Head of government Charles Cowper Member party unaligned | No. of ministers 6 | |
Date formed 7 September 1857 (1857-09-07) Date dissolved 26 October 1859 (1859-10-26) Head of state Queen Victoria (represented by William Denison) | ||
The second Cowper ministry was the fourth ministry of the Colony of New South Wales, and second 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. Henry Parker formed Government, lasting a little under twelve months, until it lost an electoral bill, when Cowper was again asked to form Government.
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 7 September 1857 until on 26 October 1859, when Cowper resigned his commission, having lost an educational bill. Cowper resigned from the Assembly on the next day. During the period of this ministry, there were a large number of arrangements, with no fewer than 13 men holding the seven positions in its life of just over two years.