1865–1869 Stafford Ministry

Last updated September 23, 2024

The Second Stafford Ministry was the eighth responsible government to be formed in New Zealand, and one of the longer-lasting ministries during this period. It formed in October 1865 and lasted until June 1869. However, it was defeated in a vote of confidence on 15 August 1866 and resigned, to be reconstituted with three ministers replaced, so some contemporaries regarded it as two separate Ministries. As the office of Premier had yet to be formally established, Edward Stafford did not carry this title officially.^[1]

Background

The previous Weld ministry collapsed due to a confidence motion brought by Julius Vogel, but Frederick Weld advised Governor Grey to call Edward Stafford instead. Grey promised Stafford to grant him a fresh general election even if the House did not express its confidence in him by granting Supply, raising the ire of the Weldites.^[2] The new government had three main policies: peace with Māori, retrenchment of the public accounts, and enhancing the power of central government.^[3]

Against the Ministry's proposal to reduce the funding of Provincial governments from customs receipts, the provincialist William Sefton Moorhouse moved a confidence motion which succeeded by 47 votes to 14 in August 1866, but Stafford was re-appointed and formed a coalition with the former Weldites.^[4] One of these was John Richardson, who was threatened with rotten eggs next time he visited his ultra-provincialist home of Dunedin.^[5] Upon the election of James Macandrew as Superintendent of Otago, Stafford caused a furore by withdrawing his power to manage the goldfields until his previous conduct had been audited.^[6]

With regard to finances, the Ministry pledged to make £240,000 in budget savings, and succeeded in returning to a surplus in 1866. They also successfully put a counter-claim^[7] to Britain's charges for the expense of providing Imperial regiments during the New Zealand Wars, and their focus on expenditure was described by Postmaster-General John Hall as "retrenchment frenzy".^[8] In 1867 the provinces' existing loans were taken over by the central government and the local governments were forbidden from taking out any further loans.^[9]

The Māori policy of the Government was of non-intervention unless provoked: Stafford followed a conciliatory line by pardoning some of the killers of Carl Volkner,^[10] and attempted to involve Māori in colonial politics by creating four electoral districts in the House of Representatives for them. Later, the outbreak of two new insurgencies led by Tītokowaru and Te Kooti raised a military response. Government Agent and opposition politician Donald McLean was sacked in March 1869 for advising Major Ropata not to obey orders to reinforce the Taranaki campaign,^[11] and Opposition leader Sir William Fox moved a no-confidence vote over the dismissal, which he won 40–29 on 24 June.^[12]

Ministers

The following members served in the Weld Ministry:^[1]

Name	Office	Term
Edward Stafford	Member of Executive Council	16 October 1865 – 28 June 1869
	Colonial Secretary	31 October 1865 – 28 June 1869
	Colonial Treasurer	31 October 1865 – 12 June 1866
	Postmaster-General	31 October 1865 – 8 May 1866
	Postmaster-General	6 February 1869 – 28 June 1869
Theodore Haultain	Member of Executive Council	16 October 1865 – 28 June 1869
Theodore Haultain	Minister for Colonial Defence	31 October 1865 – 28 June 1869
Andrew Russell, MLC	Member of Executive Council	16 October 1865 – 24 August 1866
Andrew Russell, MLC	Minister for Native Affairs	31 October 1865 – 24 August 1866
James Paterson	Member of Executive Council	16 October 1865 – 24 August 1866
James Paterson	Postmaster-General	8 May 1865 – 24 August 1866
John Johnston, MLC	Member of Executive Council	14 May 1866 – 5 April 1867
Francis Jollie	Member of Executive Council	14 May 1866 – 24 August 1866
Francis Jollie	Colonial Treasurer	12 June 1866 – 24 August 1866
William Fitzherbert	Colonial Treasurer	24 August 1866 – 28 June 1869
William Fitzherbert	Commissioner of Stamp Duties	6 May 1867 – 28 June 1869
John Hall	Member of Executive Council	24 August 1866 – 28 June 1869
	Postmaster-General	24 August 1866 – 5 February 1869
	Electric Telegraph Commissioner	16 October 1866 – 5 February 1869
James Crowe Richmond	Commissioner of Customs	24 August 1866 – 28 June 1869
James Crowe Richmond	Commissioner of Stamp Duties	6 May 1867 – 28 June 1869
John Richardson	Member of Executive Council	24 August 1866 – 23 June 1868
John Hyde Harris, MLC	Member of Executive Council	9 September 1867 – 13 May 1868
John Hyde Harris, MLC	Solicitor-General	26 October 1867 – 13 May 1868
Daniel Pollen, MLC	Member of Executive Council	10 June 1869 – 28 June 1869

