lord of the treasury, the chancellor of the exchequer, the first lord of the admiralty, the secretary, and two or three of the junior lords of the admiralty. The foreign secretary used to be allowed a house if he chose to take it, but none have done so since Mr. Canning." In fact, the establishment at the old Foreign Office was so large that every vacant space in the building was occupied. In the new Foreign Office, recently erected, no provision has been made for a residence for the foreign secretary, but the building contains reception-rooms, which may be used by that functionary or by other ministers." The reason alleged why no residences have been provided for the home secretary and other responsible chiefs of important administrative departments, is not one of principle, but that convenient houses could not be found for more than a certain number of ministers. It has been questioned whether an official residence is of much pecuniary benefit to its possessor. Doubtless, on other grounds, it is of the greatest possible service to the head of a heavily worked department to have a residence at his place of business. It affords facilities for transacting official work at times when it could not otherwise be done at all, which is of great public advantage. But there are heavy expenses attending an official residence. Nothing is provided but the walls and fixtures. Fuel and lights are not allowed, except in the rooms used for official business. The furniture is purchased by the incoming minister of his predecessor, whether he intends to occupy the house or not, and is in turn disposed of by him to his successor, or else it is provided by the Office of Works, Rep. on Official Sal. Com. Pap. 1850, v. 15. Evid. 75. 1850, v. 15. Evid. 87. y Ib. 23, 69, 71. The first lord of the admiralty has a suite of reception rooms, which are furnished by the public; but this is an excep Rep. on Official Sal. Com. Pap. tional case. Ib. 1228. and each succeeding occupant, on leaving, is charged the difference between the value of the furniture when he came in and when he went out." Only repairs to the solid part of the building are done at the cost of the public; everything else by the tenant. Ministers are charged with income tax and all other imposts: they also defray part of the taxes on the official residences, in respect of their beneficial occupation of a portion of the building. All these matters being taken into account, it is not surprising that Lord Melbourne and Lord John Russell availed themselves of their official residences during their tenure of office as prime minister.b France. In France (at least since the reign of Louis Philippe) Usage in a more liberal policy has prevailed in regard to the chief ministers of state. In addition to their salary, they are provided, on accepting office, with a house completely furnished, and supplied with everything, including plate, linen, furniture, attendance, fuel, and lights. The expenses of the table are the only items. not defrayed by the public. All repairs, &c., are executed at the public expense. When a change of ministry occurs, the new incumbents immediately take possession of these advantages, just as they have been enjoyed by their predecessors. to minis Provision is made by an Act passed in 1834, and Pensions amended in 1869, for the grant of pensions to retiring ters. members of an administration, varying in amount from 1,000l. to 2,000l. per annum, according to the importance of the particular office. The statute, however, confers no absolute title to a pension. It only em a Hans. D. v. 232, p. 1042. Rep. on Official Sal. Evid. 71, 77-80, 269. As to conditions of official residences to officers of British Museum, see Civ. Serv. Inq. Commis. Com. Pap. 1875, v. 23. Evid. 60896093. b Ib. 69. Lambert, Organisation Admin с istrative, p. 64. Rep. on Official Sal. Meet. ings of cabinet. powers the prime minister to grant one, at his discretion, and on his own responsibility. To warrant the grant of a political pension it is necessary that the applicant Ishould have been in the service of the crown for at least four years, and that he should declare that his private income is inadequate to maintain his station in life. Moreover, a limited number only of such pensions may exist at any one time. The term of service to entitle to a pension need not be continuous, but may be made up at different periods, and in different offices, during the public career of the minister.d 3. The Actual Functions of the Cabinet Council, with its Relations to the Crown and to the Executive Government. A meeting of the Cabinet Council is ordinarily held once a week for the purpose of deliberating upon state affairs; but when occasion requires, they assemble much oftener. It forms 'no part of the duty of government to hold meetings of the cabinet at any stated times, but only