Robertson ministry (1868–1870)

The second Robertson ministry was the eleventh ministry of the Colony of New South Wales, and was led by John Robertson. It was the second of five occasions that Robertson was Leader of the Government. Robertson was elected in the first free elections for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly held in March 1856.

Second Robertson ministry

11th Cabinet of the Colony of New South Wales
Premier John Robertson and the Colony of New South Wales (1863–1900)
Date formed27 October 1868 (1868-10-27)
Date dissolved20 January 1870 (1870-01-20)
People and organisations
MonarchQueen Victoria
GovernorThe Earl Belmore
Head of governmentJohn Robertson
No. of ministers8
Member partyunaligned
Status in legislatureMinority government
Opposition partyunaligned
Opposition leader
History
PredecessorSecond Martin ministry
SuccessorFifth Cowper 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.[1] Such ministerial by-elections were usually uncontested and on this occasion a poll was required at Wellington (Saul Samuel) however he was comfortably re-elected with 69% of the vote. The other ministers were all re-elected unopposed.[2]

This ministry covers the period from 27 October 1868 until 12 January 1870, when Robertson resigned his commission after he failed to gain support of the Assembly.[3] Robertson stood aside for his colleague, Charles Cowper.[4]

Composition of ministry

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Portfolio Minister Term start Term end Term length
Premier
Colonial Secretary
John Robertson 27 October 1868 12 January 1870 1 year, 77 days
Colonial Treasurer Saul Samuel
Secretary for Lands William Forster
Secretary for Public Works John Sutherland
Attorney General Sir William Manning MLC[a]
Solicitor General Joshua Josephson 9 September 1869 317 days
Julian Salomons[b] 18 December 1869 12 January 1870 25 days
Postmaster-General Daniel Egan 27 October 1868 1 year, 77 days
Representative of the Government in the Legislative Council Robert Owen MLC[c]

  Ministers are members of the Legislative Assembly unless otherwise noted.

  1. ^ A Member of the Government without a seat in the Cabinet.
  2. ^ Julian Salomons was not appointed to the Legislative Council until 11 August 1870, 7 months after his appointment as Solicitor General.[5]
  3. ^ A Member of the Government with a seat in the Cabinet.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Twomey, Anne (2004). The Constitution of New South Wales. Federation Press. pp. 442. ISBN 9781862875166. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  2. ^ Green, Antony. "1865-69 by-elections". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  3. ^ Serle, Percival (1949). "Robertson, Sir John (1816–1891)". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Sydney: Angus & Robertson. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  4. ^ "Part 6 Ministries since 1856" (PDF). NSW Parliamentary Record. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  5. ^ "Sir Julian Emanuel Salomons (1836–1909)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 27 December 2020.

 

Preceded by Second Robertson ministry
1868–1870
Succeeded by