Beckley served as the last official interpreter of the Supreme Court prior to the Overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii. Afterward, he continued working as a translator and was interpreter for the Territory of Hawaii's First Circuit Court from 1906 to 1914. In 1900, he ran for the Hawaii Territorial House of Representatives representing Maui as a candidate of the Home Rule Party, led by former royalist revolutionary Robert William Wilcox. While in the legislature, he served as Vice-Speaker in 1901 and 1902 was Speaker of the House from 1903 to 1904. He later joined the Hawaii Republican Party.