Lord Palmerston, of the Whigs, first formed a government by popular demand in 1855, after the resignation of the Aberdeen Coalition. Initially, the government was a continuation of the previous coalition administration but lost three Peelites (William Ewart Gladstone, Sir James Graham and Sidney Herbert) within a few weeks. However, other Peelites like the Duke of Argyll and Lord Canning remained in office. Palmerston was heavily criticised by Parliament in 1857 over the conduct of the Second Opium War and called a dissolution, but the nation voiced its support in the resulting general election and he returned with a Whig majority.
In 1858, the Government resigned when defeated (on a measure for removing conspiracies to murder abroad from the class of misdemeanour to that of felony, which was introduced in consequence of Felice Orsini's attempt on the life of Napoleon III the emperor of the French) and was succeeded by another short-lived Conservative government under Disraeli and Lord Derby.
Cabinet
February 1855 – February 1858
Changes Later in February 1855 – Sir George Cornewall Lewis succeeds Gladstone as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Lord John Russell succeeds Herbert as Colonial Secretary. Sir Charles Wood succeeds Sir James Graham as First Lord of the Admiralty. R.V. Smith succeeds Wood as President of the Board of Control July 1855 – Sir William Molesworth succeeds Russell as Colonial Secretary. Molesworth's successor as First Commissioner of Public Works is not in the Cabinet. November 1855 – Henry Labouchere succeeds Molesworth as Colonial Secretary December 1855 – The Duke of Argyll succeeds Lord Canning as Postmaster-General. Lord Harrowby succeeds Argyll as Lord Privy Seal. Harrowby's successor as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is not in the Cabinet 1857 – Matthew Talbot Baines, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, enters the Cabinet. February 1858 – Lord Clanricarde succeeds Harrowby as Lord Privy Seal.
List of ministers Members of the Cabinet are indicated by bold face. OfficeNameDateNotesPrime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury and Leader of the House of CommonsHenry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston6 February 1855 – 21 February 1858 Chancellor of the ExchequerWilliam Ewart Gladstone30 December 1852continued in officeSir George Cornewall Lewis28 February 1855 Parliamentary Secretary to the TreasuryWilliam Goodenough Hayter5 January 1853continued in officeFinancial Secretary to the TreasuryJames Wilson5 January 1853continued in officeJunior Lords of the TreasuryLord Alfred Hervey1 January 1853 – 7 March 1855continued in officeFrancis Charteris, Lord Elcho1 January 1853 – 7 March 1855Chichester Fortescue6 March 1854 – 16 April 1855Charles Stanley Monck, 4th Viscount Monck7 March 1855 – 21 February 1858 Adam Haldane-Duncan, Viscount Duncan7 March 1855 – 21 February 1858Henry Brand16 April 1855 – 21 February 1858Lord ChancellorRobert Rolfe, 1st Baron Cranworth28 December 1852continued in officeLord President of the Council and Leader of the House of LordsGranville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville8 February 1855 Lord Privy SealGeorge Campbell, 8th Duke of Argyll4 January 1853continued in officeDudley Ryder, 2nd Earl of Harrowby7 December 1855 Ulick de Burgh, 1st Marquess of Clanricarde3 February 1858Secretary of State for the Home DepartmentSir George Grey, 2nd Baronet8 February 1855 Under-Secretary of State for the Home DepartmentHenry Fitzroy28 December 1852continued in officeWilliam Cowper16 February 1855 William Nathaniel Massey13 August 1855Secretary of State for Foreign AffairsGeorge Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon21 February 1853continued in officeParliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign AffairsJohn Wodehouse, 3rd Baron Wodehouse28 December 1852continued in officeHenry Petty-Fitzmaurice, Earl of Shelburne5 July 1856 Secretary of State for WarFox Maule-Ramsay, Lord Panmure8 February 1855 Under-Secretary of State for WarFrederick PeelFebruary 1855 Sir John RamsdenMay 1857Secretary of State for the ColoniesSidney Herbert8 February 1855 Lord John Russell23 February 1855Sir William Molesworth, 8th Baronet21 July 1855Henry Labouchere21 November 1855Under-Secretary of State for the ColoniesJohn Ball8 February 1855 Chichester FortescueJune 1857First Lord of the AdmiraltySir James Graham, 2nd Baronet30 December 1852continued in officeSir Charles Wood, 3rd Baronet13 March 1855 First Secretary of the AdmiraltyRalph Bernal Osborne6 January 1853continued in officeCivil Lord of the AdmiraltySir Robert Peel, 3rd Baronet13 March 1855 Thomas Baring27 May 1857President of the Board of ControlSir Charles Wood, 3rd Baronet30 December 1852continued in officeRobert Vernon Smith3 March 1855 Joint Secretary to the Board of ControlHenry Danby Seymour3 April 