The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-01-16
Continued from Fourth Page.

sovereign's delivery to them Of the
seals OF Office. These seals consist
Of three seals. known respectively as
the Signet. the Seal and the Cachet,
the Seal alone being used for royal
warrants. Seals Of office are held
only by the Secretaries Of State. and
not by any other members OF the Ad-
m~inistration, excepting the Lord Privy
Seal. who. as his title implies. has
charge Of the sovereisn's privy seal:
and tho Lord High Chancellor Of the
realm. who has connded to him the
Great Seal Of England as its keeper.
Until a few years ago the Secretary
Of State for the Home Department
va the only dignitary Of the realm
who possessed the power of Quashing
a conviction and OF modifying q sem
tence In criminal cases. even when
the sentence was n Of death; this
too in spite OF the fact that he was
often lacking in any sort of legal
hioNl thSV, ia Iol Al IIhViiipVi VA 'iiV
bar. There was no court Of appeal
In criminal cases. and no matter how
unjust the sentence nor how now
great the miscarriage Of Justice there
was no one who had the power TO
annul or change 1t except the Secre-
tary Of the Home Department, acting
in the name of the sovereign.
II was this that rendered the re-
vision Of the conviction Of Mrs.
Maybrlck so difficult. Had a our of
appeal existed at the time she would
undoubtedly have escaped the long
sentence OF penal servitude which she
underwent. on the ground Of the glar-
ing technical errors that character
lied her trial. by an eminent Judge.
whose once brilliant mind was after
ward proved to have been already at
the time u%nhinged. 1t was only after
she had been set at liberty by order of
the Home Secretary that the Cour of
Criminal Appeal now IN existence was
established.
OF course this Court OF Criminal
Appeal has greatly reduced the work
and the responsibilities OF the Home
Secretary in connection with criminal
cases. But in spite OF its existence he
still retains the right to revise its de-
crees and to modify, commute or re-
woke altogether sentences which It
may have confirmed. That the Sec
rotary should he possessed OF this
right rests not on any law Of the land
but merely on usage.
Premier AsQuith in a letter printed
in the English papers IN January two
years ago declared that The exer-
else OF the royal p~rerogative OF mercy
Is vested solely by constitutional prac-
tlce in the Secretary Of State for Home
Affairs"
This constitutional practice" dates
from the accession Of Queen Victoria.
In 1887. II was felt by her Ministers
when she came to the throne that II
would be unfair TO require 30 young
a girl to examine all the circumstances
Of the horrible crimes for which the
death penalty was in those days pro-
nounced. or to burden her conscience
with the responsibility OF determining
tho life or death Of her fellow crea-
lures. 80 the duty OF deciding whether
or not tho Crowns perogative OF
mercy should he exercised In any par
ticular case was delegated to the Sec
rotary OF State for the Home Depart
ment.
To such an extent has this preroea-
tive been thus alienated from h SOW
ereign, not by act OF Parliament but,
as the Premier says. by mere con