CHANCELLOR

From Agepedia

CHANCELLOR : an officer supposed to have been originally a notary or scribe, under the emperors, and named cancellarius, because he sat behind a lattice, called, in Latin, cancellus, to avoid being crowded by the people. There are, however, other derivations of this title. Whatever may have been its origin, the office and name of chancellor were undoubtedly known at the court of the Roman emperors, where the title seems to have signified, originally, a chief scribe or secretary, who was afterwards invested with several judicial powers, and superintendence over the other officers of the empire. From the Roman empire the title and office passed to the Roman church, and hence every bishop has, to this day, his chancellor, the principal judge of his consistory. When the modern kingdoms of Europe were established upon the ruins of the empire, almost every state preserved its chancellor, with different jurisdictions and dignities, according to their different constitutions. In all, he seems to have had the supervision of all charters, letters, and such other public instruments of the crown as were authenticated in the most solemn manner, and, therefore, when seals came into use, he had always the custody of the king's great seal. This officer has now great authority in all the countries of Europe. The Lord High Chancellor of England is the first judicial officer of the crown; and first lay person of the state, after the blood royal. He is created neither by writ nor patent, but by the mere delivery of the great seal into his custody. In like manner, the act of taking away the seal by the king determines the office. He is, ex officio, a privy counsellor, and, according to lord Ellesmere, prolocutor of the house of lords by prescription. The question of separating the office of prolocutor of the lords from the office of chancellor has been lately agitated. He has the appointment of all justices of the peace in the kingdom, is visitor, in the king's right, of all royal foundations, and patron of all crown livings, under the value of 20 marks, in the king's books. The office having, in early times, been always filled by ecclesiastics (for no others were then capable of an employment requiring so much writing), he became keeper of the king's conscience; and, by special appointment, he now exercises a general superintendence as guardian over all infants, idiots and lunatics; tiiough these latter powers are not necessarily attendant on his office, as Blackstone seems to have imagined, but can be delegated by the crown to any other judicial officer; as, in fact, they were delegated even as late as the reign of James I, wiien the seals were held by doctor Williams, then dean of Westminster, and afterwards bishop of Lincoln. The great seal has been not unfrequently put in commission, and was last so on the resignation of lord Thurlow, in the year 1793. The Vice Chancellor is an officer recently created, who takes precedence after the lord chief justice of the common pleas, and before the chief baron. He is addressed, like the master of the rolls, by the style of his honor. Though the appointment was made with a view to meet the complaints against delay, and to facilitate the business of suitors, yet, as an appeal lies afterwards to the chancellor, the experiment has not been attended with great success. (For an account of the court of chancery, see Equity, Courts of.) The CJumcellor of the Exchequer is the principal finance minister of the government, and, as all questions of supply originate in the house of commons, a peer cannot be conveniently appointed to this office. When the first lord commissioner of the treasury is a commoner, the two offices are generally united. The Chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster presides in the court of the duchy chamber, to decide questions relating to lands holden of the king, as duke of Lancaster ; but it does not appear that this is a court of record. The chancellorship is generally bestowed during pleasure, though Siere are two instances of its being granted for life; the last being that of the celebrated lord Ashburton. The chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster is one of the king's cabinet ministers. The Chancellor of Oxford is the supreme head of that university, elected for life by the members of convocation. He is generally a nobleman of the highest rank, who is installed with great ceremony. The duties of the office are almost entirely discharged by the vicechancellor; the chancellor's own acts being limited to the signing of diplomas, &c.Under the vicechancellor are four provicechancellors, nominated by him from among the heads of colleges, to one of whom, in his absence from the university, he delegates his authority. The Chancellor of Cambridge, whose duties are very similar to those of the chancellor of Oxford, is elected biennially by the senate; but there is no instance, at least in modem times, where a reelection has not taken place.The title chancellor is given, in England, to several other officers of inferior bodies. The chancellor was one of the highest officers in the German states, and, by the influence of his office, was one of the most important. In Germany, this dignity was, from the remotest times, vested in one of the higher clergy, until the head of the German clergy, the archbishop and elector of Mentz, united it for ever wTith his office as archchancellor of the empire. The two other spiritual electors held the same dignity, but it was merely titular; the archbishop of Cologne, as archchancellor of Italy; the archbishop of Treves, as archchancellor of Gaul, and Aries, i. e., the kingdom of Burgundy, once belonging to Germany. The archchancellorship of Mentz, on the contrary, had important duties attached to itthe direction of the diet, and of the public business, as well as of all the imperial chanceries. The elector appointed a vicechancellor, who was the actual minister of the empire at the imperial court. The chancellor of France was the highest officer of state, and the only one, who, when once appointed, could not be dismissed. In case, therefore, it was desired to remove him from participation in affairs, a keeper of the seals (garde des sceaux) was appointed. As the chancellor was properly the minister of justice, he was chosen from the body of jurists. A relic of his spiritual character was, that all his furniture, liveries, and even his coach, were black. This dignity is now restored. Besides the chancellor of the kingdom, the chancelier de France, the queen (in Germany, also, the empress had her arch chancellor, the bishop of Fulda), the sons and grandsons of the king, the first prince of the blood, the orders of knighthood, the universities, &c, all had their chancellors. The German states began about the middle of the 15th century to appoint chancellors, whose duties are widely different, but are generally united with the office of president of the higher judicial and executive authorities. In Bavaria, for example, there were a chancellor of the privy council, and a courtchancellor, a chancellor of fiefs, and executive chancellors, in the different provinces. King Frederic [I (the Great) of Prussia established, some years after his accession to the throne, in 1747, the office of a grandchancellor and chef de justice for the famous Samuel de Cocceji, to whom he had committed the reform of the judiciary. . He had several successors in this dignity, but it was finally abolished. In the Austrian monarchy there are three courtchanceries1. the imperialroyal, at the head of which stand the high courtchancellor, with three other courtchancellors, viz., the BohemianGalician, the LombardoVenetian, and the AustrianIllyrian ; 2. the Hungarian; and, Z. the Transylvanian. In Austria, almost every office of importance is called a court office. The dignity of a privychancellor of the court and state was conferred, after a long interruption, on prince Metternich.