Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of illustrations
- List of tables
- Preface
- List of abbreviations
- 1 A man of laws
- 2 An independent learned gentleman
- 3 A government retainer
- 4 Formal politics
- 5 Engagement
- 6 Setbacks
- 7 Resolution
- 8 Pater familias
- 9 Upright intentions
- 10 The King's man
- 11 The practice of patronage
- 12 Cut and thrust
- 13 A servant may serve two masters
- 14 Reform and revolution
- 15 The Speaker speaks
- 16 Lord Endless
- 17 Faithful defender
- 18 Twilight of the State
- Bibliography
- Index
- Plate Section
15 - The Speaker speaks
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 August 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of illustrations
- List of tables
- Preface
- List of abbreviations
- 1 A man of laws
- 2 An independent learned gentleman
- 3 A government retainer
- 4 Formal politics
- 5 Engagement
- 6 Setbacks
- 7 Resolution
- 8 Pater familias
- 9 Upright intentions
- 10 The King's man
- 11 The practice of patronage
- 12 Cut and thrust
- 13 A servant may serve two masters
- 14 Reform and revolution
- 15 The Speaker speaks
- 16 Lord Endless
- 17 Faithful defender
- 18 Twilight of the State
- Bibliography
- Index
- Plate Section
Summary
Eldon's work in the House of Lords was not confined to speeches of an overtly political nature. Among his duties as Lord Chancellor, he presided over debates in the capacity of Speaker. The office of Speaker was concomitant with that of Chancellor, and, if the latter was vacant, the Speakership was held by the Keeper of the Great Seal. Unlike his counterpart in the lower House, there-fore, the Speaker of the House of Lords was named by the government, rather than elected by his colleagues in the legislature. Another crucial distinction between the two Speakers was their attitude towards debate. While the Speaker of the House of Commons did not participate other than in matters of form, his counterpart in the Upper House might do so under certain circumstances. By means of a fiction which enabled a commoner to conduct the business of their lordships' House, the Speaker's seat, known as the Woolsack, was not considered to be part of that place. Therefore, a Speaker confined to the Woolsack by his lack of a title of nobility was obliged to remain silent during debates. If the Speaker were a peer, however, he could ‘enter’ the chamber by vacating the Woolsack and standing some few paces from it, and he performed this manoeuvre when he wished to contribute to proceedings in his personal capacity.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- John Scott, Lord Eldon, 1751–1838The Duty of Loyalty, pp. 271 - 294Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1999