Solicitor- Scottish affairs, and has the preparation and charge of Bills in Parliament concerning Scotland. He is also in constant confidential communication with the Home Secretary, and transacts on his behalf many of the administrative duties for Scotland which in England engage the attention of that functionary. He has to advise the Home Secretary as to the distribution of a large portion of the patronage of the crown in Scotland, and especially as regards the principal legal appointments therein. As an officer of state in Scotland, he has under his command the staff not only of advocate-deputies, but also of procurators-fiscal throughout the country, by means of whom he can, on the shortest notice, collect information on all subjects. He is therefore entrusted substantially with the conduct of Scotch business in the House of Commons, on account of the peculiar facilities he possesses for the adequate performance of the same. He receives a salary of 1,500l. per annum, with an allowance of 1,000l. in commutation of certain fees. His other allowances are about 500l. a year, making a total of about 3,0002. There is also a Solicitor-General for Scotland, whose duties resemble those of the similar officer for England. He is retained in the same crown cases as the Lord Advocate, and takes charge of the criminal business in his absence. Neither the Lord Advocate nor the Solicitor-General attends circuit: that is done by their deputies, who also assist in the discharge of criminal prosecutions. Both these officers, however, attend trials in the High Court of Justiciary at Edinburgh, and give personal attention to every case of importance which is to be brought up at any circuit. The emoluments of the Solicitor-General do not much exceed 1,000l. a year.t Both the Lord Advocate and the Solicitor-General hold political offices, which terminate with the administration by whom they are appointed. Although both are eligible to seats in the House of Commons, it rarely happens that they have seats together; generally the Lord Advocate only is a member of that assembly." To facilitate the transaction of Scottish business, one of the Lords of the Lord of the Treasury, as we have seen,' is selected from amongst the Treasury. members of the House of Commons representing Scotland, or from amongst leading men likely to be able to obtain a seat for a Scottish constituency, to whom the general supervision of Treasury business concerning Scotland is entrusted, and who also assists the Lord Advocate in the charge of Scottish business in Parliament, with the exception of legal business, for which the Lord Advocate is wholly responsible. brancer's The office of the Queen's and Lord Treasurer's Remem- Remembrancer in Scotland is also one of considerable import- office. ance. It acts as the pay department of moneys voted for civil services in Scotland, in like manner as the Paymaster-General in England. It devolves upon this department to examine and audit a numerous class of Scotch accounts, to prepare annually, in detail, the estimates of civil services for Scotland, and to fulfil many other important duties connected with the public expenditure, &c. in Scotland. This office has recently been subjected to the provisions of the Exchequer and Audit Departments Act of 1866, with the view of assimilating its system to that of the corresponding departments in England." General The Queen's Lord High Commissioner to the General CommisAssembly of the Church of Scotland is, to a certain ex- sioner to tent, a political office, being generally, although not in- Assembly. variably, changed with the administration of the day. u Rep. on Off. Sal. 1850, Evid. &c., issued under the Exchequer and 2985, 2986. Audit Departments Act, Commons This officer is the representative of the sovereign at the meetings of the General Assembly of the Established Church of Scotland in Edinburgh, and has a right to be present at all the meetings of that body. At the opening of the sessions, he delivers a speech from the throne, and at the conclusion of the proceedings dissolves the Assembly, and appoints the time for its next meeting. But the Assembly claim a similar right, and by their Moderator likewise announce their dissolution. The Commissioner is regarded as a medium of communication and link of connection between the sovereign and the Presbyterian Church of Scotland, the integrity of which, as the established religion of that country, has been guaranteed by the Act of Union. The Lord High Commissioner receives a fresh commission every year; but it is customary to reappoint the same individual, so long as he is able and willing to act, during the existence of each administration. The Commissioner is required to maintain a certain amount of state, to uphold the honour and dignity of his office. He holds levées, as the representative of royalty, which are generally attended by persons of all denominations, out of respect for his position; and he gives a series of entertainments during the time (usually about ten days) when the Assembly is in session. His salary (which is paid out of the Consolidated Fund) is 2,000l. a year; and he appoints his own purse-bearer and chaplain. Ireland. THE GOVERNMENT OF IRELAND. The kingdom of Ireland, which, before the Act of Union (39 & 40 Geo. III. c. 67) in 1801, was connected with the crown of England by prerogative alone, has since become united in its legislature, its church, and its revenues. Unlike Scotland, however, the Irish executive still remains, to some extent, separate and distinct. But this independence is merely nominal; the pageantry of a court and the outward symbols of royalty are kept up, whilst practically the entire direction of the government of Ireland is in the hands of the English Cabinet. tenant. The government of Ireland is formally entrusted to the Lord-LieuQueen's Deputy or Viceroy, who is usually styled the Lord-Lieutenant, but whose official designation is the Lord-Lieutenant-General and General Governor of Ireland. This high officer is appointed under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom, and bears the sword of state as the symbol of his viceregal authority. He is assisted by a Privy Council, consisting of between fifty and sixty members, who are sworn pursuant to a sign-manual warrant to the Lord-Lieutenant, and are designated right honourable. This body possesses very extensive executive powers, and its sanction is essential to give validity to many of the official acts of the Lord-Lieutenant. The office of the Irish Privy Council, however, as a branch of administration, has been abolished, and its business transferred to the department of the Chief Secretary for Ireland. The Lord-Lieutenant is commissioned to represent the person of the sovereign in Ireland, to keep the peace, the laws, and customs of that country, to govern the people therein, to chasten and correct offenders, and to encourage such as do well." He is placed in supreme authority, to attend to the impartial administration of justice, and has power to pardon criminals, or to commute their sentences. The police is subject to his entire control. He may issue such orders to the general command y See Mr. Wynn's speech, in Parl. Deb. (1812) vol. xxi. p. 614. Earl of Derby, Hans. Deb. vol. clxxxviii. p. 1373. For curious notes on the administration of the Lord-Lieutenant in the early part of the reign of George tenant. Lord-Lieu- ing the troops in Ireland as are necessary for the support of the civil authority, the protection of the subject, the defence of the realm, and the suppression of insurrection. The queen reserves for her own signet the grant of money, lands, or pensions (the Lord-Lieutenant recommending such cases to the consideration of the Treasury), and the grant of titles of honour, but not without communication with the Lord-Lieutenant, who may himself confer the distinction of civil knighthood. The queen also appoints the privy councillors, judges, and law officers, governors of forts, and military officers. The Lord-Lieutenant is entrusted with the absolute and complete disposal of the whole patronage of the crown within the Established Church in Ireland, and generally with the disposal of all the other crown patronage of the country." The Lord-Lieutenant also enjoys, by virtue of an ancient prerogative of the crown in Ireland, the right of filling up certain subordinate offices in the superior courts of justice in that country. In England, all such offices are in the gift of the heads of the courts of law. In 1867, an attempt was made to introduce the English practice into Ireland, by inserting a clause in a Bill concerning the Irish Law Courts, which was pending in the House of Lords, to vest the appointment of the officers in question in the chief judge of each court. But the clause was rejected in the House of Commons; and rather than imperil the fate of the Bill, the Lords did not insist upon it." In the distribution of this patronage the Chief Secretary is occasionally consulted. The terms of the Lord-Lieutenant's commission attest the confidence reposed in him by the imperial government. He has the free gift of all the places left to his disposal. No new office is to be created without his opinion thereon; no appointment which is reserved to |