St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-02-28
THE GREAT sea- az ENGLAND.
Whur Hts Fortunate Custodian Re-
ceives I'm Rank and Money.

ceives I'm Rank and Money.
New York Observer.
The mere holding of the great seal OF
England entities the fortunate custodian 70
some $50. 600 year, TO immense patronage
in church and state, TO be speaker in the
house of lords. privy counselor, and the
head of all judicial authority In the king
dom. to be designated lord high chancellor
Of Great Britain. and keeper Of the royal
conscience. and 10 rank next the royal
family the second subject in the realm. Ii
is very difficult. IL not impossible. 10 say
when England first had great seal Seals
were not much used by our AnglO-SaxOn
ancestors. but came largely into fashion
during the Norman reigns. The gilt
crosses or marks OF Edward the COnfeSsor
and other Saxon kings can scarcely
be called seals, and partook more
Of the character of signatures of
an illiterate age; but grand
and perfect seal Of William the Conqueror
exists, having the monarch crowned and
thrODed on the one side and mounted on
horseback on the other-attltudes which
have been invariably observed TO the
present day. One remarkable circumstance
connected with the great seal is its pro-
gressiYe growth Ia size as time advanced.
the top Of an ordinary modern teacup. il
has been gradually enlarged from age to
age, till IL offers now the size and appear
ance of muffin. and requires 10 be incloSed In
a tin box for protection. Indeed. 50 cum
brous and unwiedy had the great seal be-
come that some three or four years since an
act Of parliament passed-cOntaining very
extraordinary misunderstanding that all
the minor and many even OF the more im-
portant documents passing under il. should
for the future be authenticated by paper
wafer, OF moderate SIZE, which should be-
gummed on the instrument and be
deemed and taken to be the great seal
itself.
The great seal has only three times been
lost-twice temporarily and once perIna-
nenuy. James IL, OH leaving the kingdom
on his abdication, threw the seal into the
Thames, whence. however. il was next
morning fished up and brought to White
hall. Lord Eldon buried II IN his garden
in Queen square during one night when his
house caught ire and he thought in the
confusion il might be stolen. ''And, 4"
writes the chancellor In his diary, when
the ire was extinguished l quite forgot in
the morning where L had buried IL, and
while the carriage waited TO take me to
SOuiI III idue ohu anu III TIC uOutcuOlu
were digging with pieces Of stick till we
luckily found it," Lord ThurloW, who
always held it during the night In his bed
room, had IL actually carried of by burglars,
from whom 1t was never recovered. A
privy council was called the next day, new
seal was rapidly made, and during the 10
mandeT of his continuance In Office Lo I'd
ThurlOw invariably deposited it of night
under his pillow.
DOWN to 1918 the great seal itself was
made of copper; since then silver has been
the metal employed. 1t is in two halves,
somewhat like two very thick bright tin
saucepan lids lifting closely together, theiI
inner surfaces deeply sculptured with the
royal devices intended to be formed on the
wax when squeezed between them. Instru-
ments having limited duration are sealed
with yellow wax. Others, supposed To ex-
ist in perpetuity, such as patents of peer
age. ETC., are exemplifed under green wax.
and in the case OF some letters patent.
likely 10 be exposed to good deal of
knocking about or journeying from place TO
place. such as were the assize commissions,
the wax seal was stamped after being in
geniOusly incloSed in cream-colored leather.