Whig government, 1855–1858

An illustration of Lord Palmerston addressing the House of Commons. It was published in The Illustrated London News, an illustrated weekly news magazine.

The Viscount Palmerston, of the Whigs, first formed a government by popular demand in 1855, after the resignation of the coalition government of Lord Aberdeen. He 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 remained in power. In 1858 he resigned when defeated "on a measure for removing conspiracies to murder abroad from the class of misdemeanour to that of felony", and was succeeded by another short-lived Conservative government under Lord Derby.

The first Palmerston ministry lasted from 1855 to 1857, and the second Palmerston ministry from 1857 to 1858.

Cabinet

February 1855 – February 1858

Lord Palmerston – First Lord of the Treasury and Leader of the House of Commons
Lord Cranworth – Lord Chancellor
Lord Granville – Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Lords
The Duke of Argyll – Lord Privy Seal
Sir George Grey – Secretary of State for the Home Department
Lord Clarendon – Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
Sidney Herbert – Secretary of State for the Colonies
Lord Panmure – Secretary of State for War
Sir James Graham – First Lord of the Admiralty
William Ewart Gladstone – Chancellor of the Exchequer
Sir Charles Wood – President of the Board of Control
Lord Stanley of Alderley – President of the Board of Trade
Lord Harrowby – Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Sir William Molesworth, 8th Baronet – First Commissioner of Works
Lord Canning – Postmaster-General
Lord Lansdowne – Minister without Portfolio

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 – M.T. 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.

