Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1898-06-06
ENGLAND'S PREMIER.
WHAT IT MEANS TO BE THE BRITISH
PRIME MINISTER.

Nowhere Else In the World Is There ANY
Position at Once So Powerful md So
Anomnlous-Tho Office Is without Legal
foundation.
Nowhere else in tho world is there
any position at once so powerful and SO
anomalous So long as ho remains
prime minister the premier of the Unit
Ell Kingdom is possessed of moro real
power than any single individual, un.
less 1t be the car or tho president of
the United States.
Yet, great as is the power Of prime
minister, the Office has no foundation ON
law. The prime minister is quite as III.
known to- the law as is the cabinet. If
legal pedant, blind to all facts not in
the statutes or the textbooks of the
common law, were asked TO define the
office OF prime minister and to describe
the cabinet, no would DO utterly ut a
loss.
In theory the prime minister Is ONLY
aprivy councillor at the head of a de.
partment OF state who is specially in
the sovereign's confidence and who usu.
ally presides at an informal gathering
OF certain Of the privy councillors who
happen to fold Offices of state-a gath.
ering which is called the cabinet. That
is the furthest which tho legal pedant of
our Thought would dare to 90. Yet, of
course, the prime minister is, in fact.
lar more than the mere chairman of the
cabinet.
The cabinet, no doubt, has great
deal ct power, but even if it were true
once It Is certainly not true now that
England is governed by committee of
15.or l6 persons.
The prime minister, rs a rule. makes
bis cabinet. Ha is commissioned by tho
queen to form n cabinet, because he is
the man whom she considers to possess
tho confidence Of u majority Of the house
OF commons. lIo forms his cabinet by
asking certain members Of the two
houses to hold tho great offices of state.
lie might do this in one day and with.
cut consulting any one
As matter Of fact, what usually
happens Is this: rs soon rs the commits
sion To form government has been re-
ceived, the prime minister takes into
his confidence the two or thr,e who will
hold tho chief offices, and they talk
together over tho other names. When a
man is decided upon, he, as rule,
joins the conclavo and helps to consult
rs to men and places, and so the cabinet
gradually evolves itself. No doubt, as
generally happens in this world, the
prime minister's choico is never really
free.
Certain men must be in the cabinet,
whatever happens, and hence they may
Do said not to be chosen by the premier,
but to be ministers i'll their own right.
In spite, however, of this, the fact that
they are asked to serve by the premier
makes them feel his superiority. When
the cabinet is made. the theory of the
unwritten constitution is that tho cahi.
net governs. In reality it seldom does
anything of the kind.
Each cabinet minister has very great
power in his own department. but the
cabinet rs cabinet can do little. Since.
however, it knows everything that is
going ON it can exercise great deal Of
indirect power. The previous knowl.
edge that the majority of the cabinet
would like or dislike particular pol.
Icy has a great influence, but still the
cabinet does not rule. The prime minis.
ter summons, presides over and largely
controls the cabinet meetings. II a va.
cancy occurs. he.fills it uo. and so can