The House of Commons passed resolutions adverse to his Ministry, and addressed the Crown for his removal. Instead of resigning, Mr Pitt advised the King to dissolve Parliament, and in the new Parliament procured a large majority in his favour. "The precedent of 1784," says Earl Russell, "therefore establishes this rule of conduct-that if the ministers chosen by the Crown do not possess the confidence of the House of Commons, they may advise an appeal to the people, with whom rests the ultimate decision." And this course has been followed on different occasions.

Such, briefly, is a sketch of the rise and development of the Cabinet. The powers of this council have now attained to maturity, and in its hands is placed the entire administration of the foreign and domestic affairs of this kingdom. But though universally recognised as an essential part of our polity, it has no legal existence, and is a body unrecognised by Act of Parliament. The names of those persons who comprise the Cabinet are never officially communicated to the public. The London Gazette simply states that her Majesty has been pleased to appoint certain privy councillors to fill certain high offices in the State, and the fact that they have been called to seats in the Cabinet is not formally pro

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mulgated. The numbers of those constituting this council are indefinite, for the statesman constructing a Ministry can put as many persons as he pleases into it, with his Sovereign's consent. The first Cabinet of George I. consisted of eight members; in 1760, the Cabinet consisted of fourteen members; in 1770, of only seven; in 1782, of ten; and in 1783, of eleven. After the death of Mr Pitt, the Cabinet generally consisted of from ten to sixteen persons. At the present time it comprises about fifteen members belonging to the more eminent portion of the Administration. Formerly the Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Master of the Mint, and the Commander-in-chief, were included in the Cabinet, but they are now excluded. Occasionally statesmen of high character and experience have seats in a Cabinet without taking any office, as was the case with Earl Fitzwilliam in 1807, with the Marquess of Camden in 1812, with the Earl of Mulgrave in 1820, with the Marquess of Lansdowne and Lord John Russell in 1854, with Lord John Russell again in 1855 and 1856, and with various other statesmen at different times. The members who, ex-officio, compose a Cabinet,

are

The Prime Minister, or First Lord of the Treasury.

The Lord High Chancellor.

The Lord President of the Council.

The Lord Privy Seal.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer.

The Secretary of State for the Home Department.

The First Lord of the Admiralty.

The President of the Board of Trade.

Usually,

but not

The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lan

caster.

The First Commissioner of Works. invariably, The President of the Poor Law Board.

The Postmaster-General.

Like the Cabinet Council, the office of Prime Minister is unknown to the law and the constitution. Legally and constitutionally, no one Privy Councillor has, as such, any superiority over another. The Prime Minister is simply the member of the Cabinet who possesses pre-eminently the confidence of the Crown, and to whom the Sovereign thinks fit to intrust the chief direction of the Government. The choice of a Premier, however, is

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only a matter of private understanding, as there is no express appointment of any member of the Administration to be the Prime Minister. Before 1688 the Prime Minister was the favourite of the King, and his rise and fall depended solely on his royal master's goodwill; but since the development of this office, consequent upon the introduction of parliamentary government, the Premier is now the acknowledged head of a responsible Administration, whose tenure of office mainly depends upon his ability to obtain parliamentary support. It was in the person of Sir Robert Walpole that the office of Prime Minister first began to assume importance, but it will be beyond the scope of these lectures to sketch to you those different stages in the growth of this office which have finally resulted in the supremacy of the First Minister under parliamentary government.

The Prime Minister may be either a peer or a commoner, and his appointment is a personal and not an official distinction. Lord Rockingham in 1765, the Duke of Portland in 1782, and Mr Addington in 1812, had held no office when they were first made Prime Ministers. Lord Bute became Prime Minister before he had ever spoken in Parliament, and Mr Pitt was Premier before

he was twenty-four. Usually the Prime Minister holds the office of First Lord of the Treasury, either alone or in connection with that of Chancellor of the Exchequer. Before 1806 the Premiership was occasionally held in connection with different other offices, such as the Secretaryship of State, Lord Privy Seal, and the like, but it is now invariably associated with the office of First Lord of the Treasury. The Treasury, as you well know, is the most important department of the Executive Government, and consists of a board of five members-the First Lord of the Treasury, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and three Junior Lords-who are officially known as "the Lords Commissioners for executing the office of Lord High Treasurer." The last Lord High Treasurer was the Duke of Shrewsbury in 1714. The First Lord of the Treasury, as head of the Government, occupies a position of great dignity and authority. He does not confine himself to the departmental business of the Treasury, but is cognisant of all matters of real importance that take place in the different departments, so as to be able to exercise a controlling influence in the Cabinet. He is the medium of intercourse between the Cabinet and the Sovereign, and has to conduct all official communications which may be necessary