Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1880-04-17
BRITISH PoLIrIcAL METHODS.

or to fall.
BRITISH POLITICAL METHODS.
Further Details.
In our paper of last week our
main endeavOr was to make clear
to Americans the relation of the
cabinet to parliament and to the
crown in Great Britain; we have
now to give some details of the pro-
cess by which cabinets are changed
when the existing administration
fails to command a majority in the
house of commons. To do this we
have to define the functions of sew
eral public men essential to political
procedure as now conducted in Eng
land, though, strange as it may
appear to Americans, no one of the
four is provided for by any written
law or constitutional provision.
These are the prime minister, the
leaders for the administration in the
house Of lords and in the house of
commons, and the leaders of the
opposition in the same houses.
We begin with the prime minis
ter. He it is who is intrusted by
the sovereign with the duty of form
ing a cabinet when for any cause
the one previously existing is I'M
able to conduct the administration
of government. When it is by
change i'm the predominance of par
ties that this is brought about, the
sovereign usually selects the gentle
man who has been recognized as
the leader of the opposition in either
the house of lords or the house of
commons for this purpose, though
this rule sometimes gives way to
everything circumstances, as will
probably be the case in the present
crisis. (This will be explained
hereafter.) After being "sent for'
for this purpose, if he thinks he can
accept the Office with a prospect of
success, the proposed prime minis
ter Tor premier, as he is sometimes
briefly called summons, one after
another, the leading men of his
party, lays down the principles on
which he proposes to conduct the
government, and, IL he finds enough
men of influence willing to co-Ope-
rate with him on those principles to
afford a reasonable prospect of COM
handing the support of the party,
he so reports it to the sovereign and
the cabinet is so appointed. Now
according as the prime minister has
his seat in the house of lords or
commons, he becomes leader for the
administration in that house. If he
is member Of the house of peers,
then one of the most important
cabinet ministers is selected as
leader i'm the house of commons,
generally the chancellor of the ex-
chequer, but not always. When
matters of foreign policy are pre-
dominant, the secretary for foreign
affairs takes the lead in the COM
mons, as Lord Palmerston did for a
long time before he was prime min
lister, and sometimes the secretary
for home affairs undertakes the
duty. 1t is the office of the leader
for the administration in either |
house TO declare officially what viii |
be the policy of the government in
reference to any important measure |
or emergency which may come up,
to take the leading part in defend
ing that policy in debate and gen.
orally to act as the responsible adj
wiser of the crown and the organ of |
his party in parliament.
In a case Of a change of cabinet |
from one party to another, the gen
tlemen who have been leaders for |
the administration i'm their respect
i've houses become leaders of the OPP
position therein. Thus, Sir Stafford /
NOrthcOte, chancellor of the ex-
chequer in the present cabinet, as
soon as he goes out of Office will no
doubt become leader of the Opposi-
ton in the house of commons; and
Lord BeacOnsfield, who as prime
minister has been leader for the adj
ministration in the house OF lords,
will upon his resignation become
leader of the opposition there, I'M
less he should do as Mr.. Gladstone
did six years ago, decline to lead
the opposition, in which case the
conservative members of the house
of lords will in a sort of caucus de-
termine for themselves who among
the present cabinet officers shall be
their leader. They will in all prob
ability select either the Earl of
Cairns, who is now lord high chan
cellor, or the Duke of Richmond,
who is lord president of the council.
Considerable inconvenience, how
ever, arises from an ex-prime min
ister refusing to take upon himself
the leadership of the opposition in
the house in which he may hold his
seat. Such a refusal is generally
as tantamOunt to declin-
ing to hold the premiership in case
IF his party again coming into
,ffice; and so it ought to be, for
easons which we viii now try to
make plain by an example.
Six years ago a change in the pre-
of parties occurred pre-
.isely similar to what England has
this winter and spring.
rhe administration appealed to the |
ountFy i'm behalf Of its policy by i