Cowper ministry (1861–63)

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 formed	10 January 1861
Date dissolved	15 October 1863
People and organisations
Head of government	Charles Cowper
Head of state	Queen Victoria (represented by William Denison and subsequently Sir John Young)
Number of ministers	7
Member party	unaligned
Status in legislature	Minority government
Opposition party	unaligned
Opposition leader	John Robertson James Martin
History
Predecessor	First Robertson ministry
Successor	First Martin ministry

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.

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

See also

• Charles Cowper - second Premier of New South Wales
• Self-government in New South Wales
• Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, 1860–1864
• First Cowper ministry (1856)
• Second Cowper ministry (1857–1859)
• Fourth Cowper ministry (1865–1866)
• Fifth Cowper ministry (1870)

References

1. Nairn, Bede. "Robertson, Sir John (1816 - 1891)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Australian National University. Retrieved 2007-02-22.
2. Ward, John M. "Cowper, Sir Charles (1807 - 1875)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Australian National University. Retrieved 2007-02-20.
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 2010-01-02.