The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1885-09-05
CABINET AND MINISTRY.
A"s Dihersnss-A Peculiar Feature of the
British Goxarnman.

n
British Government.
Inc governing executive body Of
Great Britain is spoken of sometimes
as the Cabinet" and sometimes as the
Ministry" The two terms are thus
used lnditferently in the papers and in
BOOKS as If they meant the same thing.
Ana IN one sense they do mean the
same thing; that is, each is used to de-
scribe the body to which is committed
the executive affairs of the Kingdom.
The word government" is also often
used to describe the same body. We
had the Gladstone government" the
Salisbury government, used with
this meaning.
But IN their composition the Cabinet
is one body, and the Ministry is an
other Every member of the Cabinet
Is a minister. but every minister is not
Cabinet officer. The Cabinet is what
may be termed select committee Of
the Ministry. 1t is the inner circle, the
chosen spirits of the Ministry.
The Ministry consists of all the heads
OF the executive departments of the
Kingdom. The members of the Cabi-
net are the heads of the most import
ant OF these departments; and they
also compose, which the ministers not
in the Cabinet do not, the select and
I secret advisors of the Crown on mat
tiers of national policy.
Mr.. Gladstone, in one of his essays,
speaks of every member of the Cabinet
as exercising three public functions.
He is the head of a department of the
State. He is always a member Of one
of the Houses of Parliament, and so
acts in Legislative capacity And he
is a confidential adviser of the Crown.
1t is in the latter capacity that he df-
terS from minister not in the Cabinet
There are certain great departments
of State, the chief OF which always oc-
Cupy seats in the inner C role of the
Cabinet. These are, the First Lord Of
the Treasury (who almost always also
presides over the Cabinet as Prime Min
ister); the five Secretaries of State
for foreign affairs, home affairs, war,
the colonies, and India; the Chancellor
of Exchequerr the Lord High Chancel-
Tor; the First Lord of Admiralty; the
Lord President Of the Council; and the
Lord Privy Seal.
There are other departments, the heads
of which sometimes are and sometime.
are not in the Cabinet, though they are
part of the Ministry. These are the
Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, the Post.
master General, the Chancellor of the
Duchy of Lancaster, the Chief Secretary
for Ireland, the Pres dent of the Board
of Trade, the President of the Local
Government Board, and the Vice Presi-
dent of the Council.
Finally, there are Offices held by Min
listers who are never members of the
Cabinet; for instance, the Junior Lord,
Of the Treasury and Admiralty, the At
torney-General and Solicitor General fol-
England and Ireland
The Ministry, as snch, never meets il
a body. The Cabinet, on the othel
hand, holds frequent meetings, accord
ing to the gravity of public affairs
always confers in secret, and has NJ
record kept of its proceedings. Otter
its decisions are kept secret from thu
rest of the Ministers.
No law compels Cabinet Minister tt
be peer or member of the House o
Commons. But custom has made thi
an invarable rnle When a member o
the House Of Commons is called to the
Cabinet, he resigns his seat in the Hous
and goes to his constituents for re
election.
Every member of the Cabinet must b.
a Privy Councillor and if he has no
previously been one, is so created whel
he enters the Cabinet Privy Council
ors have the title Of Right Honor
able"
The English law does not recogniz,
any such body as the Cabinet, or an,
such official as Prime Minister. Bot
the collective power of the Cabinet anc
the dignity of first Minister have grow
up gradually, and have taken thei
places in the British political system
without the appliance of any statute
YOnfb'S IO1UfIuiOn