should be applied or extended to the offices held by ladies in her Majesty's household.' " 6 But two years afterwards, when it became necessary for the Queen to apply again to Sir Robert Peel to undertake the formation of a government, no difficulties were raised on the Bedchamber question.' Through the interposition of Prince Albert, her Majesty was induced to take a more correct view of her position towards the incoming ministers upon this question than heretofore, and, by previous negotiation with Sir R. Peel, the matter was satisfactorily arranged before the change of ministry took place. Those ladies of the household only who were near relatives of the outgoing cabinet ministers retired, the others were permitted to remain.▾ 'The principle which Sir R. Peel applied to the household has since been admitted, on all sides, to be constitutional. The offices of mistress of the robes and ladies of the bedchamber, when held by ladies connected with the outgoing ministers, have been considered as included in the ministerial arrangements. But ladies of the bedchamber belonging to families whose political connection has been less pronounced, have been suffered to remain in the household, without objection, on a change of ministry.' w On the accession of the Derby ministry, in 1866, the ladies of the court remained unchanged, not having owed their appointments to political influence. And Lord Torrington continued in office as one of the lords in waiting, at the personal request of her Majesty.x house After the marriage of the Queen, in 1840, the ap- Prince's pointments to the prince's household were regulated, hold by desire of the prince, upon the principle now established in that of the Queen's, namely that those appointments only should be permanent which were held by men entirely unconnected with politics, while those filled Private to the king. by peers or members of the House of Commons should change with the various changes of the ministry. In choosing his more intimate and confidential officers, the prince resolved that the selection should be made without regard to politics,' and should not be exclusively from either party; in order that he might be the better able to adhere to his prudent determination of resolutely keeping himself free from all parties." 2. As to the right of the Sovereign to employ a Private Secretary. Until the reign of George III. none of the English secretary monarchs ever had a private secretary. It naturally formed a part of the duty of the principal secretaries of state to assist the sovereign in conducting his official correspondence; but such were the habits of industry and attention to the duties of his exalted station which characterised George III., that it was not until his sight began to fail that he would permit another person to assist him in transacting the daily business of the crown. But in 1805 his Majesty became so blind as to be unable to read the communications of his ministers. Averse to remain in London, where his infirmity would be more exposed to public observation, the king resolved to reside at Windsor. This rendered the appointment of a private secretary absolutely necessary. Accordingly, on the recommendation of Mr. Pitt, Colonel Herbert Taylor was appointed to the office, with a salary of 2,000l. per annum, which was paid out of funds at the disposal of the crown, and never came under review in Parliament. Colonel Taylor discharged the duties of this delicate and confidential office, until the commencement of the Colonel Taylor. Martin's Pr. Consort, v. 1, p. 54. Grey, Early Years of Pr. Consort, pp. 266, 321, 323. See Stockmar's Mem. v. 2, p. 23. And see the Duke of Wellington's views on this question, and in regard to the practice respecting officers of either the king or queen's household in relation to the ministry. Welln. Desp. 3rd S. v. 8, pp. 393–402, 469. M'Mahon. Regency, with such integrity, prudence, and reserve, as to shield himself from every shadow of complaint. Nevertheless, the appointment itself was viewed with disfavour by many leading men in Parliament, who only refrained from calling it in question from motives of delicacy towards the afflicted monarch, whose loss of sight was attributable to his unceasing devotion to his public duties. When the Prince Regent was called to the throne (in December 1810), he appointed his friend Colonel M'Mahon, who was at the time a member of Colonel the House of Commons, to be his private secretary and keeper of the privy purse, with the same salary as his predecessor, but with the important difference that it was to be paid by the Treasury, thereby rendering Colonel M'Mahon a public officer. This transaction gave rise to an animated discussion in the House of Commons. After the Official Gazette' had appeared, announcing the appointment, enquiries were made of ministers, on March 23, 1812, as to the facts of the case; and on April 14, Mr. C. W. Wynn moved for a copy of the appointment, for the purpose of founding upon it a resolution of censure, or a declaration of the inutility of the office. Mr. Wynn urged that the appointment was wholly