Martin ministry (1863–1865)

First Martin ministry
8th Cabinet of the Colony of New South Wales
Premier James Martin and the Colony of New South Wales (1863–1900)
Date formed	16 October 1863 (1863-10-16)
Date dissolved	2 February 1865 (1865-02-02)
People and organisations
Monarch	Queen Victoria
Governor	Sir John Young
Head of government	James Martin
No. of ministers	7
Member party	unaligned
Status in legislature	Minority government
Opposition party	unaligned
Opposition leader	Charles Cowper
History
Outgoing election	1864–65
Predecessor	Third Cowper ministry
Successor	Fourth Cowper ministry

The first Martin ministry was the eighth ministry of the Colony of New South Wales, and first occasion of being led by James Martin QC.

Martin was elected in the first free elections for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly held in 1856. He came to power as Premier after Charles Cowper's government fell in October 1863.^[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.^[2] Such ministerial by-elections were usually uncontested and on this occasion, Peter Faucett (Yass Plains), William Forster (East Sydney) and Arthur Holroyd (Parramatta) were unopposed. Two other ministers Geoffrey Eagar (West Sydney) and Bowie Wilson (Goldfields South), were easily re-elected, with more than 90% of the vote.^[3] Charles Cowper Jr. resigned his seat of The Tumut to challenge Martin at the Orange by-election.^[4] While defeated, Martin promptly returned to parliament, winning the by-election for The Tumut, the seat vacated by Charles Cowper Jr.^[5]

This ministry covers the period from 16 October 1863 until 2 February 1865, when Cowper retained government by defeating Martin at the 1864–65 general election.^[6]

Composition of ministry

Portfolio	Minister	Term start	Term end	Term length
Premier Attorney General	James Martin QC	16 October 1863	2 February 1865	1 year, 109 days
Colonial Secretary	William Forster
Colonial Treasurer	Geoffrey Eagar
Solicitor General	Peter Faucett
Secretary for Lands	Bowie Wilson
Secretary for Public Works	Arthur Holroyd
Vice-President of the Executive Council Representative of the Government in the Legislative Council	John Plunkett MLC	23 November 1863		1 year, 71 days

  Ministers are members of the Legislative Assembly unless otherwise noted.

See also

• Self-government in New South Wales
• Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, 1860–1864
• Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, 1864–1869
• Second Martin ministry (1866–1868)
• Third Martin ministry (1870–1872)

References

1. Serle, Percival. "Martin, James (1820–1886)". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Project Gutenberg Australia. Retrieved 18 February 2007.
2. Twomey, Anne (2004). The Constitution of New South Wales. Federation Press. pp. 442. ISBN 9781862875166. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
3. Green, Antony. "1860-1864 by-elections". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
4. Green, Antony. "1863 Orange by-election". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
5. Green, Antony. "1863 The Tumut by-election". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
6. "Part 6 Ministries since 1856" (PDF). NSW Parliamentary Record. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 15 December 2020.

 

Preceded by Third Cowper ministry

First Martin ministry 1863–1865

Succeeded by Fourth Cowper ministry