ber, are elected by the people for the term of three years, and consist of three orders, gentry, citizens, and peasants. The several provinces have also their Assemblies of States, which meet for the purpose of legislating on matters of local interest. The religion of the Dutch provinces is the Calvinist; that of the Belgic provinces, Roman Catholic; but all sects are tolerated; and the clergy are supported by the state. MINISTRY. His Royal Highness the Prince of Orange, President of the Council of Ministers; also President of the Council of State, in the absence of the King. His Royal Highness Prince Frederick of the Netherlands, Commissary General of War. Their Excellencies; Count C. J P. de Thiennes de Lombize, Minister of State. [M. C. F. van Maanen, Minister of Justice. Recently discharged.] Baron A. W. C. de Nagell van Ampsen, Minister of State. Baron W. F. Roël, Minister of State, Chancellor of the Order of the Belgic Lion. Baron J. H. Mollerus, Secretary of State, Vice-President of the Council of State. Baron G. A. G. P. van der Capellen van Berkenwoude, Secretary of State. M. O. Repelaer van Driel, Minister of State. M. O. T. Elout, Minister of the Navy and the Colonies. Baron J. G. de Mey van Streefkerk, Secretary of State. M. P. L. J. S. Gobbelschroy, Minister of the Home Department. Baron C. C. Six van Oterleek, Minister of State. M. A. W. N. van Tetz van Goudriaan, Minister of Finance. The following statement exhibits the heads of Expenditure of the kingdom of the Netherlands, and their average annual amount, as derived from official returns for the last eleven years. [Liverpool Paper, Sept. 1830.] GREAT BRITAIN. KING AND ROYAL FAMILY. WILLIAM IV. King of Great Britain and Ireland, and King of Hanover; Defender of the Faith; b. Aug. 21, 1765; m. July 11, 1818, ADELAIDE, sister of the Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, b. Aug. 13, 1792; succeeded his brother George IV. June 26, 1830. Brothers and Sisters of the King, with their Annual Parliamentary Allowance. 1. Augusta Sophia; (£13,000); b. Nov. 3, 1768. 2. Elizabeth; b. May 22, 1770; m. April 7, 1818, to Frederick Joseph Lewis, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg, who died April 2, 1823. 3. Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland; (£25,000); b. June 5, 1771; m. May 25, 1815, Frederica Sophia Carolina, sister of the Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, and widow of Frederick William, Prince of Solms-Braunfels, b. March 20, 1778:-Issue; George Frederick, b. May 27, 1819. 4. Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex; (£21,000); b. Jan. 27, 1773. 5. Adolphus Frederick, Duke of Cambridge; (27,000); b. Feb. 24, 1774; m. May 7, 1818, Augusta Wilhelmina Louisa, niece of the Landgrave of Hesse, b. July 25, 1797:-Issue; 1. George William, b. March 26, 1819; 2. Augusta Caroline, b. July 19, 1822. 6. Mary, Duchess of Gloucester; (£13,000); b. April 25, 1776 ; m. July 22, 1816, to her cousin the Duke of Gloucester. 7. Sophia; (£13,000); b. Nov. 3, 1777. Niece of the King. ALEXANDRINA VICTORIA, Heiress Presumptive, (daughter of the late Prince Edward, Duke of Kent,-b. Nov. 2, 1767, died Jan. 23, 1820,-by Victoria Maria Louisa, (£12,000), sister of the Duke of Saxe-Coburg, b. Aug. 17, 1786); b. May 24, 1819. Cousins of the King.-Issue of the late Duke of Gloucester. Sophia Matilda, (£7,000); b. May 23, 1773. William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester; (£14,000); b. Jan. 15, 1776 ; m. July 22, 1816, his cousin the Princess Mary. Related by Marriage. Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg; (£50,000); b. Dec. 16, 1790; m. May 2, 1816, Charlotte, daughter of George IV. who died Nov. 6, 1817. GOVERNMENT. The government of England is a constitutional hereditary monarchy, in which the power of sovereign is controlled by the influence of the aristocracy in the House of Peers, and by that of the democracy in the House of Commons. The executive authority is vested in the King; the legislative, in the King and Parliament. The king has the power of appointing all the great officers of state, and all the executive acts of the government are performed in his name; but the ministers only are responsible for them. THE KING'S MINISTERS. Duke of Wellington, Rt. Hon. Sir Robert Peel, Rt. Hon Sir Geo. Murray, Rt. Hon. John C. Herries, Rt. Hon. Th. F. Lewis, The Rt. Hon. Sir H. Hardinge, Marquis of Winchester, Rt. Hon. John Calcraft, Rt. Hon. T. P. Courtenay, Sir James Scarlett, Knt. First Lord of the Treasury. President of the Council. Secretary of State for the Home Department. Secretary of State for the Colonial do. Master of the Mint & Pres. of Board of Trade. above form the Cabinet. Secretary of War. Master-General of the Ordnance Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Paymaster of the Forces. First Commissioner of the Land Revenue. Lieutenant-General of the Ordnance. Attorney-General. The Ministry of Ireland. Duke of Northumberland, Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland. Commander of the Forces. Rt. Hon. Maurice Fitzgerald, Vice-Treasurer. Rt. Hon. Henry Joy, Attorney-General. Solicitor-General. THE PRIVY COUNCIL AND CABINET. The principal council of the sovereign is his Privy Council, the members of which are chosen by him, and, on changes of administration, are seldom erased, though those in opposition seldom attend. They are styled Right Honorable, and are sworn to observe secrecy. The lowest of the board pronounces his opinion first, and the king, if present, concludes by declaring his judgment. The Cabinet, or Cabinet Council, consists of those ministers of state, who hold the highest rank and dignity. The number of members varies generally from 10 to 14; consisting of the Lord Chancellor, the