Stuart ministry

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Stuart ministry
20th Cabinet of the Colony of New South Wales
Alexander Stuart Federation Conference 1884.jpg Australian states history 13.gif
Premier Alexander Stuart and the Colony of New South Wales (1863–1900)
Date formed5 January 1883 (1883-01-05)
Date dissolved6 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 ministers10
Member partyunaligned
Status in legislatureMinority government
Opposition partyunaligned
Opposition leader Henry Parkes
History
Predecessor Third Parkes ministry
Successor First Dibbs ministry

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

Contents

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. [1] Under the constitution, ministers in the Legislative Assembly were required to resign to recontest their seats in a by-election when appointed. [2] Such ministerial by-elections were usually uncontested and on this occasion a poll was required for East Sydney where George Reid was easily re-elected and Newtown where Henry Copeland was narrowly defeated. Copeland was able to return to the assembly the following week due to a vacancy at East Sydney. The 6 other ministers, Sir Alexander Stuart (Illawarra), George Dibbs (St Leonards), Henry Cohen (West Maitland), James Farnell (New England), Francis Wright (Redfern) and Joseph Abbott (Gunnedah ), were re-elected unopposed. The minister subsequently appointed, William Trickett (Paddington) was also re-elected unopposed. [3]

In January 1884 the Committee of Elections and Qualifications held that an error in the drafting of the constitution meant that George Reid could not be validly appointed Minister of Public Instruction, and declared his seat vacant. [4] Reid was defeated in the resulting by-election in February 1884. [3]

This ministry covers the period from 5 January 1883 until 6 October 1885. Suffering a paralytic stroke whilst in office, William Dalley was acting Premier from late 1884, with Dalley deciding to send a contingent of troops to the Sudan. Stuart resumed his duties in May 1885 before resigning in October due to continued ill health. His Treasurer, George Dibbs, succeeded Stuart as Premier. [5] [6] [7]

Stuart ministry 1883-1885.png

Composition of ministry

PortfolioMinisterTerm startTerm endTerm length
Premier
Colonial Secretary 		Sir Alexander Stuart   [lower-alpha 1] 5 January 18836 October 18852 years, 274 days
Colonial Treasurer George Dibbs
Minister of Public Instruction George Reid 6 March 18841 year, 61 days
William Trickett 2 May 18846 October 18851 year, 157 days
Minister of Justice Henry Cohen 5 January 18832 years, 274 days
Attorney General
Representative of the Government in Legislative Council 		William Dalley MLC   [lower-alpha 1]
Secretary for Lands James Farnell
Secretary for Public Works Henry Copeland 28 March 188382 days
Francis Wright 28 May 18836 October 1885862 days
Postmaster-General 5 January 188327 May 1883142 days
William Trickett 28 May 18831 May 1884339 days
James Norton MLC 2 May 18846 October 18851 year, 157 days
Secretary for Mines Joseph Abbott 5 January 18832 years, 274 days
Vice-President of the Executive Council Sir Patrick Jennings 31 July 1883207 days
  1. 1 2 Due to the illness of Sir Alexander Stuart, in addition to his other responsibilities, William Dalley was also charged with the duties of Colonial Secretary from 7 October 1884 to 11 May 1885.

Ministers are members of the Legislative Assembly unless otherwise noted.

See also

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A by-election was held for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly electorate of East Sydney on 29 February 1884 as a result of the Legislative Assembly declaring the seats of Francis Suttor, and George Reid, were vacant as a result of a report of the Committee of Elections and Qualifications that they were incapable of being elected, or of sitting, or voting, as a member of the Assembly.

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East Sydney, an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales was created in 1859 and abolished in 1894.

A by-election was held for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly electorate of East Sydney on 11 January 1883 because George Reid was appointed Minister of Public Instruction in the Stuart ministry. Such ministerial by-elections were usually uncontested and six ministers were re-elected unopposed. On this occasion a poll was required in East Sydney and Newtown. Copeland was defeated but regained a seat in parliament at the second by-election for East Sydney held on 23 January 1883. The six other ministers, Alexander Stuart (Illawarra), George Dibbs, Henry Cohen, James Farnell, Francis Wright (Redfern) and Joseph Abbott (Gunnedah), were re-elected unopposed.

References

  1. ↑ Green, Antony (20 October 2010). "Centenary of the First NSW Labor Government". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 10 March 2012.
  2. ↑ Twomey, Anne (2004). The Constitution of New South Wales. Federation Press. pp.  442. ISBN   9781862875166 . Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  3. 1 2 Green, Antony. "By-elections 1882-85". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales . Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  4. ↑ Twomey (2004), pp.  433–4.
  5. ↑ Nairn, Bede. "Stuart, Sir Alexander (1824–1886)". Australian Dictionary of Biography . Melbourne University Press. ISSN   1833-7538 . Retrieved 6 March 2021– via National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.
  6. ↑ Serle, Percival (1949). "Stuart, Sir Alexander (1824–1886)". Dictionary of Australian Biography . Sydney: Angus and Robertson. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  7. ↑ Part 6 Ministries since 1856 (PDF). NSW Parliamentary Record. Parliament of New South Wales . Retrieved 6 March 2021.

 

Preceded by Stuart ministry
1883–1885		Succeeded by
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