Martin ministry (1866–1868)

The second Martin ministry was the tenth ministry of the Colony of New South Wales, and second of three occasions of being led by James Martin QC.

Second Martin ministry
10th Cabinet of the Colony of New South Wales
Premier James Martin and the Colony of New South Wales (1863–1900)
Date formed	22 January 1866 (1866-01-22)
Date dissolved	26 October 1868 (1868-10-26)
People and organisations
Monarch	Queen Victoria
Governor	Sir John Young / The Earl Belmore
Head of government	James Martin
No. of ministers	9
Member party	unaligned
Status in legislature	Minority government
Opposition party	unaligned
Opposition leader	Charles Cowper John Robertson
History
Predecessor	Fourth Cowper ministry
Successor	Second Robertson ministry

Martin was elected in the first free elections for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly held in 1856. He came to power as Premier on the first occasion after he defeated Charles Cowper's government fell in October 1863.^[1] Martin was asked to form government on the second occasion, this time in coalition with his former rival, Henry Parkes, after Cowper again lost the confidence of the Assembly in December 1865.^[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 each of James Martin (The Lachlan), Henry Parkes (Kiama), James Byrnes (Parramatta) and Geoffrey Eagar (West Sydney) were re-elected unopposed. A poll was required in Patrick's Plains (Bowie Wilson) and Yass Plains (Robert Isaacs) however both ministers were comfortably re-elected with more than 70% of the vote.^[3]

This ministry covers the period from 22 January 1866 until 26 October 1868, when Martin resigned.^[4]

Composition of ministry

Portfolio	Minister	Term start	Term end	Term length
Premier Attorney-General	James Martin	22 January 1866	26 October 1868	2 years, 278 days
Colonial Secretary	Henry Parkes		17 September 1868	2 years, 239 days
	Joseph Docker MLC	28 September 1868	26 October 1868	28 days
Representative of the Government in the Legislative Council		22 January 1866		2 years, 278 days
Colonial Treasurer	Geoffrey Eagar
Secretary for Lands	Bowie Wilson
Secretary for Public Works	James Byrnes
Solicitor General	Robert Isaacs
Postmaster-General	Joseph Docker MLC	22 January 1866	27 September 1868	2 years, 249 days
	Atkinson Tighe	29 September 1868	26 October 1868	27 days

  Ministers are members of the Legislative Assembly unless otherwise noted.

See also

• New South Wales portal
• Politics portal

• Self-government in New South Wales
• Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, 1864–1869
• First Martin ministry (1863–1865)
• Third Martin ministry (1870–1872)

References

1. Serle, Percival (1949). "Martin, James". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Sydney: Angus & Robertson. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
2. Twomey, Anne (2004). The Constitution of New South Wales. Federation Press. pp. 442. ISBN 9781862875166. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
3. Green, Antony. "1865 to 1869 by-elections". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
4. "Part 6 Ministries since 1856" (PDF). NSW Parliamentary Record. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 17 December 2020.

 

Preceded by Fourth Cowper ministry	Second Martin ministry 1866–1868	Succeeded by Second Robertson ministry