Lord Privy Seal, the President of the Council, the First Lord of the Treasury, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the three principal Secretaries of State, the First Lord of the Admiralty, and commonly some others of the principal officers of government. The First Lord of the Treasurer is considered as the Premier or Prime Minister of the country. It has sometimes happened that the offices of the First Lord of the Treasury and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, have been held by the same person. The King removes his confidential servants, or "the administration," as it is called, at his pleasure. The Lord Chancellor Keeps the Great Seal, not to judge according to the common law, as other courts do, but to dispense with such parts as seem, in some cases, to oppress the subject; and to judge according to equity, conscience, and reason. He presides in the High Court of Chancery, which is the most important of all the King's civil courts of justice. He takes precedency of every temporal lord, and is by office Speaker of the House of Lords. To him belongs the appointment of justices of the peace throughout the kingdom; and he is patron of all the ecclesiastical benefices under the yearly value of £20 in the King's Books. He is also the general guardian of all infants, idiots, and lunatics. The Court of Chancery in which the Lord Chancellor alone sits and determines without a jury, judges causes in equity, in order to moderate the rigor of the law, to defend the helpless from oppression, and especially to extend relief in cases of accident, fraud, and breach of trust. From this court an appeal lies immediately to the House of Peers, which is the Supreme Court of Judicature in the kingdom. The Lord Privy Seal Is so called from his having the King's Privy Seal in his custody, which he must not put to any grant without warrant under the King's signet. This seal is used to all charters, grants, and pardons, signed by the King, before they come to the Great Seal. The Lord President of the Council Holds his post by letters patent durante beneplacito. By stat. 21, Henry VIII., he is to attend the King's person; to manage the debates in Council; to propose matters from the King at the Council; and to report to the King the resolutions thereupon. The Treasury. Formerly there was a Lord High Treasurer; but for upwards of a century the management of the Treasury has been put in commission, the commissioners being the First Lord of the Treasury, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, (to whom is entrusted, in an especial manner, the revenue and expenditure of the nation, and who often takes the lead on the ministerial side in the House of Commons), and three other Commissioners. The First Lord of the Treasury has the appointment of all officers employed in collecting the revenues of the Crown; the nomination of all escheators; the disposal of all places and ways relating to the revenue; and power to let leases of the crown lands. The Three Secretaries of State. The Secretary of State for the Home Department has the management of, and control over, the internal affairs of the kingdom; issues all directions and commands to Lord Lieutenants, Sheriffs, and other magistrates; and makes out and executes all grants, pardons, and regulations in civil matters of every kind. The Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs has the management of all correspondence and transactions with foreign nations. The Secretary of State for the Colonial Department has the management of all the affairs relating to the colonies of Great Britain. The Admiralty. The superintendence of the navy is seldom now entrusted to a Lord High Admiral; but a board of admiralty is appointed, consisting of a first Lord and several subordinate members. The duty of the admiralty is to consider and determine on all matters relating to the navy; to give directions for all services that are to be performed therein, both in its civil and naval branches, and generally to superintend the naval and marine establishment. The Lord Chamberlain. The office of the Lord Chamberlain is to take care of all officers and servants (excepting those belonging to the King's bedchamber, who are under the groom of the Stole), belonging to the King's chambers, who are sworn in their places by him. He has the oversight of the officers of the wardrobe at all the King's houses; of tents, revels, music, comedians, huntsmen, messengers, and artisans; also of the King's chaplains, heralds, physicians, apothecaries, &c. It is his duty to inspect into the charges of corronations, marriages, public entries, cavalcades, and funerals; and into all furniture for and in the parliament house, and rooms of addresses to the King. The Lord Steward. The estate of the King's household is entirely committed to the Lord Steward, to be ruled and governed by his discretion; and all his commands in court are to be obeyed. His authority reaches over all the officers and servants of the King's house, except those of the King's chamber, stable, and chapel. Under the Lord Steward, in the counting-house, are the treasurer of the household, comptroller, cofferer, master of household, clerks of the green cloth, &c. It is called the counting-house, because all the accounts and expenses of the King's household are daily taken and kept in it. The Master of the Horse Has the charge of all the King's stables and horses; also power over equeries, pages, footmen, grooms, farriers, smiths, saddlers, and all trades relating in any way to the stables. He has the privilege of applying to his own use one coachman, four footmen, and six grooms, in the King's pay, and wearing the King's livery. In any solemn cavalcade he rides next behind the King. |