1855 Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancastervacant Dudley Ryder, 2nd Earl of Harrowby31 March 1855Matthew Talbot Baines7 December 1855Minister without PortfolioHenry Petty-FitzMaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne28 December 1852 – 21 February 1858 Postmaster-GeneralCharles Canning, 2nd Viscount Canning5 January 1853continued in officeGeorge Campbell, 8th Duke of Argyll30 November 1855 President of the Board of TradeEdward Cardwell28 December 1852continued in officeEdward Stanley, 2nd Baron Stanley of Alderley31 March 1855entered the Cabinet 27 November 1855Vice-President of the Board of TradeEdward Stanley, 2nd Baron Stanley of Alderley4 January 1853continued in officeEdward Pleydell-Bouverie31 March 1855 Robert Lowe13 August 1855First Commissioner of WorksSir William Molesworth, 8th Baronet5 January 1853continued in officeSir Benjamin Hall21 July 1855 Vice-President of the Committee on EducationWilliam Cowper5 February 1857 President of the Board of HealthSir Benjamin Hall14 January 1854continued in officeWilliam Cowper13 August 1855 William Monsell9 February 1857William Cowper24 September 1857Chief Secretary for IrelandSir John Young6 January 1853continued in officeEdward Horsman1 March 1855 Henry Arthur Herbert27 May 1857Lord Lieutenant of IrelandGeorge Howard, 7th Earl of Carlisle7 March 1855 Master-General of the OrdnanceFitzroy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan30 September 1852Board of Ordnance abolished 25 May 1855 and duties vested in Secretary of State for War; the post of Surveyor-General remained but was not filled.Lieutenant-General of the OrdnanceSir Hew Dalrymple Ross6 May 1854Surveyor-General of the Ordnancevacant—Storekeeper of the OrdnanceSir Thomas Hastings25 July 1845Clerk of the OrdnanceWilliam Monsell13 January 1853clerkship abolished 1857Paymaster GeneralEdward Stanley, 2nd Baron Stanley of Alderley4 January 1853continued in officeEdward Pleydell-Bouverie31 March 1855 Robert Lowe13 August 1855President of the Poor Law BoardMatthew Talbot Baines30 December 1852continued in officeEdward Pleydell-Bouverie13 August 1855 Parliamentary Secretary to the Poor Law BoardGrenville Berkeley7 January 1853continued in officeRalph Grey9 May 1856 Attorney GeneralSir Alexander Cockburn, 12th Baronet28 December 1852continued in officeSir Richard Bethell15 November 1856 Solicitor GeneralSir Richard Bethell28 December 1852continued in officeJames Stuart-Wortley22 November 1856 Sir Henry Singer Keating28 May 1857Judge Advocate GeneralCharles Pelham Villiers30 December 1852continued in officeLord AdvocateJames Moncreiff30 December 1852continued in officeSolicitor General for ScotlandEdward Maitland14 February 1855 Attorney General for IrelandAbraham BrewsterApril 1853continued in officeWilliam KeoghMarch 1855 John FitzgeraldMarch 1856Solicitor General for IrelandWilliam KeoghApril 1853continued in officeJohn FitzgeraldMarch 1855 Jonathan ChristianMarch 1856Lord Steward of the HouseholdFrederick Spencer, 4th Earl Spencer10 January 1854continued in officeEdward Eliot, 3rd Earl of St Germans23 November 1857 Lord Chamberlain of the HouseholdJohn Campbell, 2nd Marquess of Breadalbane15 January 1853continued in officeVice-Chamberlain of the HouseholdLord Ernest Bruce30 December 1852continued in officeMaster of the HorseArthur Wellesley, 2nd Duke of Wellington21 January 1853continued in officeTreasurer of the HouseholdGeorge Phipps, Earl of Mulgrave4 January 1853continued in officeComptroller of the HouseholdArchibald Douglas, Viscount Drumlanrig4 January 1853continued in officeValentine Browne, Viscount Castlerosse25 July 1856 Captain of the Gentlemen-at-ArmsThomas Foley, 4th Baron Foley30 December 1852continued in officeCaptain of the Yeomen of the GuardJohn Townshend, 3rd Viscount Sydney30 December 1852continued in officeMaster of the BuckhoundsJohn Ponsonby, 5th Earl of Bessborough30 December 1852continued in officeChief Equerry and Clerk MarshalLord Alfred Paget30 December 1852continued in officeMistress of the RobesHarriet Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland15 January 1853continued in officeLords in WaitingCharles Somers-Cocks, 3rd Earl Somers13 January 1853 – 22 February 1857 Thomas Stonor, 3rd Baron Camoys13 January 1853 – 21 February 1858George Pitt-Rivers, 4th Baron Rivers13 January 1853 – 21 February 1858Henry Cavendish, 3rd Baron Waterpark13 January 1853 – 21 February 1858George Warren, 2nd Baron de Tabley13 January 1853 – 21 February 1858William Hare, 2nd Earl of Listowel1 October 1853 – 21 February 1856Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 5th Baron Dufferin and Clandeboye28 November 1854 – 21 February 1858James Sinclair, 14th Earl of Caithness15 April 1856 – 21 February 1858Richard Dawson, 3rd Baron Cremorne22 February 1857 – 21 February 1858
Notes
References
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