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The

between her Majesty and her responsible advisers. He is expected to be present almost continually in Parliament during the session to explain and defend the policy of the Government, and to guide the deliberations of the Legislature. He is virtually responsible for the disposal of the entire patronage of the Crown. He recommends to the Queen all appointments to vacant archbishoprics, bishoprics, and deaneries of the Established Church, and to all the church livings belonging to the Crown which are not in the gift of the Lord Chancellor. Premier virtually selects all his colleagues in the Ministry, and it is upon his recommendation that new peers are created, and other distinguished honours conferred by the Crown. Though he meets his colleagues in the Cabinet Councils upon a footing of perfect equality, yet he possesses a degree of weight and authority which is not shared by any other member. He can insist upon the Cabinet deciding in any matter in accordance with his own particular views; otherwise, he has the power of dissolving the Ministry by his own resignation of office. Ordinary questions, however, are generally decided by vote, the opinion of the majority, even though adverse to that of the Premier, being adopted. If any member desires a re

arrangement of ministerial offices, he must make known his views to the Prime Minister. It is only the First Minister who can make changes in an Administration, subject, of course, to the approbation of the Queen. If he should vacate office, the Ministry is dissolved.

I have placed the Lord Chancellor second, instead of first, on my list of Cabinet ministers, because, though, in point of precedence, the Lord Chancellor is, with the exception of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the highest officer in the realm, yet the Prime Minister is regarded as the head of the Cabinet. The Lord Chancellor is a Privy Councillor by his office; a Cabinet Minister; and, according to Lord Chancellor Ellesmere, prolocutor of the House of Lords by prescription. To him belongs the appointment of all the justices of the peace throughout the kingdom. Being in former times commonly an ecclesiastic (for none else were then capable of an office so conversant with writing), and presiding over the royal chapel, he became keeper of the Sovereign's conscience; visitor, in right of the Crown, of all hospitals and colleges of the King's foundation; and patron of all the King's livings under the value of £20 per annum in the King's books. He is the general guardian of

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all infants, idiots, and lunatics; and has the general superintendence of all charitable uses in the king

dom. And all this over and above the extensive jurisdiction which he exercises in his judicial capacity in the Court of Chancery. In former times the Lord Chancellor was frequently Prime Minister. The Earl of Clarendon, in the reign of Charles II., was the last who occupied this position; but his successors in office have invariably been leading members of the Cabinet, and for this reason objections have often been urged against the union of judicial and political functions in the office of Lord Chancellor. But the advantage to the Cabinet in having the assistance of the highest equity judge is very great, whilst no injury has ever yet occurred to the interests of justice from the frequent changes of this functionary, which are incidental to parliamentary government.

The Lord President of the Council is an officer of great dignity and importance, though he no longer possesses the powers he anciently exercised. He presides over the department of the Privy Council, and has the patronage of its entire establishment. He sits next the Sovereign at the Council-table, to propose the business to be transacted, and to take her Majesty's pleasure thereupon. He has the

general superintendence and control of the Education department (which I hope will soon have a special minister of its own), and has to frame minutes of Council upon subjects which do not belong to any other department of State. He is also responsible for appointing and summoning such special committees of Council as may be required from time to time, and for receiving their reports. Subordinate to his department are separate establishments in relation to public health, the cattle plague, and quarantine. The Lord President is generally a

member of the House of Lords.

The office of Lord Privy Seal is one of great trust, though its duties are not very onerous, for they simply consist in applying the Privy Seal once or twice a week to a number of patents. Ever since 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.* All grants of the Crown for appointments to office, creations of honours,

* There are some important instruments, however, which pass under the Great Seal without warrants of Privy Seal-viz., patents of appointments of various Common-Law Judges and officers, and commissions for opening and proroguing Parliament, and for giving the royal assent to bills in Parliament.

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patents of inventions, &c., must be made by charters or letters-patent under the Great Seal; and the command of the Lord Chancellor to prepare such a document is by means of a writ or a bill sealed with the Privy Seal, because the Queen cannot herself make letters-patent except by means of her ministers, who act according to her legal commands. The Lord Privy Seal is always in the Cabinet, and as his official duties are light, he is at liberty to afford assistance to the Administration in other ways, and he often has to attend to matters which require the investigation of a member of the Government. With regard to this official, a daily paper remarks:-"He is, as a rule, a man who has served the State in other capacities, and is conversant with the duties of probably more than one department. Released from official routine, he is in the first place free to assist his leader of the Upper House in debate, and to master any subject likely to come up for discussion. But beyond this obvious work there is a large part of statesmanship which consists in confidential investigation and preparative study. While the ordinary executive work of the country accrues from day to day, requiring daily decision and daily despatch, the work of renewing and reforming our legislation also