PRIVY COUNCIL. 417 PRIVY SEAL. formerly fell by the demise of the Cro«-n; but by an act of 1708 the Council continues to exist for six months longer unless sooner determined by the successor. Immediately on the decease of the sovereign, the Council assembles and pro- claims his successor, the Lord Chancellor affixing the great seal to the proclamation. The body is styled collectivelj- 'His Majesty's most honorable Priv3' Council.' The councilors are entitled to the designation 'right honorable' prefixed to their names ; and they take precedence ne.xt after Knights of the Garter. A council can be held only luuler the presidency of the sovereign. Kvery other assembly of the members, though they should all attend, is merely a 'committee.' The functions of the Council are either care- fully defined by statiite or they are exercised in virtue of the discretionary prerogative of the Crown. Some of them are of a formal or cere- monial character. In council, for example, a minister takes the official oath, a bishop does homage for the temporalities of his see, and the slieriffs for the counties are chosen. In certain cases of emergenc.v proclamations may be issued in council; and under aiithority of Parliament Orders in Council (q.v. ) have the force of law. Furthermore, the administration of various spe- cial laws of Parliament is intrusted to the Coun- cil. A large part of the administrative business is transacted in committees, either temporary or permanent. Legally the Cabinet (q.v.) is but a committee of the Privy Coiuieil, Other standing committees are the Judicial Committee, the Board of Trade, the Local Government Board, the Educational Committee, the Agricultural Committee, and the Committee for the Considera- tion of Charters of Incorporation under the IIu- nicipal Corporation Act of 1882. Ireland has a Privy Council of her own; but the Privv Council of Scotland was merged in that of England in 1708. Judicial Committee. A high tribunal, com- posed of certain members of the Privv Council, created by the Act of 3 and 4 Wil. IV., ch. 41, in 1833. It was given jurisdiction of all appeals to his JIajesty in council, which at that time included appeals from the High Court of Ad- miralty in both instance and prize cases, and all appeals from the courts of the colonies. The act also provided that the King might refer any other matters to the conuuittee which he might see fit, and, under this clause, many im- portant questions both legal and political in their nature have been decided by this com- mittee, ilembers of the Council who are or have been justices of the superior courts of Great Britain and Ireland, comprising the Su- preme Court of .Judicature in England, the Su- perior Courts of Law and Equity at Dublin, and the Court of Session in Scotland, were included in the conuuittee. The judges of the self-govern- ing colonies, if members of the Council, are ex officio members of the committee. The Chief Justices of Canada, Cape Colony, and South Australia are now members. When it is con- sidered that appeals from the highest courts of the colonies may involve important constitu- tional questions as to the powers and limitations of their legislative bodies, matters which to an important extent determine the very nature of the Empire itself, the dignity and iniiiortanee of this .Judicial Committee will be appreciated. The committee ha3 also jurisdiction over cer- tain cases arising under the Clergy Discipline acts and petitions for the extensions of the terms of letters patent. By the Judicature Acts (q.v.) all jurisdiction of appeals from the High Court of Admiralty and in lunacy proceedings was transferred and vested in the Court of Ap- peal. The forms of a secret council or committee have always been observed by the Judicial Com- mittee, and no publication is made of the views or vote of any member. The judgments or decisions of the committee are tran.smitted to the .sovereign in the form of a report, which embodies the views of the majority only. Educational Committee. The committee on education was established in 1839 by an Order in Council for the purpose of promoting educa- tional legislation and administering moneys voted by the Commons for school buildings and teach- ers' training colleges. The funds thus voted were turned over by the committee to two societies for the encouragement of elementary education among the poor, and provision was made for the inspection of schools by Crown officers. The encouragement of pupil teachers by scholarships in training colleges and the offer of salaries, made possible by the grants of 1846, and the administration of special funds for the increase in the salaries of trained teachers, ahso devolved upon this committee. The importance of the conuuittee was greatly increased when in 1862 the distribution of moneys in aid of schools was made dependent on the character of their work. The committee of the Privy Council has charge mainly of the disposition of Government grants for public elementar.v educa- tion, the curricula, and the certification of teach- ers engaged in subsidized schools. The act of 1870 has increased its importance by investing it with the additional power of appointing school hoards in cases where existing boards neglect their duties. In 1000 the Education De- partment, including the Department of Science and Art, was placed under the Board of Educa- tion for England and Wales, consisting of the Lord President of the Council, the principal Secretaries of State, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Consult: Stubbs, Constitutional History of En(/hi)id (Oxford, 1894-97); Smith, Bistori) of the English Parliament (London, 1892) ; Gneist, History of the English Constitution (London, 1891) ; Macpherson, Practice {new ed., ib., 1873) ; Macqueen, Appellate Jurisdiction of the Privy Council (ib., 1842) ; Finlason. The Judicial Com- mittee of the Privy Council (ib., 1878) ; Wheeler, Privy Council Law (ib.. 1893) : Dicey, Privy Co-uncH (new ed., ib., 1887) ; Anson, Law and Custom of the Constitution (Oxford, 1892) ; Acts of the Privii Council, new series, vols. 1-16, ed. by J. R. Dascnt (London. 1890-1901). PRIVY PURSE, Keeper of the. An officer of the royal household in Great Britain cliarged with the payment of the private expenses and charities of the sovereign. PRIVY SEAL. A seal of the British Govern- ment, which formerly was affixed to documents that were afterwards to be authenticated by the great seal, or that were of such minor impor- tance as not to require the great seal. The officer who has custody of the privy seal is called the Lord Privy Seal. As early as the reign of