Notes

1 2 Wilson, J. O. (James Oakley) (1985). New Zealand parliamentary record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: Government Printer. p. 63.
↑ Graham, Jeanine (1983). Frederick Weld. Oxford University Press. p. 104.
↑ Bohan, Edmund (1994). Edward Stafford: New Zealand's First Statesman. Hazard Press. p. 209.
↑ Bohan, Edmund (1994). Edward Stafford: New Zealand's First Statesman. Hazard Press. pp. 227–9.
↑ Bohan, Edward (1994). Edward Stafford: New Zealand's First Statesman. Hazard Press. p. 236.
↑ Bohan, Edmund (1994). Edward Stafford: New Zealand's First Statesman. Hazard Press. pp. 236–8.
↑ Bohan, Edmund (1994). Edward Stafford: New Zealand's First Statesman. Hazard Press. p. 239.
↑ Garner, Jean (1995). By His Own Merits: Sir John Hall: Pioneer, Pastoralist and Premier. Dryden Press. p. 147.
↑ Bohan, Edmund (1994). Edward Stafford: New Zealand's First Statesman. Hazard Press. p. 250.
↑ Bohan, Edmund (1994). Edward Stafford: New Zealand's First Statesman. Hazard Press. p. 254.
↑ Bohan, Edmund (1994). Edward Stafford: New Zealand's First Statesman. Hazard Press. p. 280.
↑ Bohan, Edmund (1994). Edward Stafford: New Zealand's First Statesman. Hazard Press. p. 286.

Related Research Articles

Sir Edward William Stafford served as the third premier of New Zealand on three occasions in the mid 19th century. His total time in office is the longest of any leader without a political party. He is described as pragmatic, logical, and clear-sighted.

The 39th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the Parliament of New Zealand which began with the general election held on 25 November 1978, and finished with the general election held on 28 November 1981. The dates of the Muldoon Ministry were from 13 December 1978 to 11 December 1981.

The 40th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the Parliament of New Zealand. Its composition was determined by the 1981 election, and it sat until the 1984 election.

Felix Edward Wakefield was the son of Felix Wakefield, one of Edward Gibbon Wakefield’s younger brothers. Edward was born in Launceston, Tasmania, brought up in New Zealand, and educated in France and at King's College London.

Alfred de Bathe Brandon was a 19th-century New Zealand politician.

The Third Atkinson Ministry was a responsible government in New Zealand, sometimes referred to as part of the Continuous Ministry. It took office after the retirement of Frederick Whitaker and continued the personnel and policies of the Whitaker and Hall ministries.

The Weld Ministry was the seventh responsible government to be formed in New Zealand, and lasted a less than a year during the New Zealand Wars. It formed in November 1864 and lasted until October 1865. As the office of premier had yet to be formally established, Frederick Weld was never gazetted premier but did resign the position at the end of his tenure.

The First Stafford Ministry was the third responsible government to be formed in New Zealand, and the first to last more than a few weeks. It formed in June 1856, and lasted until July 1861. As the office of Premier had yet to be established, Edward Stafford served as head of the government, although initially Henry Sewell was the Minister who reported to the Governor.

The Domett Ministry was a responsible government which held power in New Zealand from August 1862 to October 1863. Although Alfred Domett was the head of the government, he was never appointed Premier as that office had yet to be established. Instead, he was Colonial Secretary and Secretary for Crown Lands.

The Second Fox Ministry was a responsible government which held power in New Zealand from July 1861 to August 1862. Although William Fox was the head of the government, he was never appointed Premier as that office had yet to be established. Instead, he was Attorney-General and then Colonial Secretary.

The Whitaker-Fox Ministry was a responsible government which held power in New Zealand from October 1863 to November 1864. Although Frederick Whitaker was the head of the government, he was never appointed Premier as that office had yet to be established. Instead, he was Attorney-General sitting in the Legislative Council while William Fox led the Government in the lower house.

