slattery was convicted in the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

of stealing that had been collected by him on behalf of Mrs Mary Scanlon. Justice Pring sentenced him to three and a half years in prison. His conviction was upheld by the Full Court, and he was struck off the roll of solicitors. On 13 June 1905 his seat in the Legislative Council was declared vacant on account of being convicted of a felony. Later that month the High Court heard his appeal and quashed the conviction on the technicality that while Slattery had fraudulently misappropriated the money he was not properly convicted of

larceny Larceny is a crime involving the unlawful taking or theft of the personal property of another person or business. It was an offence under the common law of England and became an offence in jurisdictions which incorporated the common law of Eng ...

.. The quashing of his conviction did not result in Slattery being restored to the Legislative Council. Slattery and his wife went to the United States of America, returning in 1909. He died in

Mosman Mosman is a suburb on the Lower North Shore region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Mosman is located 8 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local governm ...

in 1920 (aged ).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Slattery, Thomas 1844 births 1920 deaths Colony of New South Wales people Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council Protectionist Party politicians Australian politicians convicted of crimes Overturned convictions in Australia Disbarred lawyers Ministers for agriculture (New South Wales) Ministers for justice (New South Wales)