| 3rd Parliament of New Zealand | |
| Body: | New Zealand Parliament |
| Election: | 1860–1861 general election |
| Government: | First Stafford ministry (until 1861) Second Fox ministry (1861–1862) Domett ministry (1862–1863) Whitaker-Fox ministry (1863–1864) Weld ministry (1864–1865) Second Stafford ministry (from 1865) |
| Term Start: | 3 June 1861 |
| Term End: | 30 October 1865 |
| Before: | 2nd Parliament |
| After: | 4th Parliament |
| Chamber1: | House of Representatives |
| Membership1: | 53 |
| Chamber1 Leader1 Type: | Speaker of the House |
| Chamber1 Leader1: | David Monro |
| Chamber1 Leader2 Type: | Colonial Secretary |
| Chamber1 Leader2: | Edward Stafford — from 16 October 1865 Frederick Weld — 24 November 1864 – 16 October 1865 Alfred Domett — 6 August 1862 – 30 October 1863 William Fox — 12 July 1861 – 6 August 1862 Edward Stafford — until 12 July 1861 |
| Chamber2: | Legislative Council |
| Membership2: | 21 (at start) 35 (at end) |
| Chamber2 Leader1 Type: | Speaker of the Council |
| Chamber2 Leader1: | Thomas Bartley |
| Chamber2 Leader2 Type: | Colonial Secretary |
| Chamber2 Leader2: | Frederick Whitaker — 30 October 1863 – 24 November 1864 |
| Chamber3: | Sovereign |
| Chamber3 Leader1 Type: | Monarch |
| Chamber3 Leader1: | HM Victoria |
| Chamber3 Leader2 Type: | Governor |
| Chamber3 Leader2: | HE Rt. Hon Sir George Grey from December 1861 — HE Rt. Hon Colonel Thomas Browne until 3 October 1861 |
The 3rd New Zealand Parliament was a term of the Parliament of New Zealand. Elections for this term were held between 12 December 1860 and 28 March 1861 in 43 electorates to elect 53 MPs. Two electorates were added to this during this term, Gold Fields District (overlaid over existing Otago electorates) and a new Dunedin electorate created by splitting the existing City of Dunedin into Dunedin and Suburbs North and Dunedin and Suburbs South, increasing the number of MPs to 57. During the term of this Parliament, six Ministries were in power.
The third Parliament opened on 3 June 1861 (after a postponement from the previously announced date of 30 May 1861),[1] [2] following New Zealand's 1860–1861 election. It was the second Parliament under which New Zealand had responsible government, meaning that unlike the first Parliament, the Cabinet was chosen (although not officially appointed) by Parliament rather than by the Governor.
Political parties had not been established yet; this only happened after the 1890 election. Anyone attempting to form an administration thus had to win support directly from individual MPs. This made first forming, and then retaining a government difficult and challenging.[3]
The third Parliament sat during the time of the New Zealand wars. Even before the first session started, William Cutfield King (representing the Grey and Bell electorate) was killed in the First Taranaki War.[4] Marmaduke Nixon (Franklin electorate) was killed in action in 1864 whilst leading an assault on a Māori village during the Invasion of Waikato.
Since 1856, the first Stafford Ministry, led by Edward Stafford, was in place. This was the third administration under responsible government, and it was dissolved on 12 July 1861. Stafford was the third Premier of New Zealand. William Fox then formed the second Fox Ministry, which was in place from 12 July 1861 to 6 August 1862. Fox had previously been the Premier under the second administration. Alfred Domett, the fourth Premier, led the fifth administration, the Domett Ministry. This was in place from 6 August 1862 until 30 October 1863.
The Whitaker–Fox Ministry was the next administration, led by Frederick Whitaker as the fifth Premier. This administration was in place from 30 October 1863 to 24 November 1864. This was followed by the Weld Ministry under Frederick Weld as the sixth Premier. This was in place from 24 November 1864 to 16 October 1865. A few months before the 1866 general elections, Stafford once again became Premier on 16 October 1865, leading the second Stafford Ministry. This lasted well into the term of the fourth Parliament on 28 June 1869.
Parliament sat for five sessions:
| Session | from | to | |
|---|---|---|---|
| First | 3 June 1861 | 7 September 1861 | |
| Second | 7 July 1862 | 15 September 1862 | |
| Third | 19 October 1863 | 14 December 1863 | |
| Fourth | 24 November 1864 | 13 December 1864 | |
| Fifth | 26 July 1865 | 30 October 1865 |
The first session started on 30 May 1861.[2] Ever since Parliament had first met in 1854 in Auckland, an argument was had for the members to meet in a more central place. The second session of the 3rd Parliament was the first to meet outside of Auckland; the buildings of the Wellington Provincial Council were used for this session. A proposal to make this move to Wellington permanent was lost by a single vote.[5]
The fifth session started on 26 July 1865[6] and Parliament was prorogued on 30 October.[7]
43 electorates were used for the 1860–61 elections. This was a significant increase from the previous 28 electorates, and resulted from the passage of the Representation Act 1860.[8]
53 seats were created across the 43 electorates. The City of Wellington electorate was the only three-member electorate, and eight electorates were represented by two members. The remaining 34 electorates were represented by a single member.
There were numerous changes during the term of the third Parliament.
Gillies resigned and the subsequent first 1865 by-election was won on 8 April 1865 by Arthur John Burns.[11]
The electorate was abolished in 1863 and replaced with the two Dunedin suburb electorates listed below.
William Baldwin and George Brodie were elected in the 1863 Goldfields by-election. Baldwin resigned on 27 April 1865. Charles Edward Haughton won the resulting 1865 by-election held on 29 May contested by three candidates.[16]