Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 16.djvu/493

Rh M I N I S T R Y 473 and the constitution, for legally and according to the fictions of the constitution no one privy councillor has as such any superiority over another, yet practically the premier is the pivot on which the whole administration turns. He is the medium of intercourse between the cabinet and the sovereign ; he has to be cognizant of O O all matters of real importance that take place in the different departments so as to exercise a controlling influence in the cabinet ; he is virtually responsible for the disposal of the entire patronage of the crown ; he selects his colleagues, and by his resignation of office dissolves the ministry. Yet, though entrusted with this power, and wielding an almost absolute authority, he is in theory but the equal of the colleagues he appoints and whose opposition he can silence by the threat of dissolu tion. The prime minister is nominated by the sovereign. &quot; I offered,&quot; said Sir Robert Peel on his resignation of office, &quot; no opinion as to the choice of a successor. That is almost the only act which is the personal act of the sovereign ; it is for the sovereign to determine in whom her confidence shall be placed.&quot; Yet this selection by the crown is practically limited. No prime minister could carry on the government of the country for any length of time who did not possess the confidence of the House of Commons ; and royal favour, if it were ever invidiously exercised, would ultimately have to yield to a regard for the public interests. As a general rule the prime minister holds the office of first lord of the treasury, either alone or in connexion with that of chancellor of the exchequer. Before 1806 the premiership was occasionally held in connexion with different other offices, a secretaryship of state, the privy seal, and the like, but it is now almost invariably associated with the post of first lord of the treasury. With the exception of the premier, whose duties are more general than departmental, the work of the other members of the administration is exemplified by the title of the offices to which they are called. The lord chancellor, in addition to the jurisdiction which he exercises in his judicial capacity, is prolocutor of the House of Lords by prescription, the keeper of the sovereign s conscience, the general guardian of all infants, idiots, and lunatics, and to him belongs the appointment of all the justices of the peace throughout the kingdom. In former times the lord chancellor was frequently prime minister ; the earl of Clarendon in the reign of Charles II., however, was the last who occupied that position. The lord president of the council, who is always a member of the Upper House, presides over the department of the privy council, exercises a general superintendence over the education department, and has to frame minutes of council upon subjects which do not belong to any other department of state. Sub ordinate to his department are separate establishments in relation to public health, the cattle plague, and quarantine. The post of lord privy seal is one of great trust, though its duties are not very onerous, since they simply consist in applying the privy seal once or twice a week to a number of patents. Ever since the days of Henry VIII. the privy seal has been the warrant of the legality of grants from the crown and the authority of the lord chancellor for affixing the great seal. The lord privy seal is always a member of the cabinet. As his official duties are light he is at liberty to afford assistance to the administration in other ways, and he has often to attend to matters which require the investigation of a member of the Government. The secretaries of state are among the most important members of the ministry, and within the present century their nnmher has been increased and their duties more specially consolidated. The ancient English monnrchs were always attended by a learned ecclesi astic, known at first as their clerk, and afterwards as secretary, who conducted the royal correspondence ; but it was not until the end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth that these functionaries were called secretaries of state. Upon the direction of public affairs passing from the privy council to the cabinet after 1688, the secre taries of state began to assume those high duties which now render their office one of the most influential of an administration. Until the reign of Henry VIII. there was generally only one secretary of state, but at the end of his reign a second principal secretary was appointed. Owing to the increase of business consequent upon the union of Scotland, a third secretary, in 1708, was created, but a vacancy occurring in this office in 1746 the third secretaryship was dispensed with until 1768, when it was again instituted to take charge of the increasing colonial business. However, in 1782 the office was again abolished, and the charge of the colonies trans ferred to the home secretary ; but owing to the war with France in 1794 a third secretary was once more appointed to superintend the business of the war department, and seven years later the colonial business was attached to his department. In 1854 a fourth secre tary of state for the exclusive charge of the war department and in 1858 a fifth secretaryship for India were created. There are there fore now five principal secretaries of state, four of whom, with their political under-secretaries, occupy seats in the House of Commons. One of these secretaries of state is always a member of the House of Lords. The secretaries of state are the only authorized channels through which the royal pleasure is signified to any part of the body politic, and the counter-signature of one of them is necessary to give validity to the sign manual ; thus, while the personal immunity of the sovereign is secured, a responsible adviser for every act is provided who has to answer for whatever course the crown has pursued. The secretaries of state constitute but one office, and are coordinate in rank and equal in authority. Each is competent in general to execute any part of the duties of the secretary of state, the division of duties being a mere matter of arrangement. These duties are of the deepest importance to the welfare of the nation. Tho home secretary controls all matters relating to the internal affairs of the country : he is responsible for the preservation of the public peace and for the security of life and property throughout the kingdom ; he exercises extensive powers over the civil and military authorities of the country, and has a direct controlling power over the administration of justice and police in the municipal boroughs, over the police in and around London, and over the county constabulary ; and he is especially responsible for the exer cise of the royal prerogative in the reprieve or pardon of convicted offenders or the commutation of their sentences. The foreign secre tary, as his name implies, is the official organ of the crown in all communications between Great Britain and foreign powers : he- negotiates all treaties or alliances with foreign states, protects British subjects residing abroad, and demands satisfaction for any injuries they may sustain at the hands of foreigners. The secretary of state for the colonies has to superintend the government of the various colonial possessions of the British crown : he appoints the governors over the different dependencies of the crown, and sanc tions or disallows the enactments of the colonial legislatures. This latter power has of late years been much curtailed owing to the establishment of responsible government in most of the colonies ; still it is the duty of the secretary of the colonies to correspond with the colonial governors and to offer such suggestions as may be expedient to assist the deliberations of the colonial councils and to promote the welfare of colonial subjects. Until the year 1854 the direction of military affairs was practically divided between the commander-in-chief at the horse guards, the board of ordnance, tin- secretary at war, and the secretary of state for war and the colonies. Upon the declaration of hostilities, however, against Russia in 1854, the duties of war minister were separated from those of colonial secretary, and a secretary of state for war appointed, in whose hands the supremo and responsible authority over the whole military business of the country formerly transacted by the various depart ments was placed. The actions of the commander-in-chief arc sub ject to the approval of the secretary of state for war. The duties of the commander-in-chief embrace the discipline and patronage of the army and the direct superintendence of the personnel of the army ; with the exception of those duties, everything connected with the management of the army in peace or war (its materiel and civil administration, &c. ) remains in the hands of the war minister. The subordinate position of the commander-in-chief is the result of the British system of parliamentary government. The secretary of state for war is the minister of the crown and not of parliament ; although he is responsible to parliament for the advice he may give to the sovereign, yet it is in the execution of the royal authority and prerogative that he is superior to the officer commanding in chief. The principle of the constitutional army is that command, prefer ment, and honour come to it from the crown ; but the general prin ciple is equally undisputed that for all pecuniary remuneration it is made to depend on parliament. By the constitution the crown exercises it^ authority only through responsible advisers, and lience it follows that the secretary of state for war is supreme over any authority in the army, including the officer commanding in chief. From 1784 to 1858 the territories belonging to the British crown in YVT _ fir,