reputation, and political weight, render them the most useful auxiliaries, or whose services, while in opposition, may have created the strongest claims to become members of the Cabinet. It has occasionally happened that a statesman possessing high character and influence accepted a seat in the Cabinet without undertaking the labours and responsibilities of any particular office. Although the Cabinet has been regarded during several generations as an essential part of the institutions of Great Britain, yet it continues to be unknown to the law. The names of the members who compose it are never officially announced; no record is kept of its resolutions or meetings, nor has its existence been recognised by any Act of Parliament.
The present Cabinet, formed December 9, 1868, and altered July 4, 1870, consists of the following sixteen members:—
1. First Lord of the Treasury.—Eight Hon. William Ewart Gladstone, born December 29, 1809, fourth son of Sir John Gladstone, Bart., merchant, of Liverpool; educated at Eton, and at Christ Church, Oxford; M.P. for Newark, 1832-45; one of the Junior Lords of the Treasury, 1834-5; Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies, January to April 1835; Vice-President of the Board of Trade, 1841-3; President of the Board of Trade, 1843-5; Secretary of State for the Colonies, 1845-0; M.P. for the University of Oxford, 1847-65; Chancellor of the Exchequer, December 1852 to February 1855, and again June 1859 to July 1866; M.P. for South Lancashire, 1865-8; returned M.P. for Greenwich, Nov. 1868; appointed First Lord of the Treasury, Dec. 9, 1868.
2. Lord High Chancellor.—Lord Hatherley, born 1801, second son of Sir Matthew Wood, Bart., M.P. for the City of London; educated at Winchester, and at Trinity College, Cambridge; called to the Bar at Lincoln's Inn, 1827; M.P. for Oxford, 1847-53; Vice-Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, 1849-51; knighted, 1851; Solicitor-General, 1851-2; one of the Vice- Chancellors, 1853-68; a Lord Justice, Feb. to Dec. 1868; appointed Lord High Chancellor, Dec. 9, 1868; raised to the peerage as Lord Hatherley, Dec. 10, 1868.
3. Lord President of the Council.—Earl De Grey and Ripon, born 1827, eldest son of the first Earl of Ripon; returned M.P. for Huddersfield, 1853, and for the West-Riding of Yorkshire, 1857; succeeded to the earldom, 1859; Under-Secretary of State for War, 1859-61; Secretary of State for War, 1863-6; Secretary of State for India, Feb. to July 1866; appointed Lord President of the Council, Dec. 9, 1868.
4. Lord Privy Seal.—Viscount Halifax, born 1 800, eldest son of Sir Francis Lindley Wood, Bart., of Barnsley, Yorkshire,; educated at Oriel College, Oxford; M.P. for Great Grimsby 1826-31; M.P. for