The Third Fox Ministry was a responsible government which held power in New Zealand from June 1869 to September 1872. Although William Fox was the head of the government, he was never appointed Premier as that office had yet to be established, although he did resign the office at the end of his tenure. The Ministry was also known as the Fox-Vogel Ministry as most of the agenda was set by the Treasurer, while Fox busied himself with administrative affairs and moral crusades such as the attempted introduction of local option polls for liquor licensing.

The Third Stafford Ministry was the tenth responsible government to be formed in New Zealand, and lasted for a month.

The Fourth Fox Ministry was a responsible government which held power in New Zealand from March to April 1873.

The First Vogel Ministry was a responsible government which held power in New Zealand from April 1873 to July 1875.

The Pollen Ministry was a responsible government which held power in New Zealand from July 1875 to February 1876 while Julius Vogel was in London.

The Second Vogel Ministry was a responsible government which held power in New Zealand from February to September 1876.

The First and Second Atkinson Ministries were responsible governments in a period sometimes known as the Continuous Ministry. Harry Atkinson formed a government on 1 September 1876, but as it included 9 salaried ministers rather than the legally mandated 8, the Ministry was forced to resign on 13 September and take office again without John Hall. This second Atkinson ministry survived a full year.

The Hall Ministry was a responsible government in New Zealand, sometimes referred to as part of the Continuous Ministry. It took office after defeating Sir George Grey's supporters in a confidence motion, and is usually regarded as a conservative Ministry, although Hall himself described his followers as "the independent Liberal party".

The Waterhouse Ministry was a responsible government which held power in New Zealand from October 1872 to March 1873, led by the Hon. George Waterhouse from the Legislative Council. It is notable as the first Ministry to include Māori as members of Cabinet.

References

Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[:0-1] 1 2 Wilson, J. O. (James Oakley) (1985). New Zealand parliamentary record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: Government Printer. p. 63.

[2] Graham, Jeanine (1983). Frederick Weld. Oxford University Press. p. 104.

[3] Bohan, Edmund (1994). Edward Stafford: New Zealand's First Statesman. Hazard Press. p. 209.

[4] Bohan, Edmund (1994). Edward Stafford: New Zealand's First Statesman. Hazard Press. pp. 227–9.

[5] Bohan, Edward (1994). Edward Stafford: New Zealand's First Statesman. Hazard Press. p. 236.

[6] Bohan, Edmund (1994). Edward Stafford: New Zealand's First Statesman. Hazard Press. pp. 236–8.

[7] Bohan, Edmund (1994). Edward Stafford: New Zealand's First Statesman. Hazard Press. p. 239.

[8] Garner, Jean (1995). By His Own Merits: Sir John Hall: Pioneer, Pastoralist and Premier. Dryden Press. p. 147.

[9] Bohan, Edmund (1994). Edward Stafford: New Zealand's First Statesman. Hazard Press. p. 250.

[10] Bohan, Edmund (1994). Edward Stafford: New Zealand's First Statesman. Hazard Press. p. 254.

[11] Bohan, Edmund (1994). Edward Stafford: New Zealand's First Statesman. Hazard Press. p. 280.

[12] Bohan, Edmund (1994). Edward Stafford: New Zealand's First Statesman. Hazard Press. p. 286.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

v t e Governments of New Zealand
Executives without power	Fitzgerald Forsaith
Responsible government	Sewell Fox (first) Stafford (first) Fox (second) Domett Whitaker–Fox Weld Stafford (second) Fox (third) Stafford (third) Waterhouse Fox (fourth) Vogel (first) Pollen Vogel (second) Continuous Ministry Atkinson (first) Atkinson (second) Grey Hall Whitaker Atkinson (third) Stout–Vogel (first) Atkinson (fourth) Stout–Vogel (second) Atkinson (fifth)
Governments along party lines	Liberal (1891–1912) Reform (1912–1928) United (1928–1931) United–Reform coalition (1931–1935) First Labour (1935–1949) First National (1949–1957) Second Labour (1957–1960) Second National (1960–1972) Third Labour (1972–1975) Third National (1975–1984) Fourth Labour (1984–1990) Fourth National (1990–1999) Fifth Labour (1999–2008) Fifth National (2008–2017) Sixth Labour (2017–2023) First term (2017–2020) Second term (2020–2023) Sixth National (Current)