Charles Kingston
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[[Image:Charles Kingston.jpg|thumb|right|240px|Rt Hon Charles Kingston]]
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'''Charles Cameron Kingston''', ([[October 22]] [[1850]] - [[May 11]] [[1908]]) [[Australia]]n [[politician]], was an early [[liberalism|liberal]] [[Premier of South Australia]] serving from 1893 to 1899 with the support of [[Australian Labor Party|Labor]] led by [[John McPherson]] from 1893 and [[Lee Batchelor]] from 1897 in the [[South Australian House of Assembly|House of Assembly]]. He was a leading proponent of a contributed extensively on the [[Federation of Australia]], and was elected to the federal [[Australian House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] with the most votes amongst the seven elected in the single [[Division of South Australia|South Australian division]] at the [[Australian federal election, 1901|1901 federal election]], serving under the [[Protectionist Party]]. A radical liberal in state politics, his government introduced such measures as: electoral reform including the first law to give votes to women in Australia, a legitimation Act, the first conciliation and arbitration Act in Australia, establishment of a state bank, a high protective tariff, regulation of factories, and a progressive system of land and income taxation.<ref name=adb>{{Australian Dictionary of Biography
|last=Playford
|first=John
|authorlink=
|year=1983
|id=A090604b
|title= Kingston, Charles Cameron (1850 - 1908)
|accessdate=2007-11-22 }}</ref>
==Early life==
Kingston was born in [[Adelaide]], the son of Sir [[George Strickland Kingston|George Kingston]], a Protestant Irish-born surveyor, architect and landowner in the early days of British settlement in [[South Australia]] and later a member of the first South Australian Parliament. His mother, Ludovina Cameron, was of Portuguese descent. George Kingston boasted that he was "the first Irishman to set foot in the colony"<ref>{{cite web
| title =George Kingston
| publisher = Communitywebs
| work= Kingston House
| url =http://www.communitywebs.org/KingstonHouse/george.htm
| accessdate = 2007-11-22 }}</ref> and it is true that the Kingstons were among Adelaide's founding families. Charles was educated at the Adelaide Educational Institution and served his articles with Sir [[Samuel Way]], Adelaide's leading lawyer and later Attorney-General. He was called to the bar in 1873, despite the objection of the elder brother of his future wife, Lucy May McCarthy on the grounds of Kingston's alleged seduction of her. He became a [[Queen's Counsel|QC]] in 1889.<ref name=dab>{{cite web
| first=Percival
| last=Serle
| title =Kingston, Charles Cameron (1850 - 1908)
| publisher =[[Project Gutenberg Australia]]
| work=[[Dictionary of Australian Biography]]
| url =http://gutenberg.net.au/dictbiog/0-dict-biogI-K.html#kingston1
| accessdate = 2007-11-22 }}</ref><ref name=adb/>
In 1873 Kingston married Lucy McCarthy. Lucy was an invalid for much of her life and they had no children. In a remarkable gesture, however, Lucy took in a child, Kevin Kingston, whom Kingston had fathered with another woman, Elizabeth Watson, in 1883. As a result of this scandal, Kingston was ostracised by Adelaide "society," his contempt for whom he never troubled to conceal. Kevin died in [[1902]].{{Fact|date=November 2007}}
==State politics==
In [[1881]] Kingston was elected to the [[South Australian House of Assembly]] as a member for the working-class district of West Adelaide, as a radical liberal. He favoured reform of the [[South Australian Legislative Council|Legislative Council]] (which was dominated by wealthy landowners) and other radical reforms. He was described by [[William Maloney]] as the originator of the [[White Australia Policy|White Australia]], although this policy was supported by virtually all Australian politicians at the time of federation.<ref name=adb/>
Kingston was Attorney-General 1884-85 in the government of [[John Colton]] and again in 1887-89 in the government of [[Thomas Playford II|Tom Playford]]. In 1893 he succeeded Playford as leader of the South Australian liberals and defeated conservative Premier [[John Downer]] to become Premier 1893-99, a record at the time of six and a half years, not to be broken until [[Thomas Playford IV]], as well as Chief Secretary and Attorney-General, and also Minister for Industry 1895-99. Kingston came to office with the support of a new third party, the South Australian division of the [[Australian Labor Party|Labor Party]] led by [[John McPherson (Australian politician)|John McPherson]], which held the [[Balance of power (parliament)|balance of power]]. A big, imposing man with a full beard, a booming voice and a violent, cutting debating style, Kingston dominated the small world of South Australian colonial politics in the 1890s. He was a great hero to liberals and working class voters, and much hated by conservatives. In 1892, [[Richard Baker (Australian politician)|Richard Baker]] called him a "coward, a bully and a disgrace to the legal profession" in the Legislative Council and Kingston replied by calling Baker "false as a friend, treacherous as a colleague, mendacious as a man, and utterly untrustworthy in every relationship of public life". Kingston arranged for a [[duel]] but Baker had him arrested and as a result Kingston was bound over to keep the peace for a year.<ref name=adb/>
Kingston had not supported votes for women at the 1893 elections but he was subsequently persuaded by his ministerial colleagues, [[John Cockburn (Australian politician)|John Cockburn]] and [[Frederick Holder]] of its political advantages and lobbied by the Woman's Christian Temperance Union. In December 1894 his government became the first Australian state to introduce adult suffrage. His government also established the state bank of South Australia, regulated factories, imposed death duties and increased land tax and progressive income taxes.<ref name=dab/><ref name=adb/>
