im for himself final, or
preponderating, or even independent power, in any one department of the
State. The ideas and practice of the time of George III, whose will in
certain matters limited the action of the Ministers, cannot be revived,
otherwise than by what would be, on their part, nothing less than a base
compliance, a shameful subserviency, dangerous to the public weal, and
in the highest degree disloyal to the dynasty. Because, in every free
State, for every public act, some one must be responsible; and the
question is, Who shall it be? The British Constitution answers: The
Minister, and the Minister exclusively. That he may be responsible, all
action must be fully shared by him. Sole action, for the Sovereign,
would mean undefended, unprotected action; the armor of irresponsibility
would not cover the whole body against sword or spear; a head would
project beyond the awning, and would invite a sunstroke.

The reader, then, will clearly see that there is no distinction more
vital to the practice of the British Constitution, or to a right
judgment upon it, than the distinction between the Sovereign and the
Crown. The Crown has large prerogatives, endless functions essential to
the daily action, and even the life, of the State. To place them in the
hands of persons who should be mere tools in a Royal will, would expose
those powers to constant unsupported collision with the living forces of
the nation, and to a certain and irremediable crash. They are therefore
entrusted to men, who must be prepared to answer for the use they make
of them. This ring of responsible Ministerial agency forms a fence
around the person of the Sovereign, which has thus far proved
impregnable to all assaults. The august personage, who from time to time
may rest within it, and who may possess the art of turning to the best
account the countless resources of the position, is no dumb and
senseless idol; but, together with real and very large means of
influence upon policy, enjoys the undivided reverence which a great
people feels for its head; and is likewise the first and by far the
weightiest among the forces, which greatly mould, by example and
legitimate authority, the manners, nay the morals, of a powerful
aristocracy and a wealthy and highly trained society. The social
influence of a Sovereign, even if it stood alone, would be an enormous
attribute. The English people are not believers in equality; they do
not, with the famous Declara