James Henry Young (15 May 1834 – 9 May 1908) was an Australian colonial businessman and politician and Speaker of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly. Early life and business Young was born at Moor Court, near Romsey, Hampshire to Martha Druce and James Young, a farmer. At age 14 he was an apprentice with the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company. He arrived in Sydney in August 1852 on the inaugural voyage of the Chusan, a steam ship that completed the voyage from Southampton in 80 days, a significant reduction from the usual 121-130 days. He spent two years working on the gold fields, however was not successful and took employment with the Sydney & Melbourne Steam Packet Co. He settled in the Port Macquarie region in the late 1850s, working as a harbour pilot then as a shop keeper. He married Ellen Kemp on 21 July 1859 at Port Macquarie. In around 1876 he established a business as a produce merchant in Sydney, with interest in coastal shipping. Political career In 1880 Young contested the new district of Hastings and Manning which included Port Macquarie, finishing on top of the poll. He represented the district until the abolition of multi-member districts in 1894. He was appointed Minister of Public Instruction in the fifth Robertson Ministry from December 1885 to February 1886. He joined the Free Trade Party on its establishment in 1887 and was elected Speaker of the Assembly in March 1887, on a salary of £1,500 per year. He was a commissioner for New South Wales for the exhibition in Adelaide in 1887 and Melbourne in 1888. He was re-elected speaker after the 1889 election, but rowdy members of the assembly, such as John McElhone, Adolphus Taylor, Paddy Crick and William Willis were difficult for Young to deal with. In 1890 he entered into a compromise with his creditors in which they received one quarter of the value of their debts. The matter was raised in the Assembly and the Attorney General, George Simpson QC gave an opinion that Young was not disqualified from parliament as a court had not made a sequestration order. Crick moved that Young's seat be referred to the elections and qualifications committee, however this was defeated along party lines 52 to 30. The leader of the opposition, George Dibbs gave notice of a motion that would remove Young as Speaker and he