The Sun.
London, England, 1850-09-05 00:00:00

With regard to the
patronage of the Church, is not
that more directly and
Prime Minister than is the
entirely at thfe dhiesposal of
de-
partments?—
the Crown, except that patronagepurtioton
partments?—With respect
othe
t.Church patronage
riasvtarreibo etugs
exercised
of-
by the Lord Chancellor, and which is of very COL.
That includes the appointments siderable amount, I consider
Treasury would be responsible for
ofe Ftihres t Lorderehh
archbishops
ot
ph
se
ponrsitbhle for the disposal of the
and bishop,?—The archbishops!
whole of the Church patronage,
and all the Crown livings to the bishops, toe deans,
What is the number of Cromniir
which the Lord Chancellor
Ord ChanLcoerldlorcwhas not the appointment?
p(seectfator
livings in the Churchd
tdooewshniocht atphpeoiLn
LorodhaonfctehlleorT,
—The patronage of the
rweasithurrye's
livings is much greater than that of the First Lord of
by the advice of the First
the Treasury; the patronage the Crown disposed of
as livings are concerned) is not
pro-
portion of livings in the Church great
belonging; the greater
are disposed of by the Lord Chancellor. to the Crown
You have stated the power which
the Minister had,
in former times, of bestowing appointments
tives and connexions, is it not to be on his rela-
gree an addition to his emoluments; is
ietbeats
t hefain some de-
gree
now that the Minister has the power,
and
dbesactrillalso,
x.
3
ercise it, of doing that which is advantageous to his a
fa-
mily and relatives, by the distribution of appointments
among them?—That certainly is one of the advantages
of office, and one that remains undiminished. I think
there is more care in making appointments than there
was in former times, but still the power r •
mains un-
diminished.
It is more controlled by public opinion, and the influ-
ence of the press, and of more resp•nsibility in Path
ment?—And the conscience of the MiniAer.
Then in taking into account that the pecuniary
emolument is 5,0001. a year, all this patronage is also to
be taken into consideration as it was in former times,
though perhaps it is not Appropriated so directly to the
Minister's family as it was in former times?—No doubt
the selection of persons for the highest offices in the
state is a very great privilege, and a very great trust
and if the Minister's relatives are qualified, ;
3 is, no,
doubt, a great advantace that he is enabled to confer
upon his relatives appointments of considerable value.
Has not the Prime Minister the absolute disposal of
all other Cabinet appointments?—That must very much
depend upon the personal character and influence of the
Prime Minister. I suppose Mr. Pitt appointed his own
colleagues. When Mr. Pitt had a quarrel with the Lord
Chancellor (Thurlow), it ended by the King requiring
the Lord Chancellor to resign; but the power of a
Minister to appoint or remove his colleagues is by no
means an absolute one; I do not think you can consider
that power as a branch of patronage. The appointment
of Ministers is sometimes the result of a combination of
parties, rather than the act of the Prime Minister. Speak-
irg generally, however, the Crown would certainly be
irfluenced by the advice of the Prime Minister in the
sdection of his colleagues. The charge of forming the
Government is left almost exclusively to the Prime
Minister.
Does not the existence of the Government depend
upon the Prime Minister, inasmuch as he is the pivot
upon which the whole Government turns?—lt is diffi-
cult to give an answer to that question; Lord Chatham
at the time of his greatest official power was not the
Prime Minister of this country. Lord Chatham was
never First Lord of the Treasury—he was Secretary of
State at the time when the great military succeises of
the war, which
.ended with the peace of 1763, were
achieved. Afterwards, when he firmed the Govern..
ment, in 1766, he held only the office of Lord Privy
Seal.
If the Prime Minister tend. rs Vs resignation to the
Sovereign, is not that virtually a d ssoluricn of the Mi-
nistry?—lt probably would be, but the chief support of
6 efferninel beat no, Glways been the Prime minister,