Douglas was elected as an alderman of
Launceston in 1853, and served until 1884, including
two terms as mayor from 1865 to 1866, and 1880–1882. In 1856 Douglas was one of the first representatives elected to Tasmania's new
House of Assembly, but was soon frustrated by lack of support. He resigned in 1857 to travel in North America, France, and England, before soon returning to Tasmania. Whilst abroad, Douglas had been impressed by the development of railways in those places, and felt strongly that Tasmania needed to develop its own railways. He failed to gain support for the development of a
Hobart to
Launceston railway, but did push through a
Launceston to
Deloraine railway, the
Launceston and Western Railway. He was a major shareholder in the
Ilfacombe Iron Company, a venture to smelt iron ore in Northern Tasmania in 1873, and after its failure was the buyer of its assets. He was also one of the buyers of the assets and iron ore mining leases of the
Tamar Hematite Iron Company, in 1877, part of a highly unethical, though technically legal, ploy to obtain cheaply a
pre-emptive right to a valuable gold mining lease. Despite its dubious origins, the lease—adjacent to the bountiful Tasmania Mine—was lucrative for its new owners. The whole scheme had depended upon the operation of a piece of new legislation (
Mineral Lands Act of 1877) that had just been voted upon in the Tasmanian Parliament, by four of the five new owners—like Douglas, wealthy Tasmanian politicians. It can now be seen as an early instance of a
conflict of interest, amounting to political corruption. Douglas was a member of the
Tasmanian House of Assembly from 1862 until 1884, when he became a member of the
Tasmanian Legislative Council instead. He served as
Premier of Tasmania from 1884 until 1886. Douglas represented Tasmania at the
Federal Council of Australasia, and was elected as one of the ten Tasmanian delegates to the Federal Convention of Australasia. There he epitomised conservative opinion within the convention. More than any other delegate, Douglas voted against what
Alfred Deakin voted for; in fact, no other pair of delegates differed more in their votes than these two. For all his evident conservatism, Douglas recommended a Yes vote in the Federation referendums, and favoured the establishment of an
Australian Republic. Douglas resigned as Premier in 1886 to take up a post as Tasmanian
Agent-General in London, but was soon recalled due to problems with his railway associations in Tasmania. He returned to the
Tasmanian Legislative Council from 1890 to 1904, and was made a
knight bachelor on 14 August 1902, being described as "The first amongst the Tasmanians", by then
Governor of Tasmania,
Captain Sir Arthur Havelock. ==Personal life==