Barton Government

Barton Government: Standing (left to right) John Forrest, George Turner, Richard O'Connor, Elliott Lewis, James Robert Dickson, Alfred Deakin, Alexander Budge (Clerk of the Executive Council), Charles Kingston seated (left to right) Edmund Barton, Lord Hopetoun, William Lyne

The Barton government was the first government of the Commonwealth of Australia formed on January 1, 1901 . She served from January 1, 1901 to September 24, 1903.

Usually the leader of the largest party in the House of Representatives is charged with forming a government. Since the first elections to the Australian Parliament will not take place until 29./30. March, the governor-general- designate Earl of Hopetown , who arrived in Sydney on December 15, 1900, commissioned the Prime Minister of the most populous state of New South Wales , William Lyne , with the formation of a government. Lynne, who was an opponent of the Federation , the unification of the Australian colonies, encountered opposition from the leading federalists who refused to join a government under his leadership. Thereupon the Federalist Edmund Barton became tasked with forming a government on December 24th and presented his cabinet the following day.

All ministers belonged to the Protectionist Party , which advocated protective tariffs to protect domestic industry. In the general election , the Protectionist Party was the strongest party in the House of Representatives with 31 out of 75 seats , but was dependent on the support of the Labor Party .

Barton resigned on September 23, 1903 to serve as a judge in the High Court of Australia . He was succeeded as Prime Minister by Attorney General Deakin .

List of ministers

Office	minister	Term of office	image
Prime Minister and Foreign Minister	Edmund Barton	January 1, 1901 - September 24, 1903
Attorney General	Alfred Deakin	January 1, 1901 - September 24, 1903
Interior minister	William Lyne	January 1, 1901 - August 11, 1903
	John Forrest	August 11, 1903 - September 24, 1903
Treasury minister	George Turner	January 1, 1901 - September 24, 1903
Minister for Trade and Customs	Charles Kingston	January 1, 1901 - July 24, 1903
	William Lyne	August 11, 1903 - September 24, 1903
Defense Minister	James Robert Dickson	January 1, 1901 - January 10, 1901
	John Forrest	January 17, 1901 - August 10, 1903
	James Drake	August 10, 1903 - September 24, 1903
Postmaster General	John Forrest	January 1, 1901 - January 17, 1901
	James Drake	February 5, 1901 - August 10, 1903
	Philip Fysh	August 10, 1903 - September 24, 1903
Vice President of the Executive Council	Richard O'Connor	January 1, 1901 - September 24, 1903
Minister without a portfolio	Elliott Lewis	January 1, 1901 - April 23, 1901
	Philip Fysh	April 26, 1901 - August 10, 1903

Changes

• Defense Secretary James Robert Dickson died on January 10, 1901. He was succeeded by the previous Postmaster General John Forrest, who was replaced by Richard Drake, who was newly entering the cabinet.
• Elliott Lewis, Prime Minister of Tasmania and a minister with no portfolio, did not run for parliament and left the government on April 23. Im followed Philip Fysh.
• The Minister for Trade and Customs, Charles Kingston, resigned on July 24, 1903. The cause was a bitter dispute in the cabinet over the introduction of a conciliation and arbitration bill and the application of the law to English and foreign seafarers who were active in the coastal trade. Defense Secretary Forrest, supported by Prime Minister Barton, stood on the other side. This resulted in a redistribution of cabinet posts: Interior Minister Lynne succeeded Kingston, Defense Minister Forrest moved to the Interior Resort, the previous Postmaster General Drake took over the Ministry of Defense and Fysh, previously without a portfolio, became Postmaster General.

Web links

• Parliamentary Handbook for the 45th Parliament. (PDF; 13.4 MB) Part 6: Historical information on the Australian Parliament - Ministries and Cabinets. Parliament of Australia, p. 519 , accessed April 7, 2019 . 

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Chris Cunneen: Hopetoun, seventh Earl of (1860-1908) . In: Douglas Pike (Ed.): Australian Dictionary of Biography . Volume 9. Melbourne University Press, Carlton (Victoria) 1983, ISBN 0-522-84273-9 (English).
2. ^ Martha Rutledge: Barton, Sir Edmund (Toby) (1849-1920) . In: Douglas Pike (Ed.): Australian Dictionary of Biography . Volume 7. Melbourne University Press, Carlton (Victoria) 1979, ISBN 0-522-84108-2 (English).
3. ^ R. Norris: Deakin, Alfred (1856-1919) . In: Douglas Pike (Ed.): Australian Dictionary of Biography . Volume 8. Melbourne University Press, Carlton (Victoria) 1981, ISBN 0-522-84219-4 (English).
4. ^ DD Cuthbert: Dickson, Sir James Robert (1832-1901) . In: Douglas Pike (Ed.): Australian Dictionary of Biography . Volume 8. Melbourne University Press, Carlton (Victoria) 1981, ISBN 0-522-84219-4 (English).
5. ↑ Scott Bennett: Lewis, Sir Neil Elliott (1858-1935) . In: Douglas Pike (Ed.): Australian Dictionary of Biography . Volume 10. Melbourne University Press, Carlton (Victoria) 1986, ISBN 0-522-84327-1 (English).
6. ^ John Playford: Kingston, Charles Cameron (1850-1908) . In: Douglas Pike (Ed.): Australian Dictionary of Biography . Volume 9. Melbourne University Press, Carlton (Victoria) 1983, ISBN 0-522-84273-9 (English).