1887–1891 Atkinson Ministry
The Opposition to the Stout-Vogel Government had been led by John Bryce, but he lost his seat at this election and the leadership of his grouping passed back to ex-Premier Harry Atkinson, who now became Premier.[7] The free-traders objected to Atkinson's proposed Tariff of 1888, which ended up passing with the support of the followers of John Ballance and Sir George Grey, later to sweep the Atkinsonites out of power as the new Liberal Party.This was a time of mounting labour unrest, typified by the international Maritime Strike of 1890, during which the government paid the rail fares of the union negotiators.[12] Another Minister, Thomas Hislop, had described Atkinson as “communistic” at an election meeting[4] and was later sacked for using his Ministerial position to aid the business affairs of his personal friends.[13] For the 1890 session of Parliament, Atkinson was too ill to speak, and he died in 1892 – he repeatedly offered his resignation to Cabinet, but they rejected it on the grounds that no other leader could hope to command a stable majority.
New ZealandVictoriaHarry AtkinsonConservativesLiberal PartyJohn Ballance1887 general election1884–1887 Stout–Vogel MinistryFirst Liberalresponsible governmentContinuous MinistryHouse of RepresentativesStout-Vogel GovernmentJohn BryceSir George GreyMaritime StrikeGeorge FisherThomas Hislop1890 general electionLegislative CouncillorsLiberal GovernmentPremierColonial TreasurerMinister of MarinePostmaster-GeneralMinister of EducationCommissioner of Trade and CustomsThomas William HislopColonial SecretaryThomas FergusMinister of JusticeMinister of DefenceMinister of Public WorksMinister of MinesGeorge RichardsonMinister of LandsMinister of ImmigrationMinister of AgricultureSir Frederick WhitakerAttorney-GeneralEdwin MitchelsonMinister for Public WorksMinister for Native AffairsEdward Cephas John StevensWilliam RussellMinister JusticeNew Zealand GovernmentDictionary of New Zealand BiographyMinistry for Culture and HeritageDalziel, RaewynNew Zealand Journal of HistoryGovernments of New ZealandFitzgeraldForsaithSewellFox (first)Stafford (first)Fox (second)DomettWhitaker–FoxStafford (second)Fox (third)Stafford (third)WaterhouseFox (fourth)Vogel (first)PollenVogel (second)Atkinson (first)Atkinson (second)WhitakerAtkinson (third)Stout–Vogel (first)Atkinson (fourth)Stout–Vogel (second)LiberalReformUnitedUnited–Reform coalitionFirst LabourFirst NationalSecond LabourSecond NationalThird LabourThird NationalFourth LabourFourth NationalFifth LabourFifth NationalSixth LabourFirst termSecond termSixth National