according to the necessities of the public service. Any minister may summon a cabinet whenever he pleases and for any object, either connected with his own department or for anything else. But, instead of sending at once, and ordering a messenger to assemble the cabinet, it is usual to apply to the first minister, who then naturally orders the summons, addressed to her Majesty's confidential servants," to be issued. During a session of Parliament, it is customary for the cabinet to be summoned every Saturday, to discuss the progress of legislation and the current business of the week; but should the public service require, Rep. on Official Sal. Com. Pap. 1850, v. 15. Evid. 104, 105, 4 & 5 Will. IV. c. 24, 32 & 33 Vict. c. 60. Hans. D. v. 196, p. 874; v. 197, p. 537, Com. Pap. 1869, v. 34, p. 355. But Mr. Gladstone asserts that ex ministers in England rarely accept this pension. He himself has never taken it. ed. v. H. Reeve, in Ency. Brit. 9th 4, p. 620. it is also assembled on other days. Upon the prorogation of Parliament, it has been usual to intermit the meetings of the cabinet until some time in October, or later if necessary, so as to enable ministers to absent themselves from town, to recruit their strength after the labours of the session. During the Crimean war, in 1854, the cabinet ministers separated, as usual, at the close of the parliamentary session, about the middle of August, and did not reassemble in council until the middle of October. This circumstance was noticed by the Sebastopol Committee with regret,' although both the premier (Lord Aberdeen) and the secretary-at-war assured the committee that nothing had occurred meanwhile of a nature to require a meeting of the cabinet, or it would have been summoned immediately.h The late Sir George Lewis, a most excellent authority on such a subject, has pithily remarked :-'People who know how things are managed, know that the oftener cabinets meet the better. Ignorant persons fancy that when cabinets meet often there is something wrong; but that is a mistake. It is in the long vacation and in the country that some ministers do something brilliant and extraordinary that is much objected to. When ministers get together, they can agree on something plain and satisfactory.'i Meetings of the cabinet are usually held at the Foreign Office; but this is merely for convenience: they may be assembled at the private residence of the premier, or at any other place where they can be got together. of prime It is not necessary that any definite number of mem- Relations bers should be present to constitute a formal meeting minister of the Cabinet Council, as there is no fixed quorum.k to the The unavoidable absence of the prime minister himself Lord Aberdeen, in Report of Sebastopol Come. Com. Pap. 1854–5, v. 9, pt. 3, p. 294. And see pt. 2, p. 210. Ib. pt. 2, p. 209. See Welling. Desp. 3rd. s. v. 2, p. 545. Ib. pt. 3, pp. 194, 295, 369. i Nat. Rev. (1863) v. 17, p. 497. J Peel's Memoirs, v. 2, p. 140. From the time of Harley, Walpole, and Grenville, to our own day, it has been customary for the prime minister cabinet. 'Inner council' in the cabinet. is no hindrance, providing he is willing to allow the cabinet to confer together without him.' Ordinarily the prime minister would direct a summons to attend meetings of the cabinet to be sent to every individual having a seat therein; but this rule is not inflexible. It is notorious to all persons who are familiar with our constitutional history, that it has frequently happened that men have been retained in office, with nominally a seat in the cabinet, on account of special administrative or departmental ability, who nevertheless have ceased to carry political weight, or to be regularly consulted by their colleagues on questions affecting the general government of the country. Besides the instances to this effect, up to the reign of George III., which have been already noted in this chapter, we may refer to the case of Lord Chancellor Eldon, who after the accession of George IV. was very little consulted by his brother councillors in political matters, and was left almost exclusively to the discharge of his official duties. It has even been alleged that Mr. Huskisson was for the first time introduced into the cabinet by the premier, Lord Liverpool, not only without previous consultation with Lord Eldon, but without his knowledge; and that the chancellor was first informed of the fact by seeing it mentioned in a newspaper." m In every cabinet there is a select few who take intimate counsel together, and on important points determine what the policy of the government shall be before proposing it to their colleagues. In fact matters are usually matured and considered in the first instance by a small number of members, and many, especially of those who hold offices with heavy departmental work, |