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Dibbs ministry (1891–1894)

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Third Dibbs ministry

27th Cabinet of theColony of New South Wales
PremierSirGeorge Dibbsand the Colony of New South Wales (1863–1900)
Date formed23 October 1891(1891-10-23)
Date dissolved2 August 1894(1894-08-02)
People and organisations
MonarchQueen Victoria
GovernorThe Earl of Jersey/Sir Robert Duff
PremierSirGeorge Dibbs
No.of ministers10
Member partyProtectionist Party
Status in legislatureMinority government
Opposition partyFree Trade Party
Opposition leaderGeorge Reid
History
PredecessorFifth Parkes ministry
SuccessorReid ministry

Thethird Dibbs ministry,the 27th ministry of theColony of New South Wales,was led bySir George Dibbs,leader of theProtectionist Party,following the1891 New South Wales election,which saw the Labour Party win seats in theNew South Wales Legislative Assemblyand the balance of power. With no party having a majority,Sir Henry Parkesheld on as Premier until October 1891 when he lost a vote in the Legislative Assembly, causing Parkes to resign asPremierand leader of the Free Trade Party.[1]Dibbs formed the ministry on 23 October 1891, with Labour support, and comprised 10 ministers.

Dibbs was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly in 1874 and served as Premier on three occasions. The title of Premier was widely used to refer to the Leader of Government, but was not a formal position in the government until 1920. Instead the Premier was appointed to another portfolio, usuallyColonial Secretary.Dibbs took over as Premier on the first occasion in October 1885 following the resignation ofAlexander Stuartdue to ill-health, with his ministry lasting for 75 days. This was a period of great financial stress for the colony. Dibbs served as colonial secretary in theJennings ministry,before it too suffered budgetary pressures. It was during this time that the party system was formed in New South Wales with Dibbs aligning himself with the Protectionist Party. His second term as premier lasted for just 49 days.[2][3][4]

Federationwas an emerging issue, with Dibbs supporting an initial customs union, but was a severe critic of the strong federalism promoted by Parkes and Barton.[2]Despite their disagreement on federalism, Barton agreed to beAttorney General,based on an agreement that Barton was free to promote federalism and Dibbs would not obstruct discussion on federation in the Legislative Assembly.[5]

Under the constitution, ministers in the Legislative Assembly were required to resign to recontest their seats in an election when appointed.[6]Such ministerial by-elections were usually uncontested and on this occasion a by-election was required inEast Sydney(Edmund Barton). Barton was comfortably re-elected while the other seven other ministers, Sir George Dibbs (The Murrumbidgee),Henry Copeland(New England),John Kidd(Camden),William Lyne(The Hume),John See(Grafton),Thomas Slattery(Boorowa) andFrancis Suttor(Bathurst), were re-elected unopposed.[7]

Dibbs visited London in 1892 and during his absenceEdmund Bartonwas acting Premier,[5]while Francis Suttor was acting Colonial Secretary.[8]In January 1893Sir Julian Salomonsresigned from the ministry because he disagreed with several points of government policy.[9]

Barton andRichard O'Connor,theMinister of Justicehad been representing the plaintiff in the case ofProudfootv the Railway Commissionersbefore taking office and retained the brief as they had the right to carry out private practice as barristers. Two years later the case still had not been resolved and in November 1893 they were questioned in parliament about whether it was proper for ministers to act against a government department. Barton and O'Connor returned the brief however Barton argued that the Railway Commissioners were not a government department and were not conducting their business through the Crown Law Office such that the ministers had the right in their professional practice, to appear against them in court.[5][10]The government lost an adjournment motion on this point by 69 to 48 and both Barton and O'Connor resigned from the ministry.[11]Charles Heydonwas appointed Attorney General while Thomas Slattery was appointed Minister of Justice in addition to his duties asSecretary for Mines and Agriculture.

Dibbs treated the adjournment as a vote of censure, and persuaded GovernorRobert Dufftoprorogueparliament.[11]The Legislative Assembly resumed in January until it was dissolved on 25 June 1894, and ageneral election was held on 27 July 1894,at which Dibb failed to carry the vote. Although he had lost control of the Assembly, Dibbs said he would not resign until after parliament had reconvened, but the Governor forced his hand. Dibbs sought the appointment of several persons by the Governor to the then fully appointedLegislative Council,which Duff refused to do, on the ground that the ministry had been condemned by the colony. In consequence, Dibbs and the ministers resigned on 2 August 1894.[2][8]

The third Dibbs ministry was followed by theReid ministry,led byGeorge Reid,who had replaced Parkes as leader of theFree Trade Party.[12][8]The new parliament opened on 7 August 1894.

