The Washington herald., 1907-09-15
by EX-ATTACRE.

/ Lord Loreburn. who has JUST arrived in
/ Canada from Liverpool. and who will
visit New YORK, Chicago. St. Louis,
Washington, and other points Of interest
in the United States before returning
home. Is the first lord high chancellor
/ Of Great Britain To set foot on the shores
/ Of the western hemisphere-the first lord
/ high chancellor. indeed. TO leave his ma
/ tive land during his term OF Office since
I the days when Cardinal Wolsey accom-
I panied Henry VIII 70 the Field OF the
/ Clith Of Gold in France FOR the chan
cellor is the keeper OF the great seal
and SO great is the Importance attached
70 this emblem Of sovereignty, without
which no legal value can be given 20 any
acts Of state. or to any documents bear
Ing the sign manual Of the sovereign, that
all sorts OF ancient laws. still unrepealed,
provide for its custody by the lord high
chancellor, who is responsible for It's
safety
An old statute declares that it may not
be taken out OF the kingdom, and one
| of the onenses for which Cardinal Wolsey
was impeached and punished was that
he had violated the law by taking the
great seal with him TO France when he
accompanied Henry VIII to his memor-
able meeting with Francis l. And there
are also pains and penalties devised for
the chancellor who allows the great seal
out OF his keeping So that. what be-
tween the difficulty OF letting this instru-
ment Of power out Of his personal care,
and the impossiblity OF taking it abroad,
the lord high chancellor has always
been prevented during his term OF Office
from leaving the country. Speculation IS
rife as 70 what disposition Lord Lore
burn has made Of the great seal during
his American tour. He certainly has not
brought It with him. and if he has left
II at home it must have been surrounded
by the most elaborate precautions in
order TO prevent any one else from OBJ
tanning access 10 It.
Lord LOreburn. as lord high chanCeI-
lor. occupies the highest secular Office Of
temporal dignitary. ranking Immediately
after the princes and princesses Of the
blood royal, before even the premier and
the Archbishop Of York, and yield
ing the pas" only 10 the prLmate Of all
England. the Archbishop OF Canterbury.
The chanceIIorship !s not only the most
illustri0us, but likewise one Of the most
ancient Offices OF the realm. the unbroken
line OF It's holders dating back 70 lC5S, that
Is 20 say. 70 two years after the Norman
Conquest. Il carries with Il a seat IL
the cabinet. a salary OF $4,000 a year. a
hereditary pcerage, the pr0lOcutorship OF
the House Of Lords. and q retiring pen
sion CT $4,000 a year for life, oven If the
woOlsaCk has only been occupied for a
few days
In addition 10 this. the lord chancellor
enjoys an enormous amount Of patronage.
having The appointment 0f all the judges.
Of high and low degree. from the lord
chief Justice down 20 the humblest
justice OF the peace and county magis-
trate. and the right Of presentation 10 all
the crown livilgs or ecclesiastical bene-
fees. He Is the supreme guardian. ex
OftiCiO. Of all infants. idiots. and Iunatlcs.
Of the guardianship any persons who
have been appointed as such by Will, bat
who have shown themselves, IN his opin-
ion, 10 be unworthy ~ their trust. In
that case he may either nominate other
guardians. or else decree the minor d
ward Of chancery. in which event any one
endeavOring 10 wrong the ward. or even
60 wed without the permission Of the
lord chancellor, renders himself guilty
Of contempt Of court Besides this. the
lord high chancellor is. eX officio, a
member Of the privy council, and presi-
dent Of al courts Of justice Of the en-
piye, which, Of course. renders IL indis-
peus3ble that he should be a member Of
the legal profession True. In olden times
the w0OlsaCk was frequently occupied by
eCclesiaStiCS. and AT one time the ChanceI-
.OTship and the PrimaCy Of the church
were held by one and the same person.
among the most notable instances Of this
kind being St Thomas a Beckett, Cardinal
Wolsey, and Archbishop Warren. But
since the days OF John Williams. Bishop
OF Lincoln, who succeeded the great Sir
Francis Bacon as lord high chancellor.
the Office has invariably been flled By
more or less distinguished lawyer. often
OF the humblest extraction. the woolsack
being regarded as the highest prize OF the
legal profession.
How great is the authority vested in
the lord high chanceIlorship IS perhaps
best shown by that ancient statute, stll
in existence, which declares It TO be his
high prerogative to Judge according to
equity. conscience. and reason where he
finds the law OF the land so defective as
that the subject would be injured there
by, and he is the only dignitary Of the
realm, aside from the King. the Queen.
and the heir apparent. whose killing is
not punished as ordinary murder. but as
high treason.
There seems 10 be a general impress
sion, even in England. that The lord high
chancellorship must necessarily be held
by Protestant. But Mir Gladstone. who
at one moment thought Of nominating
the last Lord Chief Justice Russell. who
was a deyout Roman Catholic. to the post
made a careful investigation Of the mat
ter, and ascertained that there was no
law or clause Of the constitution in ex-
istence 10 prevent the wOolsack being oc-
cupied by member OF the church of
AsS4A0f VI SNtAi Dy q Iltoit"- 1nQeeQs
had the late Sir George JesseI lived.
there is no doubt that he would have
in course OF time been elevated to the
woolsack, and TO the keepership of the
Kings conscience. in spite Of his being
a processing Jew. and it was a matter
Of policy rather than anything else that
prevented Lord Russell from being IN
trusted with the great seal. The title OF
Keeper OF the Kings Conscience. " which
is one Of the official designations of the
OF course dates back 10 the
days prior 20 the reformation, when the
post, as mentioned. was ordinarily occu-
pied by some prelate, who was usually
the sOvereign's spiritual adviser.