Privy Council Ministry

The Privy Council Ministry was a short-lived reorganization of English government that was reformed to place the Ministry under the control of the Privy Council^[1] in April 1679, due to events in that time.

Formation

It followed years of widespread discontent with government, which had been consistently autocratic and clandestine since the Restoration and was now mired in conflict between Parliament and King Charles.^[2] Sir William Temple, England's foremost diplomat and greatly respected both at home and abroad, was recalled at the beginning of 1679 and became the King's closest advisor. Elections to the House of Commons returned a majority for the opponents of the government, the Earl of Danby was forced from office and Temple led the formation of a new ministry, aiming to reconcile the conflicting factions of the day.

Temple believed the King should not exercise absolute power but was also uncomfortable with the increasing prominence of Parliament.^[3] He sought to create a less divisive body that could carry popular support without trying to dictate to the King. He proposed that the King should no longer be advised by any one individual or by a select committee of the Privy Council, but by a reformed Council as a whole. The new Council would have thirty members, rather than fifty: Fifteen would hold paid high office in government, the Church or the Judiciary; fifteen would be independent, representing the Parliamentary factions and chosen for their wealth (which Temple felt was the source of power).^[2] The King would give full consideration to the opinions of the Council, which would be free to discuss and vote on all matters. The King duly dismissed the existing Council; news of this, and that the new government would include members of the country party and the King's popular, illegitimate son, Monmouth, was widely welcomed. However, Charles took against the scheme when Temple insisted on the inclusion of Viscount Halifax, whom he disliked personally. He agreed but insisted, to Temple's alarm, that the Earl of Shaftesbury, the government's most vociferous critic, should also be included. This sabotaged Temple's Council, ensuring irreconcilable division.

First meeting of the Council, and its collapse

The new Council met on 21 April. Within hours, it had been subverted as a group of nine conflicting members took a lead in the conduct of business; Temple reacted angrily, almost leaving the Council then consenting to form a group of four (with Halifax, Essex and Sunderland) to advise the King in secret.^[1] The four worked well together, but the full Council was sharply divided. Shaftesbury now effectively led the opposition from within the government itself, with the support of a majority in the Commons. In the face of the Exclusion Bill, the King prorogued and then dissolved Parliament without the Council's approval. Temple withdrew from active participation, leaving Halifax, Essex and Sunderland to exercise power as a Triumvirate, and a thirty-first Councillor was appointed. When the King fell ill and his brother's return from the Dutch Republic caused alarm in the country, Temple expressed his concerns to the Triumvirate, but was no longer taken seriously. Elections for the new Parliament returned another opposition majority, and the King prorogued it before it met, again in spite of the Council. ^[4]Shaftesbury was discharged from office and other leading critics of the government resigned. Temple's experiment ended with the rise of Laurence Hyde, a strong supporter of the King, in November.^[1]

The Ministry

OFFICE	NAME	TERM
None	Sir William Temple	Throughout
First Lord of the Treasury Commission	The Earl of Essex	Throughout
Northern Secretary	The Earl of Sunderland	Throughout
None	The Viscount Halifax	Throughout
Lord Chancellor	The Lord Finch	Throughout
Lord President	The Earl of Shaftesbury	To October
	The Lord Robartes	From October
Lord Privy Seal	The Earl of Anglesey	Throughout
Lord Chamberlain	The Earl of Arlington	Throughout
Southern Secretary	Henry Coventry	Throughout
Secretary of State for Scotland	The Duke of Lauderdale	Throughout
Chancellor of the Exchequer	Sir John Ernley	Throughout
Master-General of the Ordnance	Sir Thomas Chicheley	Throughout
First Lord of the Admiralty	Sir Henry Capell	Throughout
Chief-Justice of the Common Pleas	Sir Francis North	Throughout
Lord President of Wales	The Marquess of Worcester	Throughout
Archbishop of Canterbury	William Sancroft	Throughout
Bishop of London	Henry Compton	Throughout
None	Sir Edward Seymour	Throughout
None	Henry Powle	Throughout
None	The Lord Robartes	To October
None	The Lord Russell	Throughout
None	The Lord Cavendish of Hardwick	Throughout
None	The Earl of Bath	Throughout
None	The Earl of Salisbury	Throughout
None	The Earl of Bridgwater	Throughout
None	The Duke of Albemarle	Throughout
None	The Duke of Monmouth	Throughout
None	The Marquess of Winchester	Throughout
None	The Viscount Fauconberg	Throughout
None	The Duke of Newcastle	Throughout
None	The Lord Holles	From June

Ministers not in the Privy Council

OFFICE	NAME	TERM
Paymaster of the Forces	Sir Stephen Fox	Throughout

References

1. The governments of Europe. Frederic Austin Ogg. Published by Macmillan, 1913.
2. Major European Governments. Perley Orman Ray. Published by Ginn and company, 1931. OCLC: 2842078
3. Henry Russell Spencer, Government and Politics Abroad, published by H. Holt and company, 1936
4. Outline of Central Government: Including the Judicial System of England. John Joseph Clarke. Published by Pitman, 1958.