Stuart ministry

The Stuart ministry was the 20th ministry of the Colony of New South Wales, and was led by the Honourable Sir Alexander Stuart. Stuart was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly in 1874.

Stuart ministry
20th Cabinet of the Colony of New South Wales
Premier Alexander Stuart and the Colony of New South Wales (1863–1900)
Date formed	5 January 1883 (1883-01-05)
Date dissolved	6 October 1885 (1885-10-06)
People and organisations
Head of state	Queen Victoria (represented by Lord Augustus Loftus and subsequently The Lord Carrington)
Head of government	Alexander Stuart
No. of ministers	10
Member party	unaligned
Status in legislature	Minority government
Opposition party	unaligned
Opposition leader	Henry Parkes
History
Predecessor	Third Parkes ministry
Successor	First Dibbs ministry

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 5 January 1883 until 6 October 1885. Suffering a paralytic stroke whilst in office, W. B. Dalley was Acting Leader of the Government from late 1884. Following Dalley's decision to send a contingent of troops to the Sudan, Stuart resigned in October 1885 with his Treasurer, George Dibbs, succeeding as Colonial Premier.[1][2][3]

Composition of ministry

Portfolio	Minister	Term start	Term end	Term length
Premier Colonial Secretary	Hon. Sir Alexander Stuart MLA ^a	5 January 1883	6 October 1885	2 years, 274 days
Colonial Treasurer	Hon. George Dibbs MLA
Minister of Public Instruction	Hon. George Reid MLA		6 March 1884	1 year, 61 days
	Hon. William Trickett MLA	2 May 1884	6 October 1885	1 year, 157 days
Minister of Justice	Hon. Henry Cohen MLA	5 January 1883		2 years, 274 days
Attorney-General Representative of the Government in Legislative Council	Hon. William Dalley MLC ^1
Secretary for Lands	Hon. James Farnell MLA
Secretary for Public Works	Hon. Henry Copeland MLA		28 March 1883	82 days
	Hon. Francis Wright MLA	28 May 1883	6 October 1885	862 days
Postmaster-General		5 January 1883	27 May 1883	142 days
	Hon. William Trickett MLA	28 May 1883	1 May 1884	339 days
	Hon. James Norton MLA	2 May 1884	6 October 1885	1 year, 157 days
Secretary for Mines	Hon. Joseph Palmer Abbott MLA	5 January 1883		2 years, 274 days
Vice-President of the Executive Council	Hon. Sir Patrick Jennings MLC		31 July 1883	207 days

:^a Due to the illness of Sir Alexander Stuart, in addition to his other responsibilities, W. B. Dalley was also charged with the duties of Colonial Secretary from 7 October 1884 to 11 May 1885.

See also

• Alexander Stuart - ninth Premier of New South Wales
• Self-government in New South Wales
• Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, 1882–1885

References

1. Nairn, Bede; Martha Rutledge. "Stuart, Sir Alexander (1824 - 1886)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Australian National University. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
2. Serle, Percival. "Stuart, Sir Alexander (1824 - 1886)". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Project Gutenberg Australia. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
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. Retrieved 17 July 2011.

Preceded by Third Parkes ministry	Stuart ministry 1883–1885	Succeeded by First Dibbs ministry