Cabinet

an executive council. It consists of the leading officers of the government. The English cabinet and United States cabinet are the oldest, and are the types on which the cabinets of other countries are modeled. In the reign of Charles I the name was given for the first time to a committee of his privy council that met to arrange public business. At the present time the English cabinet consists of an indefinite number, usually about eleven. The formation of a new cabinet proceeds with outward show of courtesy and kingly authority; the monarch sends for a prominent statesman, appoints him premier, and asks him to form a government, -- that is, to suggest names of suitable persons to be appointed to high official positions. The cabinet includes the premier, himself, who acts also as lord of the treasury or secretary of state for foreign affairs. A secretary for war, for home affairs, for the colonies, and for India, the chancellor of the exchequer, first lord of the admiralty, the lord privy seal, the lord chancellor, the chief secretary for Ireland postmaster general, and the president of the board of trade are the chief appointive positions, entitling the holder by custom to a seat in the cabinet.

In reality the king has no hand in the appointment of a new ministry. His part is a polite fiction, a relic of former political conditions. The prime minister is suggested by the party leaders, and the cabinet is made up by him, in consultation with these leaders. The "king's cabinet" is not his; it is the ministry of the House of Commons. It is understood that the king is not responsible for the makeup of the cabinet, and that the ministry is responsible, not to the king, but to the House of Commons. The cabinet meets in executive session and keeps no minutes. Its deliberations relate to the policy of the government. The measures to be introduced into Parliament are arranged here. Whatever differences of opinion may arise, they are not made public.

Theoretically any member of the house may introduce a measure, but unless the proposed act has the sanction of "the government," that is to say, of the ministry, it is likely to secure scant attention. When an important measure proposed by the ministry is defeated, custom requires the ministry to resign or to call for a new parliamentary election. In case of resignation, the king calls upon the leader of the opposition to form a new ministry. In case a writ is issue is clear. The candidates stand for the old ministry or for a new, and the voters decide. When the results of an election are known, the country knows ordinarily the name of the next prime minister, quite as positively as Americans know whom the Electoral College will select for president. As there may be groups of members in the House of Commons that represent minor political parties, whose support of the ministry is subject to withdrawal, a ministry may be defeated most unexpectedly. Its usefulness, practically its life, may come to an end within a few hours' time of appointment; and, on the other hand, an opponent of "the government" may wait anxiously for years before the ministry is defeated. In case the opposition in the House of Commons thinks that the government has lost the support of the House and does not know it, or is not willing to acknowledge defeat, a resolution may be introduced declaring a "want of confidence." If the resolution carries, the ministry has no help for it but to resign or call for an election.

The first American cabinet consisted of four members, -- the secretary of state, of war, of the treasury, and the attorney general. The secretary of the navy was added in 1798; the postmaster general in 1829; the secretary of the interior in 1849; the secretary of agriculture in 1899; the secretary of commerce and labor in 1903. In case of the death or disability of the president and vice-president, the members of the cabinet succeed to the presidency in the order named; except that the postmaster general, whose office existed thirty-five years before it became a cabinet position, takes precedence of the secretary of the navy.

Contrary to popular impression, the Constitution does not provide for a cabinet. The president is authorized to require the opinion in writing of the heads of the executive departments, and provision is made also to vest the appointment of subordinate officers in the heads of the departments; but the Constitution does not hint at the creation of a cabinet whose members meet with the president in a body and consult on matters outside of their own departments. It was not the intention of the makers of the Constitution that the policy of the government should be determined by an advisory body. In 1789 the first Congress created four departments. President Washington created the cabinet by calling the heads of these departments together for consultation. The practice is now an unwritten law.

The secretary of state is, by common consent, the leading member of the cabinet. When the cabinet meets for consultation he sits at the president's right hand. The members of the American cabinet, that is to say, the secretaries of the departments, are appointed by the president with the approval of the Senate, for four years, or for the unexpired part of a presidential term. Secretaries are removable by the president at will. Custom, unwritten law again, requires that the cabinet officer shall perform his duties in a manner satisfactory to the president. If the secretary's course in an important matter meets with the disapproval of the president, he is expected to resign. The regular salary of a cabinet member is $12,000 a year.

See Parliament; Congress