before the election and his later voting record as a parliamentarian shows he once opposed a bill to introduce full white male suffrage in the colony of Victoria. During a speech in the Legislative Council in 1856 he said, "I would ask these gentlemen what they mean by the term 'democracy'. Do they mean Chartism or Communism or Republicanism? If so, I never was, I am not now, nor do I ever intend to be a democrat. But if a democrat means opposition to a tyrannical press, a tyrannical people, or a tyrannical government, then I have been, I am still, and will ever remain a democrat." Weston Bate wrote that the role of landowner and company director seemed to suit him more than that of rebel, and that Peter Lalor "disgraced himself in democratic eyes" by trying to use Chinese as strike-breakers at the Clunes mine, of which he was a director. Some argue that he was ruthless in using low-paid Chinese workers to get rid of Australians seeking better and safer working conditions. In parliament he supported a repressive land Bill in 1857 which favoured the rich. There were 17,745 Ballarat signatures to a petition against Lalor's land Bill. Withers and others were puzzled and hurt that the folk hero should prove to be a better fighter for money and political position than for the people's rights. Like many young radicals he undoubtedly became more conservative in later life. However, he was consistent in being a risk-taker and, in his later business career, undoubtedly suffered lows as well as highs, at one point narrowly avoiding having to declare bankruptcy. Lalor held North Grenville until August 1859, but never represented Ballarat again, and in the October 1859 election he stood for and won South Grant in the Legislative Assembly instead. Lalor held South Grant for over eleven years after this point, finally losing it in January 1871. In 1871 he also contested but lost the seat of North Melbourne. In May 1874 he was re-elected to South Grant, holding it until April 1877, then taking the Legislative Assembly seat of Grant in May 1877, which he would hold for another almost twelve years until his death in February 1889. Lalor's key political postings were as Commissioner Trade & Customs and Postmaster-General of Victoria from August to October 1875, then Commissioner Trade & Customs from May 1877 until March 1880,