Office	Name	Date	Notes
Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury and Leader of the House of Commons	The Viscount Palmerston	6 February 1855 – 21 February 1858
Chancellor of the Exchequer	William Ewart Gladstone	30 December 1852	continued in office
Chancellor of the Exchequer	Sir George Cornewall Lewis, Bt	28 February 1855
Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury	William Goodenough Hayter	5 January 1853	continued in office
Financial Secretary to the Treasury	James Wilson	5 January 1853	continued in office
Junior Lords of the Treasury	Lord Alfred Hervey	1 January 1853 – 7 March 1855	continued in office
	Lord Elcho	1 January 1853 – 7 March 1855
	Chichester Fortescue	6 March 1854 – 16 April 1855
	The Viscount Monck	7 March 1855 – 21 February 1858
	Viscount Duncan	7 March 1855 – 21 February 1858
	Henry Brand	16 April 1855 – 21 February 1858
Lord Chancellor	The Lord Cranworth	28 December 1852	continued in office
Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Lords	The Earl Granville	8 February 1855
Lord Privy Seal	The Duke of Argyll	4 January 1853	continued in office
	The Earl of Harrowby	7 December 1855
	The Marquess of Clanricarde	3 February 1858
Secretary of State for the Home Department	Sir George Grey, Bt	8 February 1855
Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department	Henry Fitzroy	28 December 1852	continued in office
	William Cowper	16 February 1855
	William Nathaniel Massey	13 August 1855
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs	The Earl of Clarendon	21 February 1853	continued in office
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs	The Lord Wodehouse	28 December 1852	continued in office
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs	Earl of Shelburne	5 July 1856
Secretary of State for War	The Lord Panmure	8 February 1855
Under-Secretary of State for War	Frederick Peel	February 1855
Under-Secretary of State for War	Sir John Ramsden, Bt	May 1857
Secretary of State for the Colonies	Sidney Herbert	8 February 1855
	Lord John Russell	23 February 1855
	Sir William Molesworth, Bt	21 July 1855
	Henry Labouchere	21 November 1855
Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies	John Ball	8 February 1855
Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies	Chichester Fortescue	June 1857
First Lord of the Admiralty	Sir James Graham, Bt	30 December 1852	continued in office
First Lord of the Admiralty	Sir Charles Wood, Bt	13 March 1855
First Secretary of the Admiralty	Ralph Bernal Osborne	6 January 1853	continued in office
Civil Lord of the Admiralty	Sir Robert Peel, Bt	13 March 1855
Civil Lord of the Admiralty	Thomas Baring	27 May 1857
President of the Board of Control	Sir Charles Wood, Bt	30 December 1852	continued in office
President of the Board of Control	Robert Vernon Smith	3 March 1855
Joint Secretary to the Board of Control	Henry Danby Seymour	3 April 1855
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster	vacant
	The Earl of Harrowby	31 March 1855
	Matthew Talbot Baines	7 December 1855
Minister without Portfolio	The Marquess of Lansdowne	28 December 1852 – 21 February 1858
Postmaster-General	The Viscount Canning	5 January 1853	continued in office
Postmaster-General	The Duke of Argyll	30 November 1855
President of the Board of Trade	Edward Cardwell	28 December 1852	continued in office
President of the Board of Trade	The Lord Stanley of Alderley	31 March 1855	entered the Cabinet 27 November 1855
Vice-President of the Board of Trade	The Lord Stanley of Alderley	4 January 1853	continued in office
	Edward Pleydell-Bouverie	31 March 1855
	Robert Lowe	13 August 1855
First Commissioner of Works	Sir William Molesworth, Bt	5 January 1853	continued in office
First Commissioner of Works	Sir Benjamin Hall, Bt	21 July 1855
Vice-President of the Committee on Education	William Cowper	5 February 1857
President of the Board of Health	Sir Benjamin Hall, Bt	14 January 1854	continued in office
	William Cowper	13 August 1855
	William Monsell	9 February 1857
	William Cowper	24 September 1857
Chief Secretary for Ireland	Sir John Young, Bt	6 January 1853	continued in office
	Edward Horsman	1 March 1855
	Henry Arthur Herbert	27 May 1857
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland	The Earl of Carlisle	7 March 1855
Master-General of the Ordnance	The Lord Raglan	30 September 1852	Board 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 Ordnance	Sir Hew Dalrymple Ross	6 May 1854
Surveyor-General of the Ordnance	vacant	—
Storekeeper of the Ordnance	Sir Thomas Hastings	25 July 1845
Clerk of the Ordnance	William Monsell	13 January 1853	clerkship abolished 1857
Paymaster-General	Lord Stanley of Alderley	4 January 1853	continued in office
	Edward Pleydell-Bouverie	31 March 1855
	Robert Lowe	13 August 1855
President of the Poor Law Board	Matthew Talbot Baines	30 December 1852	continued in office
President of the Poor Law Board	Edward Pleydell-Bouverie	13 August 1855
Parliamentary Secretary to the Poor Law Board	Grenville Berkeley	7 January 1853	continued in office
Parliamentary Secretary to the Poor Law Board	Ralph Grey	9 May 1856
Attorney General	Sir Alexander Cockburn, Bt	28 December 1852	continued in office
Attorney General	Sir Richard Bethell	15 November 1856
Solicitor General	Sir Richard Bethell	28 December 1852	continued in office
	James Stuart-Wortley	22 November 1856
	Sir Henry Singer Keating	28 May 1857
Judge Advocate General	Charles Pelham Villiers	30 December 1852	continued in office
Lord Advocate	James Moncreiff	30 December 1852	continued in office
Solicitor General for Scotland	Edward Maitland	14 February 1855
Attorney General for Ireland	Abraham Brewster	April 1853	continued in office
	William Keogh	March 1855
	John Fitzgerald	March 1856
Solicitor General for Ireland	William Keogh	April 1853	continued in office
	John Fitzgerald	March 1855
	Jonathan Christian	March 1856
Lord Steward of the Household	The Earl Spencer	10 January 1854	continued in office
Lord Steward of the Household	The Earl of St Germans	23 November 1857
Lord Chamberlain of the Household	The Marquess of Breadalbane	15 January 1853	continued in office
Vice-Chamberlain of the Household	Lord Ernest Bruce	30 December 1852	continued in office
Master of the Horse	The Duke of Wellington	21 January 1853	continued in office
Treasurer of the Household	Earl of Mulgrave	4 January 1853	continued in office
Comptroller of the Household	Viscount Drumlanrig	4 January 1853	continued in office
Comptroller of the Household	Viscount Castlerosse	25 July 1856
Captain of the Gentlemen-at-Arms	The Lord Foley	30 December 1852	continued in office
Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard	The Viscount Sydney	30 December 1852	continued in office
Master of the Buckhounds	The Earl of Bessborough	30 December 1852	continued in office
Chief Equerry and Clerk Marshal	Lord Alfred Paget	30 December 1852	continued in office
Mistress of the Robes	The Duchess of Sutherland	15 January 1853	continued in office
Lords in Waiting	The Earl Somers	13 January 1853 – 22 February 1857
	The Lord Camoys	13 January 1853 – 21 February 1858
	The Lord Rivers	13 January 1853 – 21 February 1858
	The Lord Waterpark	13 January 1853 – 21 February 1858
	The Lord de Tabley	13 January 1853 – 21 February 1858
	The Earl of Listowel	1 October 1853 – 21 February 1856
	The Lord Dufferin and Clandeboye	28 November 1854 – 21 February 1858
	The Earl of Caithness	15 April 1856 – 21 February 1858
	The Lord Cremorne	22 February 1857 – 21 February 1858

References

C. Cook and B. Keith, British Historical Facts 1830–1900
Encyclopædia Britannica, 1911 edition

Preceded by Aberdeen ministry	Government of the United Kingdom 1855–1858	Succeeded by Third Derby ministry

British governments
Great Britain (1707–1801)	Godolphin–Marlborough III & IV Harley I–III Townshend I & II Stanhope–Sunderland I Stanhope–Sunderland II Walpole–Townshend I–III Walpole IV–VI Carteret Broad Bottom I–III Short-lived Newcastle I & II Pitt–Devonshire 1757 Caretaker Pitt–Newcastle I & II Bute Grenville Rockingham I Chatham I & II Grafton North I–III Rockingham II Shelburne Fox–North (Portland I) Pitt the Younger I–IV
UK (GB & Ire) (1801–1922)	Addington I & II Pitt the Younger V All the Talents I & II Portland II & III Perceval Liverpool I–V Canning Goderich Wellington Grey I–III Melbourne I Wellington Caretaker Peel I Melbourne II & III Peel II Russell I & II Who? Who? (Derby I & II) Aberdeen Palmerston I & II Derby III Palmerston III & IV Russell III Derby IV Disraeli I Gladstone I Disraeli II Gladstone II Salisbury I Gladstone III Salisbury II Gladstone IV Rosebery Salisbury III–V Balfour Campbell-Bannerman I & II Asquith I–III IV Lloyd George I & II
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Current ministry

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