Composition of ministry[edit]

Portfolio Minister Party Term start Term end Term length
Premier
Colonial Secretary
Registrar of Records 		Sir George Dibbs Protectionist 23 October 1891 2 August 1894 2 years, 283 days
Colonial Treasurer
Collector of Internal Revenue 		John See
Attorney General Edmund BartonQC [a] 14 December 1893 2 years, 52 days
Charles HeydonMLC 15 December 1893 2 August 1894 230 days
Secretary for Lands Henry Copeland 23 October 1891 2 years, 283 days
Secretary for Public Works William Lyne
Minister of Justice Richard O'ConnorMLC [b] 14 December 1893 2 years, 52 days
Thomas Slattery 15 December 1893 2 August 1894 230 days
Secretary for Mines and Agriculture 23 October 1891 2 years, 283 days
Minister of Public Instruction Francis Suttor [c]
Postmaster-General John Kidd 27 October 1891 2 years, 279 days
Vice-President of the Executive Council
Representative of the Government in Legislative Council 		Sir Julian SalomonsMLC 23 October 1891 26 January 1893 1 year, 95 days
Normand MacLaurinMLC 5 April 1893 2 August 1894 1 year, 119 days

Ministers were members of theLegislative Assemblyunless otherwise noted.

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^Edmund Bartonwas actingPremierfrom 30 April to 13 September 1892 while Sir George Dibbs was visiting London.[5]
  2. ^Richard O'Connorwas appointedSolicitor Generalfrom 19 July to 13 September 1893 to allow him to deputise for theAttorney GeneralwhileEdmund Bartonwas visiting Canada.[13]
  3. ^Francis Suttorwas actingColonial Secretaryfrom 30 April to 13 September 1892 while Sir George Dibbs was visiting London.[8]

References[edit]

  1. ^Martin, A W."Parkes, Sir Henry (1815–96)".Australian Dictionary of Biography.Canberra: National Centre of Biography,Australian National University.ISBN978-0-522-84459-7.ISSN1833-7538.OCLC70677943.Retrieved26 February2021.
  2. ^abcMansfield, Bruce E."Dibbs, Sir George Richard (1834–1904)".Australian Dictionary of Biography.Canberra: National Centre of Biography,Australian National University.ISBN978-0-522-84459-7.ISSN1833-7538.OCLC70677943.Retrieved20 August2019.
  3. ^"Sir George Richard Dibbs (1834–1904)".Former members of theParliament of New South Wales.Retrieved11 May2019.
  4. ^Serle, Percival(1949)."Dibbs, Sir George Richard (1834–1904)".Dictionary of Australian Biography.Sydney:Angus & Robertson.Retrieved18 July2011.
  5. ^abcdRutledge, Martha."Barton, Sir Edmund (Toby) (1849–1920)".Australian Dictionary of Biography.Canberra: National Centre of Biography,Australian National University.ISBN978-0-522-84459-7.ISSN1833-7538.OCLC70677943.Retrieved29 June2021.
  6. ^Twomey, Anne(2004).The Constitution of New South Wales.Federation Press. pp.442.ISBN9781862875166.Retrieved24 November2020.
  7. ^Green, Antony."1881 to 1893 by-elections".New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007.Parliament of New South Wales.Retrieved10 September2020.
  8. ^abcd"Part 6 Ministries since 1856"(PDF).NSW Parliamentary Record.Parliament of New South Wales.Retrieved22 January2021.
  9. ^"Vice-President of the Executive Council: resignation of Sir Julian Salomons".The Sydney Morning Herald.26 January 1893. p. 7.Retrieved29 June2021– via Trove.
  10. ^Rutledge, Martha (1988)."O'Connor, Richard Edward (Dick) (1851–1912)".Australian Dictionary of Biography.Canberra: National Centre of Biography,Australian National University.ISBN978-0-522-84459-7.ISSN1833-7538.OCLC70677943.Retrieved29 June2021.
  11. ^ab"Adjournment: Proudfoot v Railway Commissioners"(pdf).Parliamentary Debates (Hansard).New South Wales: Legislative Assembly. pp. 1727–1772.Retrieved29 June2021.
  12. ^"Sir George Houston Reid (1845–1918)".Former members of theParliament of New South Wales.Retrieved23 May2019.
  13. ^Appleby, G (2016).Role of the Solicitor-General.Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 73.ISBN9781509903962.

Preceded by Third Dibbs ministry
1891–1894 		Succeeded by
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