The Whitaker-Fox Ministry was a
responsible government
Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability, the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy. Governments (the equivalent of the executive bran ...
which held power in New Zealand from October 1863 to November 1864. Although
Frederick Whitaker was the head of the government, he was never appointed
Premier
Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier.
A premier will normally be a head of governm ...
as that office had yet to be established. Instead, he was
Attorney-General sitting in the
Legislative Council while
William Fox led the Government in the lower house.
Background
Governor Grey, upon the fall of the
Domett Ministry, attempted to convince
Edward Stafford to form a replacement Cabinet; he refused and Grey went to William Fox, who recommended Frederick Whitaker.
Whitaker, an Aucklander who favoured a vigorous war policy against the
Kingitanga, led a government which pursued the policy of land confiscation and military settlement. There was also a provincialist streak to the Whitaker-Fox government, with the last restrictions on provincial borrowing being abolished.
Reader Wood
Reader Gillson Wood (1821 – 20 August 1895) was a 19th-century New Zealand politician. An architect by trade, he designed the 1854 General Assembly House built as New Zealand's first meeting house for the House of Representatives.
Early life
...
went to London to seek a £3 million loan for war and reconstruction purposes, but the British government would guarantee only part of this loan, and also announced that the New Zealand government would soon be liable for the upkeep of British Army regiments utilised in the
New Zealand Wars
The New Zealand Wars took place from 1845 to 1872 between the New Zealand colonial government and allied Māori on one side and Māori and Māori-allied settlers on the other. They were previously commonly referred to as the Land Wars or the M ...
- to the tune of £40 per soldier per year.
When the government submitted to this dictate, the Opposition politician
Frederick Weld announced a new policy of ‘self-reliance’ which prompted the fall of the Whitaker-Fox ministry barely a year after it had assumed office.
Weld was then given an opportunity to prove the efficacy of his policy.
Ministers
The following members served in the Whitaker-Fox Ministry:
See also
*
New Zealand Government
, background_color = #012169
, image = New Zealand Government wordmark.svg
, image_size=250px
, date_established =
, country = New Zealand
, leader_title = Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern
, appointed = Governor-General
, main_organ =
, ...
Notes
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:1862-1863 Domett Ministry
Ministries of Queen Victoria
Governments of New Zealand
19th century in New Zealand
Cabinets established in 1863
Cabinets disestablished in 1864