The Daily clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1866-1888, 1886-01-21
The Great Seal of England.

The mere holding of the Great Seal of
England entities its fortunate custodian
10 some $4,000 year, to immense pa
tronage in church and State, TO be speak q
er of the house of lords, privy council
or, and the head of all judicial authori-
ty in the kingdom, to be designated
lord high chancellor of Great Britain.
and keeper of the royal conscience. and
to rank next to the royal family the
second subject in the realm 1t is very
difficult, if not impossible, to 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 Con
fessor and other Saxon kings can scarce
ly be called seals, and partook more OF
the character of signatures of an litter
ate age; but grand and perfect seal of
William the Conquerer exists, having
the monarch crowned and throned on
the one side and mounted on horseback
on the other attitudes which have been
invariably observed to the present day.
One remarkable circumstance connect
ed with the Great Seal is its progressive
growth in size as time advanced. Origi-
nally, 800 years since, not larger than
the top of an ordinary modern teacup.
it has been gradually enlarged from age
to age, till il offers now the size and ap-
pearance of n muffin, and requires to be
inclosed in tin box for protection. In
deed, so cumbrous and unwieldy had
the Great Seal become that some three
or four years since an act of parliament
passed-containing very extraordinary
provisions, directing that all the minor.
and many even of the more important
documents passing under it. should for
the future be authenticated by a 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
permanently. James H.. on leaving
the kingdom on his abdication, threw
the seal into the Thames, whence, how
ever, it was next morning iished up and
brought to Whitehall Lord Eldon
buried it in his garden in Queen square
during one night when his house caught
fire and he thought in the confusion it
might be stolen. And writes the
chancellor in his diary, when the fire
was extinguished | quite forgot in the
morning where had buried it. and
while the carriage waited to take me to
court. my lady and and all the house
hold were digging with pieces of stick,
till we luckily found it. Lord Thur
low. who always held it during the
night in his bedroom, had it actually car
ried off by burglars, from whom it was
never recovered. A privy council was
called the next day, a new seal was rap
idly made, and during the remainder of
his continuance in office Lord Rhurlow
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 fitting
closely together. their inner surfaces
deeply sculptured with the royal devices
intended TO be formed on the wax when
squeezed between them. Instruments
having a limited duration are sealed
with yellow wax. Others, supposed to
exist in perpetuity, such as patents of
peerage, etc, are exemplifed under
green wax; and in the case of some let
tiers patent, likely to be exposed to
good deal of knocking about or jour
neying from place to place, the wax
seal was stamped after being ingenious
~ inclosed in cream-colored leather
N y Observer