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* GREAT BRITAIN. 189 GREAT BRITAIN. net by consulting with other prominent leaders of his jiai'ty. and finally semis to the sovereign the names of those whom he wishes apjiointed to assist him in the L-ondiict of the (iovcrnment. They are promptly appointed and commissioned. They may be members of either House, but mem- bers of the House of Commons who reeeive ap- pointments as Ministers must resign their seats and secure the approval of their constituents by a reelection — an approval which is rarely w"ithheld. The Cabinet, strangely enough, is an extra-legal institution, its existence having never been recognized by act of Parliament; the names of the members are never officially announced to tlic public: and no record is kept of its meetings or acts. The size of the Cabinet varies according to the prominence which certain interests are likely to assume in the Parliament. At the present time there are nineteen members. They are: the First Lord of the Treasury, the Lord Chancellor, the Lord President of the Council, the Lord Privy Seal, the Chancellor of the Ex- chequer, the Secretaries of. State for Home Affairs, for Foreign AflFairs, for the Colonies, for India, and for War, the First Lord of the Ad- miralty, the President of the Local Government Board, the President of the Board of Trade, the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, the Lord Chancellor of Ireland, the Secretary for Scotland, the First Commissioner of Works, the President of the Board of Agriculture, and the Chancellor of the Duoliy of Lancaster. The first eleven ilinisters always have seats in the Cabinet. The legisla- tive duties of the Cabinet are to urge the adop- tion of measures of the Government in the House of Commons, and to defend the Government's policy against attack from the opposition, and for that purpose the members have seats in the Hoise. It initiates the ])ublic legislative meas- ures, and assumes the leadership in the debates in support of the views of the majority. The ^lini^tcrs are responsible to the House of Com- mons for their policy^ and if they are defeated (in any impiprtant measure, or if the House votes lack of confidence in them, they resign, and an- other Jlinistry is formed from the new majority. If, however, the defeated Cabinet think they still represent the will of the people, they can ask the King to dissolve the House of Commons and order a new election. If the electorate pro- nounces against them, they must resign. Their responsibility is collective, and therefore they all go out together unless the conduct of a par- ticular Minister has been such that the responsi- bility for the objectionable policy may be fixed on him, in which event he alone resigns. This happened in 1851 in the case of Lord Palmerston, the Foreign Secretary, who was forced to resign. In addition to their legislative functions, the Ministers act as heads of the various depart- ments of administration. The Prime Minister usually takes the portfolio of the Treasury De- partment with the title of First Lord of the Treasury, although at the present time he oc- cupies the post of Foreign Secretary. There are > few duties, however, attached to the First Lord- ship of the Treasury, the actual head being the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who is the chief financial officer of the Government. He prepares annually and submits to Parliament the budget or statement of the estimated receipts and ex- penditures of the Government for the ensuing year, together with suggestions for the increase or reduction of taxation in case of expected deficit or surplus. Both of these ofiices were held at the same time by Mr. Gladstone while Prime ilinister. The duties of the Secretaries of the Foreign Office, the Colonial Office, the War Office, and the India Office are sufficiently clear from the names. The Secretary of State for Home AfTairs supervises the police and certain l(M-al administration, advises the sovereign in the matter of granting pardons, and has certain duties in connection with labor legislation. The -Admiralty attends to the administration of naval all'airs, and is under the control of six lords. The duties of the Board of Trade relate to the Gov- ernment supervision of commercial, railway, marine, and statistical affairs, coinage, weights and measures, and the post office. When we turn to the judicial system we find cnly two tribunals which are in any sense con- stitutional courts. These are the House of Lords and the .ludicial Committee of the Privy Coun- cil. The House of Lords acts as a criminal court for the trial of peers, as a general c<mrt of im- ])eachment, and as the highest court of ajipeal for the Kingdom. In the last-mentioned capacity only the Lord Chancellor, who presides, the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary (four life lords of high ju- dicial standing recently provided for by statute), and such members as have formerly held high judicial office, take part in the hearing. The jurisdiction of this court extends to the hearing of cases appealed from any appellate court in England, or from any court in Scotland or Ire- land, from which appeals were allowed to the House of Lords previous to 1876. The .ludicial Conmiittce of the Privy Council is a court of last resort for India, the colonies, the Isle of !^Lan. the Channel Islands, and the vice-admiralty courts abroad. Its personnel is substantially the same as that of the House of Lords when sitting as highest court of appeal. Apart from these tribunals the general courts of the Kingdom are the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal. The former consists of three sections, known as the Chancery Division, of six judges, the King's Bench Division, of fifteen judges, and the Probate, Divorce, and Admiralty Division, of two judges. Appeals lie from this court to the Court of Appeal, a tribunal consisting of the Master of the Rolls, five justices, and the three presidents of the divisions of the High Court. The principal criminal courts are the petty ses- sions and quarter sessions, held by the justices of the peace; the assize courts, held four times a year in certain towns, usually by judges of the King's Bench Division: and the Central Criminal Court, which is the court of oyer and terminer and jail delivery for the city of London and surrounding territory. The system of local government in England is one of great complexity, and, therefore, difficult of explanation. Until recently it was a patch- work without symmetry or logical consistency. The recent Parliamentary acts of 1888 and 1894 have done something toward simplifying the sys- tem, but it still possesses elements of confusion and lack of consistency. As a result of recent legislation the more important local units are counties, boroughs, urban districts, rural dis- tricts, parishes, and school districts. The chief county officers are the Lord LicTitenant. the Sheriff, the .lustices of the Peace, the Clerk, and the Coroner. The Lord Lieuten;uit is the repre-