Cowper ministry (1861–63)

The third Cowper ministry was the seventh ministry of the Colony of New South Wales, and third occasion of being led by the Honourable Charles Cowper.

Third Cowper ministry
7th Cabinet of the Colony of New South Wales
Premier Charles Cowper and the Colony of New South Wales (1860–1862 and 1862)
Date formed10 January 1861 (1861-01-10)
Date dissolved15 October 1863 (1863-10-15)
People and organisations
Head of stateQueen Victoria (represented by William Denison and subsequently Sir John Young)
Head of governmentCharles Cowper
No. of ministers7
Member partyunaligned
Status in legislatureMinority government
Opposition partyunaligned
Opposition leader
History
PredecessorFirst Robertson ministry
SuccessorFirst Martin ministry

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. Cowper formed Government on the second occasion between 1857 and 1859; but it also lost the confidence of the Assembly. Cowper was again asked to form Government following the decision by Premier John Robertson to step aside and focus on land reform.[1]

The title of Premier was widely used to refer to the Leader of Government, but not enshrined in formal use until 1920.

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 10 January 1861 until 15 October 1863, when Cowper was defeated amidst criticism of its financial management.[2][3]

Composition of ministry
Portfolio Minister Term start Term end Term length
Premier
Colonial Secretary
 Hon. Charles Cowper MLA 10 January 1861 15 October 1863 2 years, 278 days
Colonial Treasurer Hon. Elias Weekes MLA 20 March 1863 2 years, 69 days
Hon. Thomas Smart MLA 21 March 1863 15 October 1863 208 days
Secretary for Lands and Works Hon. John Robertson MLA 10 January 1861 2 years, 278 days
Secretary for Public Works Hon. William Arnold MLA
Attorney-General Hon. John Darvall MLA 1 August 1863
Hon. John Hargrave MLC 10 January 1861 31 July 1863
Solicitor-General
Representative of the Government in Legislative Council		 1 August 1863 15 October 1863
Clerk of the Executive Council Hon. Charles Cowper, Jr MLA 1 September 1861 2 years, 44 days
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See also

References
  1. Nairn, Bede. "Robertson, Sir John (1816–1891)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Australian National University. Retrieved 22 February 2007.
  2. Ward, John M. "Cowper, Sir Charles (1807–1875)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Australian National University. Retrieved 20 February 2007.
  3. "Former Members – Chronological List of Ministries 1856 to 2009 (requires download)". Project for the Sesquicentenary of Responsible Government in NSW. Parliament of New South Wales. Archived from the original (Excel spreadsheet) on 15 March 2011. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
Preceded by
First Robertson ministry		 Third Cowper ministry
1861–1863		 Succeeded by
First Martin ministry
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