unprecedented, except in the case of Colonel Taylor, which was purely a private affair, arising out of the king's infirmity; and that it was a most unconstitutional proceeding to allow the secrets of the council to pass through a third person,' thereby subjecting the advice of cabinet ministers to their sovereignto the revision of his private secretary.' Ministers opposed the motion, contending that the Prince Regent, who had not been trained to habits of business like his father, stood in need of the services of a private secretary to assist him in his private correspondence, and to relieve the heavy manual labour Parl. D. v. 22, pp. 121, 342, 361. Jesse, Life of George III. v. 3, p. 439. Office of king's secretary. which the immense amount of public business requiring the attention of the crown unavoidably entailed. This office, moreover, was not one of responsibility and would not encroach upon the province or responsibility of any minister. Ministers of the crown would still be the legal and constitutional organs through which all the public business must be transacted. On a division Mr. Wynn's motion was negatived, by a majority of 76. The Opposition, however, determined to renew the attack, on the special ground that the appointment, unlike that of Colonel Taylor, had been made a public one. But on June 15, Lord Castlereagh informed the House that the Prince Regent had been pleased to direct that Colonel M'Mahon's salary should be paid out of his privy purse. The Opposition then agreed to let the matter drop; and Colonel M Mahon continued to hold the office until his death, in 1817, when Sir B. Bloomfield was appointed private secretary. He was replaced, in 1822, by Sir Wm. Knighton, who retained the office until the king's death, in 1830. Colonel M Mahon was made a privy councillor in 1812, and Sir B. Bloomfield in 1817. But this was afterwards admitted to have been a mistake, 'for in fact it gave authority and consequence where confidence to any degree may be placed, but where authority and consequence ought not to exist.' Accordingly, in 1823, when George IV. wished to admit Sir W. Knighton into the privy council, it was opposed by Lord Liverpool (the premier), as being 'most objectionable in principle and precedent.' His lordship cited the opinion of George III., 'who understood these matters better than any one,' that the king's private secretary 'should be put upon exactly the footing of an under-secretary of state'-a functionary who is never a privy councillor, although necessarily he knows more of the secrets of government than any cabinet minister, except his principal and the first minister. These arguments prevailed and the matter was allowed to drop.d Sir Herbert Taylor, the faithful secretary of George b Parl. D. v. 23, p. 476; Ann. Reg. 1817, p. 147. Sir B. C. Brodie's Works, v. 1, p. 77. Ed. Rev. v. 136, p. 395. Haydn, Book of Dignities, pp. 140, 141. d Welln. Desp. 3rd S. v. 2, pp. 103105. And see the Duke of Wellington's advice to Sir W. Knighton, in Greville Mem. v. 1, p. 73. Herbert III., was reappointed to this office by William IV., in sir succession to Sir W. Knighton. We have the testimony Taylor. of Lord Aberdeen, when prime minister, that no objection was made to these appointments, notwithstanding that these men must of necessity have known and were able to have given advice, or to have disclosed everything, if they had thought fit, although neither of them was a privy councillor.' It is true that on one occasion, as we have seen, William IV. made his private secretary the medium of giving expression to his wishes to certain peers, in regard to their conduct upon a great public question, in a very irregular manner; but this communication was made with the knowledge and consent of the prime minister." e Upon the accession of Queen Victoria (on June 20, Her 1837) it was determined that no private secretary should Majesty's private be assigned to her, lest the influence of such an officer secretary. over a youthful and inexperienced sovereign should prove prejudicial to the State. But Lord Melbourne, who was then first minister of the crown, undertook to act also as her Majesty's private secretary. This was avowedly a mere temporary arrangement, entered into in the hope-which, happily, was speedily realised— that her Majesty would very soon contract a marriage, which would enable the duties of private secretary to be appropriately transferred to her husband. Meanwhile his lordship was assisted in the discharge of this self-imposed duty by Baron Stockmar, who acted (informally) as her Majesty's private secretary for about fifteen months after her accession. For upwards of twenty years after this event the baron proved himself a devoted friend and wise counsellor to the Queen and her royal consort. The assumption by the prime h Hans. D. v. 130, p. 96. And see Nicholas, Pref. to Pro. Privy Coun. v. 6, p. 134, n. William IV. v. 2, pp. 439-452. Stockmar's Mem. v. 1, pp. lxvi. 383-388. And see Martin's Pr. Consort, passim. Torrens, Life of MelSee Earl Grey, Corresp. with bourne, v. 2, p. 236. The baron, See ante, p. 286. |