Treasurers and Commissioners of the Treasury 1660-1870

There were formerly two distinct offices of Treasurer. (fn. 1) One was that of Lord High Treasurer, a great office of state, which was conferred by the delivery of a white staff; the other was that of Treasurer of the Exchequer which was granted during pleasure by letters patent under the great seal. When the Treasury was held by an individual he was appointed to both offices; when it was in commission that of Lord High Treasurer lapsed. On entering office the Treasurer took oaths in the courts of Chancery and the Exchequer. (fn. 2) No such formalities were observed in the case of Commissioners. In 1660 the authority of the Treasury covered England and Wales. It was extended to Scotland in 1707 and to Ireland in 1817 when provision was made for the office granted by letters patent to be known as that of Treasurer of the Exchequer of Great Britain and Lord High Treasurer of Ireland and the Commissioners as Commissioners of the Treasury of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. (fn. 3)

On six occasions between 1660 and 1714 the office of Treasurer was held by individuals. During the same period it was in commission for rather more than half the time. It has invariably been so since 1714. The commission appointed in 1660 conformed to an earlier pattern and was composed of nine senior Privy Counsellors. In 1667 a new practice was introduced. Thereafter a small number of Commissioners were appointed, not all of whom were necessarily members of the Council. The number was in principle fixed at five between 1667 and 1807. In 1807 provision was made for the Chancellor of the Irish Exchequer to be appointed an additional Commissioner without salary. (fn. 4) In 1817 the offices of English and Irish Chancellor were united and two additional Irish Commissioners were appointed. (fn. 5) The total number of Commissioners was seven from 1817 to 1823 after which the place of one of the Irish Commissioners was not filled. In 1848 their number was reduced from six to five. (fn. 6) It was again raised to six in December 1868. The quorum of the commission varied until 1684. It was fixed at three from that year until 1849 when it was reduced to two. (fn. 7)

Formally there was no distinction in the standing of the Treasury Lords. In practice the First Lord acquired an ascendancy over his colleagues from an early date, due to his political prominence and to the fact that he customarily communicated the decisions of the Board to the King. Between 1715 and 1835 it was, except for a brief period in 1743, invariable for the office of First Lord to be combined with that of Chancellor of the Exchequer whenever the holder of the former was drawn from the House of Commons. In the course of time effective authority came to be concentrated in the First Lord and the Chancellor, assisted by the Joint Secretaries. Regular meetings of the Board continued to take place until 1856. However, no lists of Lords present was kept after 1809 and the First Lord and Chancellor ceased to attend after 1827. During the nineteenth century the activities of the Junior Lords within the Treasury were increasingly confined to formalities and their main function became that of assisting the Parliamentary Secretary in the management of the House of Commons as government whips. Down to the end of the period covered by these lists, however, the practice was generally observed of appointing one Junior Lord for Scotland and one for Ireland on the understanding that they would, if occasion arose, assist in the business of those two kingdoms. In 1868 a 'Third Lord' (Stansfeld) with special responsibilities for revenue matters was appointed to relieve the Financial Secretary but this experiment was discontinued in the following year. (fn. 8)

The salary of the Treasurer was £8000. Ordinary Commissioners normally received £1600 each. Payments were made by the Paymaster of the Forces until 1675 and from the Exchequer thereafter. (fn. 9) As the result of an arrangement which apparently originated in 1754 the First Lord enjoyed an additional salary which was designed to provide him with a net income of £5000 a year. (fn. 10) In 1831 the salary of the First Lord was fixed at £5000, or £7500 if he held the office of Chancellor of the Exchequer as well. At the same time the salaries of the Junior Lords were fixed at £1200. They were reduced to £1000 in 1851. A salary of £2000 was attached to the office of Third Lord in 1868. (fn. 11)

In the lists the periods of office of the Commissioners have been dated by reference to the letters patent except in the case of First Lords after 1827. Strictly speaking the authority of the First Lord, like that of the other Commissioners, derived from the letters patent. However, in the course of time, the increasing prominence of the First Lord as the head of the administration resulted in his being nominated appreciably before the other Commissioners were selected and the letters patent could be sealed. The establishment of the precise date when the First Lord took office is a matter of considerable difficulty since he received no seals and took no oath. Eventually the practice of kissing hands on appointment grew up. Before 1827 there is no consistent record of the occasions on which the First Lord kissed hands. After this date it is possible to observe the procedure followed from the Court Circular, published in The Times. It appears that it was the practice for the First Lord to kiss hands on appointment at an audience with the Sovereign immediately before the Council at which his colleagues received their seals of office. It is the date on which this ceremony is explicitly stated to have taken place or on which it can reasonably be inferred to have occurred that has been taken as the date of entry into office of First Lords from 1827. It should be noted that it is not the same as that on which the individual concerned received the Sovereign's command to form an administration which is the date frequently selected for the entry into office of Prime Ministers.

LISTS OF APPOINTMENTS

Treasurers And Commissioners

First Lord From 1827

Footnotes