Secretaries 1660-1870

Having originated as the personal servant of the Treasurer, the Secretary of the Treasury had by the Restoration acquired functions which were essential to the conduct of the business of the office. (fn. 1) Apart from a special arrangement in 1685-6 when Gwyn acted as additional Secretary for the Irish business of the Treasury, there was only one Secretary until 1711 when a second secretaryship was created on a permanent basis. (fn. 2) The right of nomination to the offices rested formally with the Treasurer or the Board. (fn. 3) The Secretaries did not receive instruments of appointment, their entry into office being marked only by their being called in to take their seats at the Board. These events were not regularly recorded in the minutes until 1730. (fn. 4)

The tenure of the offices was never formally defined and varied considerably at different periods. Between 1660 and 1695 it was relatively insecure, new appointments usually being made whenever there was a change of Treasurer or a substantial alteration in the composition of the Board. From the time of Lowndes' appointment in 1695 until the death of Scrope in 1752 the tenure of the secretaryship which they held was in practice permanent and unaffected by political changes. The tenure of the second secretaryship, on the other hand, was from the first precarious, new appointments usually being made whenever there was a change of First Lord. After 1752 it was the general rule for both Secretaries to retire with their political patrons. Until that year the Secretary with permanent tenure enjoyed precedence over his colleague. Thereafter a new practice was introduced in accordance with which the Junior Secretary succeeded as a matter of course to the senior office when it fell vacant. (fn. 5) This practice continued to be generally observed until 1830 after which, with the development of distinct parliamentary and financial secretaryships, it ceased to operate. The adoption of the terms Parliamentary and Financial as opposed to Senior and Junior Secretaries was never specifically authorised by the Treasury and is impossible to date with precision. For the purposes of these lists the year 1830 has been selected as being less open to objection than any other. (fn. 6)

Originally the Secretary was dependent on fees for his remuneration. (fn. 7) From the time of the funding of the fees he enjoyed two thirds of the product. Gwyn received in 1685-6 two thirds of the fees arising from Irish business and from the payment of the arrears to the servants of Charles II. (fn. 8) After 1711 each Secretary received a third of the fees. (fn. 9) In 1782 they were accorded fixed salaries of £3000. These salaries were raised to £4000 in 1800. In 1821 they were reduced, for future holders of the offices, to £3500. They were further reduced to £2500 in 1831 and to £2000 in 1851. (fn. 10)

LISTS OF APPOINTMENTS

Senior (Parliamentary) Secretary

Junior (Financial) Secretary

Footnotes