The Sewell Ministry was the first

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 br ...

in New Zealand. Unlike previous executives, its members were held accountable to

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

. This would form the basis for future governments in New Zealand. The ministry formed in 1856, but lasted only one month, from 18 April to 20 May. From 7 May onwards,

Henry Sewell Henry Sewell (; 7 September 1807 – 14 May 1879) was a New Zealand politician. He was a notable campaigner for New Zealand self-government, and is generally regarded as having been the country's first premier (a post that would later be offici ...

held office as colonial secretary, considered to be the equivalent of a prime minister or premier. Thus, Sewell is regarded as the first

prime minister of New Zealand The prime minister of New Zealand () is the head of government of New Zealand. The prime minister, Christopher Luxon, leader of the New Zealand National Party, took office on 27 November 2023. The prime minister (informally abbreviated to P ...

Historic context

Sir

George Grey Sir George Grey, KCB (14 April 1812 – 19 September 1898) was a British soldier, explorer, colonial administrator and writer. He served in a succession of governing positions: Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, Gov ...

, the 3rd

Governor of New Zealand A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

, greatly influenced the

New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 The New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 ( 15 & 16 Vict. c. 72) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that granted self-government to the Colony of New Zealand. It was the second such act, the New Zealand Constitution Act 1846 not ...

(UK), which granted the colony self-government, allowing for a

bicameral Bicameralism is a type of legislature that is divided into two separate Deliberative assembly, assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate ...

Parliament consisting of an elected

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

of 24 to 42 members, and an appointed

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

of not fewer than ten members. It also allowed for

provinces A province is an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The term ''provi ...

to be formed, each presided over by an elected Superintendent, for initially

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

Taranaki Taranaki is a regions of New Zealand, region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano Mount Taranaki, Taranaki Maunga, formerly known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the ...

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

and

Otago Otago (, ; ) is a regions of New Zealand, region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island and administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local go ...

. Elections were held in 1853 for the provincial councils, the superintendents, and the House of Representatives. In this federal system, the central government had responsibility over defence and native affairs, and the provincial governments had substantial powers of their own. The system of government was set up at a time when European settlements were scattered and small, and communications and travel were rather difficult. Virtually all long distance travel and transport of goods was by sea. To be eligible to vote in either the provincial or national elections, voters had to be male owners of property valued at £50, or leasehold valued at £10. The first Parliament had 37 members, elected by 5849 voters, of which around 100 were Maori. Once the provincial governments had been set up, New Zealand had given itself six miniature parliaments, endeavouring to emulate Westminster as best they could, for a total European population of about 30,000. And all of that in addition to the bicameral Parliament. At the first meeting of Parliament in May 1854, a resolution was passed that the House be given responsible and representative government immediately, i.e. the power to appoint an Executive Council that has decision-making powers.

Robert Wynyard Major General Robert Henry Wynyard (24 December 1802 – 6 January 1864) was a British Army officer and New Zealand colonial administrator, serving at various times as Lieutenant Governor of New Ulster Province, Administrator of the Go ...

, the

administrator Administrator or admin may refer to: Job roles Computing and internet * Database administrator, a person who is responsible for the environmental aspects of a database * Forum administrator, one who oversees discussions on an Internet forum * N ...

filling in after Grey's departure and before the arrival of the next Governor, Colonel

Thomas Gore Browne Colonel Sir Thomas Robert Gore Browne (3 July 1807 – 17 April 1887) was a British colonial administrator, who was Governor of St Helena, Governor of New Zealand, Governor of Tasmania and Governor of Bermuda. Early life Browne was born on ...

, formed an Executive Council led by James FitzGerald (the Fitzgerald Ministry). When it became clear that the first ministers had no power, they resigned as the Executive after seven weeks. Wynyard

prorogued A legislative session is the period of time in which a legislature, in both parliamentary and presidential systems, is convened for purpose of lawmaking, usually being one of two or more smaller divisions of the entire time between two elections. ...

Parliament as the members refused to accept his claim that responsible government was not possible without royal assent, which had not been given. In the next session,

Thomas Forsaith Thomas Spencer Forsaith, JP (18 July 1814 – 29 November 1898), was a New Zealand politician and an Auckland draper. According to some historians, he was the country's second premier, although a more conventional view states that neither he no ...

, a member of the minority that supported Wynyard, was appointed by Wynyard to lead an Executive (the Forsaith Ministry). This appointed ministry did not have the confidence of Parliament and lasted only from 31 August to 2 September 1854. When Browne arrived, he announced that self-government would begin with the

2nd New Zealand Parliament The 2nd New Zealand Parliament was a term of the Parliament of New Zealand. It opened on 15 April 1856, following New Zealand's 1855 election. It was dissolved on 5 November 1860 in preparation for 1860–61 election. The 2nd Parliament was th ...

First responsible government

, who had been a member of the 1st Parliament, stood for re-election in the Town of Christchurch electorate, and was returned. As a result of his previous service on Fitzgerald's first Executive Council, Sewell was asked by Browne to form a government. He was appointed to the Executive Council on 18 April 1856, and became Colonial Secretary (considered to be the equivalent of

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

), at the head of New Zealand's first responsible government, on 7 May.

Dillon Bell Sir Francis Dillon Bell (8 October 1822 – 15 July 1898) was a New Zealand politician of the late 19th century. He served as New Zealand's third Minister of Finance (the first parliamentary finance minister), and later as its third Speaker ...

became Colonial Treasurer,

Frederick Whitaker Sir Frederick Whitaker (23 April 1812 – 4 December 1891) was an English-born New Zealand politician who served twice as the premier of New Zealand and six times as Attorney-General. Early life Whitaker was born at the Deanery Manor House, ...

became

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

, and Henry Tancred became a

minister without portfolio A minister without portfolio is a government minister without specific responsibility as head of a government department. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet with decision-making authorit ...

. Whitaker and Tancred were both members of the Legislative Council. Previously, the Executive Council had functioned as an advisory group to the Governor, and ministerial functions were performed by appointed officials, not politicians. The various "ministers" serving on the Council, such as Andrew Sinclair (Colonial Secretary since 1844) and Alexander Shepherd (Colonial Treasurer since 1842), retired from their roles.

Ministers

The following members served on the Sewell Ministry:

Historic context

First responsible government

Ministers

Notes

References

See also