Page:History of Adelaide and vicinity.djvu/385

 M^- J- Miller ADELAIDE AND VICINITY 559 I While resident at Athelstone he first demonstrated his fitness for public positions. In 1 86 1 he was elected a member of the Payneham District Council, and he was for some time its chairman. He had only just entered upon his manhood, but his success in the Council proved that he bore a sensible head on young shoulders. He became a member of the Chalmers Church, and in 1872 was elected a Deacon. In 1873 Mr. Miller went to Crystal Brook, took up an area of country which during subsequent years he has used for agricultural purposes, and joined the Bible Christian Church, of which he has since been a prominent member. He was one of the founders of Way College, attached to that denomination. The soil in that neighborhood is excellent, and, taking it as a whole, Mr. Miller's sojourn there has been fortunate in more ways than one. He quickly associated himself with public bodies in the new district, and rose to the most important offices in connection with them. At various times he has been President of the North-Western Agricultural Society, and of the South Australian Parmers' Association, institutions which gained not a little advantage from his deliberations and generous assistance. He was also a member of the School Board of Advice. Having in view his services in connection with public bodies, and the sturdiness of his views, it was only natural that Mr. Miller should be destined to enter upon a parliamentary career. In 1881 he unsuccessfully contested a seat in the Legislative Council ; but in 1884 he was elected to the House of Assembly for the District of .Stanley. During the following sessions he made an excellent impression on his fellow- members. Important questions dealing with landed interests were discus.sed, and Mr. Miller's views upon them commanded respect. He retired from Parliament and took a seat on the Pastoral Board, on which he was engaged as a representative for the farmers from 1885 to 1888. In 1890 he was again elected to the Assembly for Stanley ; was defeated in 1893, and returned in 1896 and 1899. In these further terms he has added to the services which he previously rendered the farming community by his parliamentary work. He is one of the most doughty champions of their rights, and without his special knowledge of land questions, his place in Parliament would be difficult to fill. He has been associated with numbers of important measures, the one for which he has striven fnost assiduously and successfully being the establishment of agricultural schools at Adelaide, Jamestown, Narracoorte, and Clare, and has conferred very substantial benefits on the country. To .sum up briefly, it must be said that his services merit the general appreciation with which they are regarded, and that his career is as creditable to the Province of which he is a native as it is to himself. Mr. Alexander McDonald, M.R MR. A. McDonald was bom at Orkney in 1849, leaving two years later for South Australia. At the age of 15, he started farming, and for nine years he pursued this toilsome occupation ; he then spent nine years in the establishment of Messrs. R. H. Wigg & Sons, grocers and wine and spirit merchants, Adelaide. At length he became the possessor of a large storekeeping business at Blackwood. In 1887 he was returned to the House of Assembly for the District of Noarlunga, having been re-elected at each periodic election since. He has for nearly half a century resided in the Province, and his public services are much appreciated.