The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1885-11-14
CABINET AND MINISTRY.
The Difference-A Peculiar Feature of the
British Government.

The Dinerence-A Peculiar Feature of the
British Government.
The governing executive body OF
Great Britain is spoken of sometimes
as the Cabinet" and sometimes as the
Ministry" The two terms are thus
used indifferently in the papers and in
books. as if they meant the same thing
And 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 Cabinel
is one body, and the Ministry is an
other. Every member of the Cabinet
is minister, but every minister is not
Cabinet officer The Cabinet is what
may be termed a 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
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 exerc. sing three public functions.
He is the head of a department of the
State. He is always member of one
of the Houses of Parliament, and so
acts in leg slative capacity. And he
| is confidential adviser of the Crown.
1t is in the latter capacity that he df-
| fers from q minister not in the Cabinet.
There are certain great departments
| of State. the chief of which always &C.
cupy seats in the inner role of the
| Cabinet. These are. the First Lord of
| the Treasury (who almost always also
| prcsides 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 Exchequer; 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 leads
| of which sometimes are and sometimes
| are not in the Cabinet, though they are
part of the Ministry. These are the
Lord-Lieu.enant 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 Lords
| of the Treasury and Admiralty, the At
torney- General and Solicitor General for
England and Ireland.
| The Ministry, as snch, never meets in
a body. The Cabinet, on the other
hand. holds frequent meetings. accord
ing to the gravity of public affairs;
always confers in secret, and has nc
record kept of its proceedings. Often
Its decisions are Kept secret from the
rest of the Min sters.
No law compels Cabinet Minister to
be peer or a member of the House OF
Commons. But custom has made this
an invariable rnle. When member oil
the House of Commons is called to the
Cabinet. he resigns his seat in the Houss
and goes to his constituents for re-
election.
Every member of the Cabinet must be
Privy Councillor, and if he has not
previously been one, is so created wher
he enters the Cabinet. Privy Council
ors have the title of Right Honor
able"
The English law does not recognize
any such body as the Cabinet, or any
such official as Prime Minister. Botf
the collective power of the Cabinet anc
the dignity of first Minister have grown
up gradually. and have taken theil
places in the British political system
without the appliance of any statute. :
Youths Companion.