The Washington union., 1858-03-28
THE CHANCELLORsHIP OF ENGLAND.

4
royal fnilytle Archbishop of Canterbury alone taking
precedence of him and also makes him preside over the
political discussions and legal proceedings of this House Of
Lords In addition to this he Is at the head Of the law
| and of the Judges of England To compensate him, a
fixed salary of $50 600 is paid him while in Office and he
has life pension of $4,000 on his retirement Inc
other judges receive pensions after fifteen years SERVICE
or on retiring from i'll health.
Nor is this all The Lord Chancellor is made peer ON
taking Office, Thus Sir Frederick Thesiger sits in the
House of Lords not merely Chancellor, but also as
Baro4, Chelmsford. Were he only commoner, Chan
cellos frequently in former times, he could only
preside the Lords and in the Court of Clanccry, with
out the power Of speaking or voting in the former assem-
bly, As Lord Chelmsford he is an hereditary legislator
the limitation of his patent of nobility expressly giving
succession in his title to his mac heirs lawfully bcgot
ten Thus Lords Iyndhurst Brougham, st. Ieonardr,
and Cranworth continue to sit in the House OF Lords,
though they have scvely ceased to occupy the woosack
BY the way the expression ''tlc noble Lord on the
Woosack, often applied to the Chancellor in pnrla-
mentay parlancc, may require explanation in this
country Alta remote period, when wool WINS considr
cred the staple produce of England before Mcrno,
Saxon Hungaian and Australian feeces in the
ket commanding higher prices etiquette Of Psra-
mcnt anxious to compliment trade, placed woodstock In
the House Lords the seat of the Chancellor, who
presides that assembly Hundreds of years have
passed since that seat first placed, but the crsom
continues The woolsck at present. and for long time
past has been somewhat of ideaty 1t looks like
square cotton bale, covered with red damak and its
cnpant need not feel the want of arms and regular
back to his seat seeing that he and does we'll
support himself by means Of substantial cushions In
fact independent of the peerage and $50 900 year. the
'Woolsack' is a comfortable scat.
Besides pay the Chancellor has liberal patronage. He
has voice potential in advising the Crown to the ap
pointment Of every other judicial and legal Official He
appoints and can remove, all Justices OF the peace, usu-
ally acting county magistrates upon the Lord lcuten
ants recommendation. He appoints to the seven hun
dred Crown lvings each of which is valued at 800
year in the Queen books which actually includes many
valuable livngs Of them valued formerly at $40,
but now, from the increase of population and trade,
S. 900 year He has the patronage of all offices in his
own court. sF
Pryy Councillor and Cabinet Minister he participates in
the responsible task of governing the British empire nd
vsng his colleagues all mixed subjects of law and
politics and in all matters relating to police, law, and
Justice He is officially looked upon keeper Of the
Sovercgn's conscience and is supposed to be tho nd
wiser of the members Of the royal family in case o doubt
or difficulty in which their interests involved He
is the ef ocio guardian and absolutely if their prop
erty be @ in chancery.
His executive duties make him preside by prescription
as Speaker the House Of Lords and also their lord
ships chief Judge in their court OF appellate jurisdiction
before which appeals from every court Of Inv and
equity in England, Ireland and Scotland The Chan
ccllor with singular want of dcccy, often hears and
decides upon appeal ogaa'a hs onn dciso" 10 between
tc eabict the Pvy Council the House Of Lords, and
the Chaccry Court, the lawyer who is Lord Chancellor
has his hands always full sG
| BY the Catholic rcicf act OF 1929 Roman Catholic
cannot be Lord Chancellor II feared that he might
dispense church patronage quite the advantage of
1
the church. But the original holders Of the office were
not only Catholics but generally cclesastics The Chan
ccllor sort Of confidential chaplain to the King, or,
before the reformation, his concssor and conscience
keeper. He then the Kings chief secretary, all
vising the sovereign various temporal matters pre-
pairing and tanscrbing royal mandates grants and char
ers, and giving them validity by aixng the King seal
His appointment actually took place by the great seal
being formally delivered to him. Cardinal Wolscy
! Chancellor to Henry VIII. The last churchman who
filled the office Williams, Protestant Archbishop of
lactfy tn nf of
James In the century the Earl of Sbaftsbuty,
who neither ecccsastic lawyer, was appoint
ed Lord Chancellor. @ ti&
Mucho the Chancellor judicial business has been great
y igbcned during the last forty years. by giving him
sistant auxiliary judges The Master of the Rolls
annual salary $30 900, with retiring pension of SIS OO0)
is an equity Judge Of great antiquity, with separate
court and the power of hearing and determining orig
nally the matters ms the Lord Chancellor, whose
signatures must be attached however to his orders de-
before they he enrolled There are, also, with
equal powers two lord justices of appeal each with
nua salaries of $50 ,O0o and three vice chanccors each
with $50, 900 per annum.
The Chancellor has one drawback its want Of pcrma
ncncy. Every other British Judge holds life appoint
mcnt the Lord Chancellor goes out of Office when his
party do, for his is political appointment. 1t is true
that his fall is broken by litepcnsion of $25 900 No
British lawyer if he has occupied the judicial judge
can ever return to private practice. Hence large sala
rics Though not than half of successful lawyers
income at the barr with liberal retiring PENSIONS tempt
the very best lawyers to abandon the rcce for the ad
HtHtSfrdfOH OF the law Ile case OIL St LpulAlUs
i (Sr Edward Sugdcn is in point. Unquestonaby the
first equity lawyer in England he accepted the chance
lorsp OF Ireland in December 1884 and retained it for
just three months, when Pccls administration, which
appointed him, had to rclinquish office At the bar his
practice has been $I00 900 year. and the Irish chancc
lshp paid him only $4,000. Resgning at the end of
three months he had to retire into private ite pension
of $50 900 being poor equivalent for the vast and almost
certain income he earning before he took the cmne
Again, from Is4l to 1885, he returned TO the Irish
Chancery bench; again retiring on the defeat of his
party, with pension. In 1852, under Lord Derby S
first ministry Sugdcn became lord Chancellor Of Eng
land, and created Baron St Iconars He held the
Office for nine months and then retired pension ef
$2i 900 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 chanceorship
the highest dignity under the For example. since
the of the present century, the majority
of chnnccllors have literally risen from the ranks John
Scott created Earl of Eldon, OF coal filter mt
Newcastle. John Singleton Coplcy, Lord Lyndhurs
born at Boston, and five times in that Office the
| of painter. Henry Brougham Lord Brougbam
was the of country gentleman of small estate
Thomas Wilde, afterwards Lord Truro, of at
torncy Edward Suglen Lord st. Iconartls, was a
barber son Frederick Thcsigcr. Lord Chelmsford
is son Of ruined West Indian On the other hand
Lord Erskinc of Scottish Earl and poor that
he took to law, after having vanly cndcavocd obtain
living in the army and in the navy Lord Cottcnhsrn
came from high and rich family. Lord Canworth
who has just quilted the Woosack son of a clergy
man. who cousin 10 Lord Nelson, of the Nile and
Trafalgar.
How these and other 10 station, rank, ,opu