Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1858-1860, 1858-04-01
Law and Lawyers--The Chancellor
shin.

producing articles of varied and general in
terest, gives us the following:
If the Lord Chancellor of England could
only obtain permanency of Office, he might
esteem himself fortunate man. His station
places him next but one in rank to the Royal
Family-the Archbishop of Canterbury alone
taking precedence of him-and also makes
him pr side over the political discussions and
legal proceedings of the House of Lords. In
addition to this, he is at the head of the law
and of the Judges of England. To compens
safe him, fixed salary of $4,000 is paid
him while in Office. and he has a life-pension
of $4,000 on his retirement. The other
Judges receive pensions after fifteen years
service. or ON retiring from i'll health.
Nor Is this all. The Lord Chancellor is
made n peer on taking office. Thus Sir Fred
ericl Thcsiger sits IN the House of Lords, not
merely as Chancellor, but also as Baron
Chelmsford Were he only Commoner as
Chancellors frequently were in former times,
he could only preside in the Lords, and in the
Court of Chancery, without the power of
speaking or voting in the former assembly.
AS Lord Chelmsford he is an hereditary legis-
lator, the limitation of his patent of nobility
expressly giving succession in his title to his
:. male heirs lawfully begotten.'' Thus,
Lords Lyndburst, Brougham, st. Leonards,
and Cranworth continue to sit in the House of
occupy the Woolsack
By the way, the expression Z" the noble
Lord on the Woolsack," often applied to the
Chancellor, in parliamentary parlance, may
require explanation in thiscountry. At re-
mote period, when wool was considered the
staple produce of England-long before Meri-
no, Saxon, Hungarian and Australian feeces
were in the market, commanding higher pri-
ces-the etiquette of Parliament, anxious to
compliment trade, placed wOolsack in the
House of Lords, as the seat of the Chancellor,
who presides over that assembly. Hundreds
of years have passed since that seat was first
placed; but the custom continues. The wool
sack, at present, and for long time past, has
been somewhat of an ideality. 1t looks like
a square cotton bale, covered with red da
mask, and its occupant need not feel the want
of I" arms" and a regular back to his seat,
seeing that he can and does very well support
himself by means of substantial cushions. In
fact, Independent of the peerage and $50 900
a year, the 90 WoOlsack" is comfortable seat.
Besides Iay, the Chancellor has liberal pat
ronage. He has a voice potential in advising
the Crown as to the appointment of every
other judicial and legal official. He appoints,
and can remove all justices of the peace, usu-
ally acting as county magistrates upon the
Lord Lieutenant's recommendation. He APP
points to the seven hundred Crown livings,
each of which is valued at 500 year in the
Queens books-which actually includes many
valuable livings, some of them valued former
ly at $40. but now from the increase of popu-
lation and trade, IS 900 year. He has the
patronage of all offices in his own court.
His duties, presumed and actual, are heavy.
As a Privy Councillor and Cabinet Minister
he participates in the responsible task of gov
erning the British Empire, advising his col
leagues on all mixed subjects of law and poll
tics, and in all matters relating to police, law,
and justice He is officially looked upon as
keeper of the Sovereign's conscience" and
is supposed to be the adviser of the mem
bers of the Royal Family, in case of doubt or
difficulty, in which their interests are involv-
ed. He is the en-oticio guardian. and abso-
lutely SO if their property be lin Chancery."
His executive duties make him preside by
prescription as Speaker of the House of
Lords and also as their Lordships chief Judge
in their court of appellate jurisdiction before
which appeals come from every court of law
and equity in England, Ireland, and Scotland.
The Chancellor, with a singular want of deli
cacy. often hears and decides upon appeal
against has opn decision So between the Cabi-
net, the Privy Council the House of Lords
and the Chancery Court, the lawyer who
is Lord Chancellor has his hands always
full.
BY the Catholic Relief act of 1922 Ro-
man Catholic cannot be Lord Chancellor. 1t
was feared that he might dispense church pat
ronage not quite to the advantage of the
church. But the original holders of the Office
were not only Catholics, but generally eccle-
siastics. The Chancellor was a sort of conf
Dental chaplain to the King, or, before the
reformation, his confessor and conscience
keeper. He then was the Kings chief secre-
tary advising the sovereign on various tenn
poral matters preparing and transcribing
royal mandates, grants, and charters and
l1a
seal. His appointment actually took place
by the great seal being formally delivered to
him. Cardinal Wolsey was Chancellor to
Henry VIII. The last churchman who filled
the office was Williams, Protestant Archbishop
of York. i'll the last five years (l62l to 1929
of the reign of James l.. In the same century
the Earl of SALISBURY. who was neither an
ecclesiastic nor lawyer, was appointed Lord
Chancellor.
Much of Chancellor's judicial business has
been greatly lightened during the last forty
years, by giving him assistant or auxiliary
Judges. The Master of the Rolls, (annual
salary $50, 000 with retiring pension of SlS,-
O00,) is an Equity Judge of great antiquity
with separate court, and the power of hear
ing and determining originally the same mat
tiers as the Lord Chancellor, whose signatures
must be attached, however, to his orders or
DEGREES before they can be enrolled. There
are, also, with equal powers, two Lord JUS
tees of Appeal each with annual salaries of
$50, 900, and three Vice ChancellOrs, each
with $4,000 per annum.
The Chancellor has one draw back-its want
of permanency. Every other British Judge
holds life appointment; the Lord Chan cellOr
goes out of Office when his party do, for his
is political appointment. 1t is true that his
fall is broken by life-pension of S25,0 900.
No British lawyer, if he once has occupied the
ind In prl to
practice. Hence, large salaries, Though not
more than half of a successful lawyers in
come ut the barr with liberal retiring pen
sions. tempt the best lawyers to abandon the
practice for the administration law. The case of
Lord st. Leonards (Sir Edward Sugden) is in
point. PROFESSIONALLY the first equity lawyer
in England. he accepted the Chancellorship
of Ireland in December, 1884, and retained
it for just three months, when Peel's Admin
istration, which appointed him, had to relin-
quish Office. At the bar, his practice had been
$780, 900 year, and the Irish Chancellorshp
paid him only $4,000. Resigning ut the end
of three months, he had to retire into private
life, pension of $4,000 being poor equiv
alent for the vast and almost certain income
he was earning before he took the ermine.
Again. from 1871 to 1916, he returned to the
Irish Chancery bench, again retiring, on the
defeat of his party, with Il pension. In 1882,
under Lord Derby's first Ministry, Sugden
became Lord Chancellor of England, and was
created Baron ST. Leonards. He held the of
flee for nine months, aud then retired on a
pension OF $4,000 year. Had he held the
Office only single day. he would still have
received this pension.
From the very lowest rank, ability and
character at the English bar have raised men
TO the Chancellorship, the highest dignity I'M
der the Crown. For example, since the com
mencement of the present century, the major
ivy OF Chancellors have literally risen from
the ranks. John Scott created Earl of Eldon,
was the son of "A coal-utter at Newcastle. John
Singleton Copley, now ord Lyndhurst, born
at Boston, and five times in that office, was
the son of u painter. Henry Brougham. now
Lord Brougham, was the son of country
gentleman OF small estate. Thomas Wilde,
afterwards Lord Truro. was son of an attor-
nay Edward Supden now Lord 81 Leonards