Cowper ministry (1857–1859)

The Cowper ministry (1857–1859) or Second Cowper ministry was the fourth ministry of the Colony of New South Wales, and second occasion of being led by the Premier, the Honourable Charles Cowper.

Colony of New South Wales (1856–1859)

Cowper was elected in the first free elections for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly held in March 1856, and fought unsuccessfully with Stuart Donaldson to form Government. When Donaldson's Government faltered a little over two months after it was formed, Cowper formed Government on the first occasion, but he also lost the confidence of the Assembly a few months later. Henry Parker formed Government, lasting a little under twelve months, until it lost an electoral bill,^[1] when Cowper was again asked to form Government.

There was no party system in New South Wales politics until 1887. Under the constitution, ministers were required to resign to recontest their seats in a by-election when appointed. These by-elections are only noted when the minister was defeated; in general, he was elected unopposed.

This ministry covers the period from 7 September 1857 until on 26 October 1859, when Cowper resigned his commission, having lost an educational bill. Cowper resigned from the Assembly on the next day.^[2] During the period of this ministry, there were a large number of arrangements, with no fewer than 13 men holding the seven positions in its life of just over two years.^[2][3]

Composition of ministry

Portfolio	Minister	Term commence	Term end	Term of office
Premier Colonial Secretary	Hon. Charles Cowper MLA	7 September 1857	26 October 1859	&100000000000000020000002 years, &1000000000000004900000049 days
Colonial Treasurer	Hon. Richard Jones, MLA		3 January 1858	118 days
	Hon. Robert Campbell MLA	4 January 1858	30 March 1859	&100000000000000010000001 year, &1000000000000008500000085 days
	Hon. Elias Weekes MLA	18 April 1859	26 October 1859	191 days
Secretary for Lands and Works	Hon. Terence Murray MLA	7 September 1857	12 January 1858	127 days
	Hon. John Robertson MLA	13 January 1858	30 September 1859	&100000000000000020000002 years, &1000000000000004900000049 days
Secretary for Lands		1 October 1859	26 October 1859
Secretary for Public Works	Hon. Edward Flood MLA			25 days
Attorney-General	Hon. James Martin MLA	7 September 1857	8 November 1858	&100000000000000010000001 year, &1000000000000006200000062 days
	Hon. Lyttelton Bayley MLA	21 February 1859	26 October 1859	247 days
	Hon. Alfred Lutwyche MLA	15 November 1858	21 February 1859	&100000000000000010000001 year, &10000000000000167000000167 days
Solicitor-General		7 September 1857	14 November 1858
	Hon. William Dalley MLA	15 November 1858	11 February 1859	88 days
	Hon. John Hargrave MLA	21 February 1859	26 October 1859	247 days
Representative of the Government in Legislative Council	Hon. John Dickson, MLC

See also

• Charles Cowper - second Premier of New South Wales
• Self-government in New South Wales
• Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, 1856–1858
• Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, 1858–1859
• First Cowper ministry (1856)
• Third Cowper ministry (1861–1863)
• Fourth Cowper ministry (1865–1866)
• Fifth Cowper ministry (1870)

References

1. ^ Serle, Percival. "Parker, Sir Henry Watson (1808-1881)". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Project Gutenberg Australia. http://gutenberg.net.au/dictbiog/0-dict-biogP-Q.html#parker1. Retrieved 26 February 2007. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Serle, Percival. "Cowper, Sir Charles (1807 - 1875)". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Project Gutenberg Australia. http://gutenberg.net.au/dictbiog/0-dict-biogCl-Cu.html#cowper1. Retrieved 15 February 2007. 
3. ^ "Former Members - Chronological List of Ministries 1856 to 2009 (requires download)" (Excel spreadsheet). Project for the Sesquicentenary of Responsible Government in NSW. Parliament of New South Wales. http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/web/common.nsf/key/Archives_MemberPage. Retrieved 2 January 2010. 

Preceded by Parker ministry

Cowper ministry (1857–1859) 1857–1859

Succeeded by Forster ministry