A leading supporter of [[Australian Federation|Federation]], Kingston was a delegate to the [[Constitutional Convention (Australia)|Constitutional Conventions]] of 1891 and 1897-98 which worked to draft an [[Australian Constitution]]. In 1897 he travelled to [[London]] for the [[Diamond Jubilee]] of [[Victoria of the United Kingdom|Queen Victoria]], where he was made a [[Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council|Privy Councillor]] and awarded an honorary [[civil law (legal system)|Doctor of Civil Laws]] degree by [[Oxford University]]. He also turned down the offer of a knighthood, to the distress of his wife. While there he lobbied senior British politicians in favour of Australian federation.<ref name=adb/>
In [[1899]] Kingston's government was defeated in the House on a bill relating to the reform of the Legislative Council, leading to Kingston's resignation as Premier. By this time, however, he was more interested in federal politics, as the six Australian colonies moved towards federation. He was a leading figure in the popular movement for federation, and in [[1900]] he travelled to London with [[Edmund Barton]] and [[Alfred Deakin]] to oversee the passage of the federation bill through the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]].<ref name=adb/>
==Federal politics==
[[Image:ac.bartonministry.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Charles Kingston (standing, second from right) as a member of the [[Barton Ministry|first federal Cabinet]], January 1901]]
When the Constitution came into effect on [[1 January]] [[1901]], Barton formed the first federal ministry, and Kingston was appointed [[Minister for Trade (Australia)|Minister for Trade and Customs]]. In March [[1901]] he was elected as one of South Australia's seven members of the first [[Australian House of Representatives]]. (South Australia was not divided into electoral Divisions in time for the election, and Kingston topped the statewide poll with 65% of the vote.) In [[1903]] he became the first member for the [[Division of Adelaide]].<ref name=adb/>
Kingston was a "high [[protectionist]]" - he favoured very high [[tariff]]s to protect Australia's fledgling manufacturing industries. Most of his time as minister was spent negotiating a customs bill through both houses of the Parliament, since no one party had a majority in either House and the forces of the [[Free Trade Party]] resisted his bill at every stage. Negotiating with his opponents was not among Kingston's many talents, and his bullying style made him many enemies. He also insisted on involving himself in the administrative details of his department and inisted on prosecutions of businesses to enforce his high-tariff policies.<ref name=adb/>
In July [[1903]] Kingston resigned suddenly in a fit of anger due to the opposition of [[John Forrest]] and [[Edmund Barton]] to his attempt to impose conciliation and arbitration on British and foreign seamen engaged in the Australian coastal trade. He never held office again, although Labor offered him a position in [[Chris Watson]]'s ministry–he turned this down, presumably because of ill-health. He remained as Member for Adelaide, being allowed to run unopposed at both the [[Australian federal election, 1903|1903]] and [[Australian federal election, 1906|1906 elections]].<ref name=dab/><ref name=adb/>
Kingston died in Adelaide of a sudden [[stroke]] in May [[1908]] and was buried at the local [[West Terrace, Adelaide|West Terrace]] Cemetery, survived by his increasingly eccentric wife.<ref name=adb/> The [[Division of Kingston]] is named after him.
==Exhumation==
Kingston's body was [[Exhumation|exhumed]] in March 2008 because two people thought they may be his direct descendants from an illegitimate child of his.<ref>[http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/05/26/2255140.htm Former premier's body exhumed for paternity DNA test - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)]</ref> It is claimed that Kingston was ostracised by Adelaide society for his sexual indiscretions,<ref>[http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23756823-5006787,00.html Premier's body exhumed to prove paternity | The Australian]</ref><ref>[http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23756652-662,00.html Premier's body dug up | Herald Sun]</ref> having fathered at least six illegitimate children.<ref>[http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23764181-5006787,00.html Womanising political pioneer Charles Kingston exhumed over paternity rumours | The Australian]</ref><ref>[http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23764906-2,00.html Digging for political bastardry | NEWS.com.au]</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{start box}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef | before=[[John Downer|Sir John Downer]] }}
{{s-ttl | title=[[Premier of South Australia]] | years=1893 – 1899 }}
{{s-aft | after=[[Vaiben Solomon]] }}
{{s-new }}
{{s-ttl | title=[[Minister for Trade (Australia)|Minister for Trade and Customs]]| years=1901 – 1903 }}
{{s-aft | after=[[William Lyne]] }}
{{s-par|au}}
{{s-new| division}}
{{s-ttl | title=Member for [[Division of South Australia|South Australia]] | years= 1901 – 1903 | alongside=[[Lee Batchelor|Batchelor]], [[Langdon Bonython|Bonython]],<br>[[Patrick Glynn|Glynn]], [[Frederick Holder|Holder]], [[Alexander Poynton|Poynton]], [[Vaiben Solomon|Solomon]]}}
{{s-non | reason =Division abolished}}
{{s-new| division}}
{{s-ttl | title=Member for [[Division of Adelaide|Adelaide]] | years=1903 – 1908}}
{{s-aft | after=[[Ernest Roberts (Australian politician)|Ernest Roberts]] }}
{{end box}}
{{Premiers of South Australia}}
{{Persondata
|NAME= Kingston, Charles Cameron
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
|SHORT DESCRIPTION= Politician and [[Premier of South Australia]]
|DATE OF BIRTH= [[October 22]] [[1850]]
|PLACE OF BIRTH= [[Adelaide]]
|DATE OF DEATH= [[May 11]] [[1908]]
|PLACE OF DEATH= Adelaide
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kingston, Charles Cameron}}
[[Category:Premiers of South Australia]]
[[Category:Protectionist Party politicians]]
[[Category:Members of the Cabinet of Australia]]
[[Category:Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Adelaide]]
[[Category:Members of the Australian House of Representatives]]
[[Category:Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:1850 births]]
[[Category:1908 deaths]]
[[fr:Charles Kingston]]