page_title: William Porter (Attorney General)
section_title: Political career (1865-1873)
hierarchical_section_title: William Porter (Attorney General) / Political career (1865-1873)
caption_attribution_description: English: William Porter. Cape politician and attorney general
context_page_description: William Porter was attorney-general of the Cape Colony and a drafter of its first constitution in 1854.
context_section_description: When he retired from his position as attorney-general in 1865, Porter entered politics, and was elected to the parliament which he had assisted in creating. Here the local leader John Molteno, who shared Porter's political views, had achieved a degree of parliamentary control and was using this electoral base to push for the next stage in independence from Britain, a locally-accountable executive, or "Responsible Government".
  Porter joined this movement for responsible government, lending his considerable moral authority as an acknowledged "father" of the Cape's constitution. His final years in politics were spent in the drive for women's rights, religious freedom and the abolition of capital punishment in the Cape.
  In 1872, the Cape finally attained Responsible Government and Molteno approached Porter with an invitation to become the Cape's first Prime Minister. Porter declined however, citing ill-health.
caption: William Porter in later life.
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