The Government of England (Vol. I)Lowell, A. Lawrence (Abbott Lawrence)
History
The Government of England (Vol. I)
Lowell, A. Lawrence (Abbott Lawrence)
Great Britain -- Politics and government
There is, in short, all
the lack of administrative efficiency which a larger body always
presents; unless, indeed, that body is virtually guided and controlled
by a small number of its own members. That some recent cabinets have
been actually so controlled there can be little doubt; and this must
become more and more the case as the cabinet grows larger, if it is to
retain its great suppleness and strength. One sometimes hears of an
interior junto, or cabinet within the cabinet, that really determines
the policy. This is undoubtedly an exaggeration; a giving of formal
shape to informal conferences among leaders on special questions, which
have always taken place; but it appears not improbable that if the
growth in the size of the cabinet continues, some such interior nucleus
may develop which will bear to the cabinet something of the relation
that the cabinet now bears to the ministry.
[Sidenote: Offices in the Cabinet.]
Certain offices always bring their holders into the cabinet. These are
the positions of First Lord of the Treasury (a post almost invariably
held either by the Prime Minister himself, or by the leader of the
House of Commons if the Prime Minister is a peer and takes some other
office); Lord Chancellor (a great political as well as judicial office);
the great English executive offices, those of the Chancellor of the
Exchequer, the five Secretaries of State, and the First Lord of the
Admiralty; and a couple of dignified positions without active
administrative duties, those of President of the Council and the Lord
Privy Seal. Certain other officers have been of late years always in the
cabinet; such are the Presidents of the Board of Trade, the Local
Government Board, and the Board of Education, and the Chief Secretary
for Ireland,--except when his nominal superior, the Lord Lieutenant for
Ireland, is himself a member. On the other hand, the Secretary for
Scotland and the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster are usually in the
cabinet; while the President of the Board of Agriculture and the
Postmaster-General are often there; the First Commissioner of Works and
the Lord Chancellor for Ireland occasionally so. The tendency at the
present day is certainly in the direction of including the head of every
considerable branch of the administration.
The counsel of a statesman who was incapacitated for the performance of
steady administrative work, or unwilling to undertake it, was
occasionally secured in former times by giving him a seat in the cabinet
without any office under the Crown. He then became what is known on the
continent as a minister without portfolio. The last case of this kind in
England was that of Lord John Russell in 1854-1856; but the same object
is practically attained to-day by means of the office of Lord Privy
Seal,[60:1] which involves no real administrative duties, and those of
President of the Council,[60:2] and Chancellor of the Duchy of
Lancaster, where the duties are very light.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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