Master of the mint.

Both the archbishops of Canterbury and York, however, claim a prescriptive right to be summoned to the Privy Council; and a similar honour is usually conferred upon the bishop of London. The claim of the archbishop of Canterbury to a seat in the Privy Council dates back to ancient times, when this dignitary occupied a very prominent and influential position in the government of the country.

In the 10th Rich. II. the archbishop of Canterbury delivered to Parliament a solemn protest, claiming for himself and his successors the right of being present at all the king's councils, whether general, or special, or secret. The archbishop of York also asserts his prescriptive right to be one of the king's councillors.f

The Master of the Mint is another functionary who used to form part of the administration, with occasionally a seat in the cabinet, but who was afterwards excluded therefrom. This office is one of much responsibility, and from an early period in the reign of George III. was accounted of high political consideration, and always filled by a prominent member of the existing ministry. This led to its being regarded very much in the light of a sinecure; and it became usual, at length, that it should be held in conjunction with some other public department. Pursuant, however, to the recommendation of a royal commission, in 1849, on the constitution and management of the Mint-which was confirmed by the Commons' Committee on Official Salaries in 1850-the mastership of the mint ceased to be a political office, and was made permanent, the incumbent being the working head of a numerous establishment, under the superintendence of the Treasury. In 1870, however, the chancellor of the exchequer was made ex officio master of the mint, and the parliamentary representa

Rot. Parl. v. 3, p. 223.
Nicholas, Proc. Privy Coun. v.
1, p. iii. And see Brodrick's Judg-

ments of the Privy Council, introd. lxiv.; Murray's Handbook of Church and State, p. 105.

tive of the department; the executive duties of the Mint being performed by the deputy master. A similar arrangement in regard to the office of first commissioner of public works was advised by a committee of the House of Commons, in 1860, but the government have expressed a decided objection to the proposed alteration upon constitutional grounds.

der-in

The office of Commander-in-chief is one which, when Commanheld by the Duke of Wellington, was associated with a chief. seat in the cabinet so long as his political friends were in power. Afterwards, when a Whig ministry came in, the duke was retained in office, but the post was made nonpolitical; and has continued to be so regarded ever since. The office of Master-General of the Ordnance, abolished in 1855, was one of great dignity and importance. Up to 1821, the master-general was invariably a member of the cabinet, and it was his peculiar duty to advise and assist the government with reports and opinions upon military details connected with questions under their consideration.i

not of the

Having completed the enumeration of the officers of state of whom the Cabinet Council is properly composed, and of those who, for various reasons, have ceased to be considered eligible for this high position, we proceed to Ministers designate the offices that constitute the administration, cabinet. apart from, and besides those included in the cabinet. The following list includes all the offices which, in addition to those held by cabinet ministers, are necessarily vacated on a change of ministry. Certain of the most eminent of these functionaries are invariably admitted into every cabinet, but no particular rule or custom is observed in their selection; personal considerations, as has been already remarked, influencing the choice of and Dodd's Manual of Dignities, p. 309.

Clode, Mil. Forces, v. 2, pp. 206, 242, 767. See Murray's Handbook, p. 102,

the premier in this respect more than considerations connected with the relative importance of the offices themselves:

Five junior Lords of the Admiralty.

Three junior Lords of the Treasury.

Chief Commissioner of Works and Public Buildings.
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
President of the Board of Trade.

Postmaster-General.

Paymaster-General.

President of the Local Government Board.

President of the Board of Health and Vice-President of the Committee of Council for Education.

Two joint Secretaries of the Treasury.

First Secretary of the Admiralty.

Parliamentary Secretary to the Local Government

Board.

Parliamentary Under-Secretaries for the Home Department, for Foreign Affairs, for the Colonies, for War, and for India.

Judge Advocate-General.

Attorney-General and Solicitor-General.'

For Scotland: the Lord Advocate, and the SolicitorGeneral, the Secretary and Keeper of the Great Seal." For Ireland: the Lord Lieutenant (who is invariably a peer), the Chief Secretary, the Lord Chancellor," the Attorney-General, and the Solicitor-General.

Also the following officers of the Royal Household: the Lord Steward, the Lord Chamberlain, the Master of the Horse, the Treasurer, Comptroller and Vice-Chamberlain, the Captain of the Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms, the Captain of Yeomen of the Guard, the Master of the

Buckhounds, the Chief Equerry or Groom in Waiting, and Clerk Marshall, the Mistress of the Robes, and the Lords in Waiting.

liable to

change of

Some changes are occasionally made amongst the Officers ambassadors to the principal foreign courts, and also removal among the colonial governorships, upon a change of on a ministry; but no invariable rule prevails in this respect. ministry. It is, of course, competent to any administration, upon assuming the government of the country, to require the removal of these, or of any other public functionaries, whom it may be desirable, for political reasons, to displace; but a wise discretion is exercised on this point, with a view to encroach as little as possible upon the permanent element of the public service, for reasons that will be hereafter explained. And it is held that the continuance in office of any such functionary, under successive administrations, involves no compromise of his private political opinions."

secre

The office of private secretary to a member of the Private government, being purely a personal appointment, is taries. necessarily relinquished on the minister resigning office. A private secretary is very frequently retained in office by an incoming minister on the recommendation of his former chief."

Every minister of the crown is entitled to have a private secretary, and the leader of the House of Commons is privileged to appoint two private secretaries, one of whom is usually selected from the office of which the minister is the chief, and is chosen without reference to politics. The first lord of the treasury has now three private secretaries, and the chancellor of the exchequer two. Private secretaries of cabinet ministers receive no salary, if they have a seat in the House of Commons, otherwise they are allowed 3007. a year, in addition to the the department to which they belong.

309.

• Dodd's Manual of Dignities, p.

P Helps on Govt. p. 184.

p. 37.

salary they may derive from
Private secretaries to heads

Civ. Serv. Est. 1875-6, p. 72. Rep. on Off. Sal. Com. Pap. 1850, v. 15. Evid. 27-29. Approp.

Mr. Disraeli, Hans. D. v. 195, Acts, Civ. Services, 1873-4; Com.

Pap. 1875, v. 50, p. 61.

Formal appoint

ment or

of departments, not in the cabinet, are allowed 150l. a year. Private secretaryships in the civil service are generally considered as corresponding to a post on the staff of the army, and do not interfere with the position which their occupants may hold in any permanent department. Almost all these functionaries hold their appointments in connection with a clerkship, either in the office of their chief, or in some other branch of the public service."

The several members of the administration are formally appointed to their respective offices by the sovereign, resigna- at a meeting of the Privy Council, specially holden for ministers. the purpose. They are introduced to the sovereign by

tion of

The administration.

Must act together.

the prime minister, when they receive the seals and symbols of office from the royal hands, which they are then permitted to salute. Upon the accession of a new sovereign, all the ministers deliver up the emblems of their different offices to the new monarch, at a meeting of the Privy Council; receiving them back again from the royal hands, if it is intended that they should continue in office."

While its members may vary in number, according as it is deemed expedient to combine two offices in the hands of one person-or to provide that a particular office shall be made permanent and non-political, or the reverse-they rarely exceed fifty, or at the most sixty, individuals. These gentlemen hold their appointments during pleasure, a tenure which was anciently universal, and still prevails in theory with regard to nearly every office held under the crown; the exception being in the case of the judges, the comptroller and auditor-general, and similar public functionaries, who are made, by Act of Parliament, independent of the crown, and who are appointed during good behaviour."

All the members composing an administration are understood to concur in general principles of public