platform of opposition to responsible government. He had also nominated for the North District seat, but on his election in October 1874 chose to sit for Geraldton. On 16 February 1875, Brown married Amy Frances Howard, with whom he had three sons and four daughters. In January 1876, Brown's brother Kenneth murdered his wife in a drunken argument. Maitland Brown was prominent in the family's unsuccessful attempt to mount a defence of diminished responsibility, sparing neither his personal privacy nor his standing in the community in the failed attempt to save his brother from execution. Perceiving that his standing in the community had been damaged by the trial, Brown resigned his seat in the council in March. He was persuaded to renominate, however, and was re-elected unopposed on 22 July. Brown's views changed markedly during his later years in the Legislative Council. Whereas he had earlier argued against the necessity of an "opposition", he later became himself firmly opposed to the government. He became an outspoken critic of nearly every government measure, and was especially critical of Governor Robinson. For a time he was widely recognised as the Leader of the Opposition, although on at least one occasion he repudiated the title. Brown's views on responsible government also changed. He had been one of the colony's staunchest opponents of responsible government, but by 1883 he had declared himself a supporter of the proposed change. Having been elected on a policy platform of opposition to responsible government, Brown considered it inappropriate to retain his seat after changing his opinion, so in April 1883 he resigned the seat of Geraldton for the second time. A few weeks later he was elected to the new seat of Gascoyne, which he held until his resignation in April 1886. Later life On 7 April 1886, Brown resigned his seat in the Legislative Council for the last time. He then accepted a re-appointment to the position of Resident Magistrate at Geraldton. He remained in the position until his retirement from public life in 1904, nominally on grounds of ill health, but possibly due to his wife's alcoholism. Brown's wife died in early 1905, and shortly afterwards, on 8 May, Brown himself died in Perth. He was buried at Karrakatta Cemetery, but in 1911 his remains were re-interred with the remains of Panter, Harding and Goldwyer in East Perth Cemeteries. In 1912, a monument to Brown was