Mr. Disraeli took an early opportunity of showing his colleagues that he meant to be master in his own house. His first act set the Tapers and Tadpoles of the Carlton Club by the ears. He sent Lord Chelmsford--whom he had not forgiven for his venomous opposition to the emancipation of the Jews--an intimation that he must resign. His next act was to offer the Lord Chancellorship to Lord Cairns, in order to strengthen the debating power of the front Ministerial Bench in the House of Lords. According to Bishop Wilberforce’s Diary, when Lord Chelmsford handed his seals to the Queen he held them back for a minute, and said, “I have been used worse than a menial. I have not even had a month’s warning.”[279] Certainly he might have been treated with more courtesy, but technically speaking Mr. Disraeli was well within his right in dismissing Lord Chelmsford. In 1866, when Lord Derby formed his Government, Lord Chelmsford took office on the distinct understanding that one day he must make way for Sir Hugh Cairns. “This being the case,” says Lord Malmesbury, “he had no right to be angry at Disraeli’s arrangement, but he was so, and appealed to Lord Derby, who confirmed the decision as being consistent with his original agreement.” Mr. Disraeli did not withdraw Sir S. Northcote from the India Office, but conferred the Chancellorship of the Exchequer on Mr. Ward Hunt. “He is a giant in body,” writes Lord Malmesbury, “being six feet four, and weighing twenty stone. When he knelt to kiss hands he was even in that position taller than the Queen.” A still better qualification for office, however, was possessed by Mr. Hunt. As the hero of the debates on the compensation clauses of the Cattle Plague Bill, he had become the idol of the squirearchy, and his presence in the Cabinet did much to reconcile them to Mr. Disraeli’s elevation to the Premiership. The constitution of the Government and disposal of the offices curiously reflected the influence which the new electors were already exercising on the ruling classes. The most striking thing about the reconstructed Ministry was the concentration of its power in the House of Commons. For the first time for many years there sat in the popular Chamber the Prime Minister (Mr. Disraeli), the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Lord Stanley), the Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr. Ward Hunt), the Home Secretary (Mr. Hardy, appointed on the retirement of Mr. Walpole), the War Secretary (Sir J. Pakington), the First Lord of the Admiralty (Mr. Corry), and the Secretary for India (Sir Stafford Northcote). In the House of Lords the representatives of the Government held offices of secondary importance.