LORD HIGH TREASURER, in England, once the third great officer of state. The office was of Norman origin and dated from 1216. The duty of the treasurer originally was to act as keeper of the royal treasure at Winchester, while as officer of the exchequer he sat at Westminster to receive the accounts of the sheriffs, and appoint officers to collect the revenue. The treasurer was subordinate to both the justiciar and the chancellor, but the removal of the chancery from the exchequer in the reign of Richard I., and the abolition of the office of justiciars in the reign of Henry III., increased his importance. Indeed, from the middle of the reign of Henry III. he became one of the chief officers of the crown. He took an important part in the equitable jurisdiction of the exchequer, and was now styled not merely king’s treasurer or treasurer of the exchequer, but lord high treasurer and treasurer of the exchequer. The first office was conferred by delivery of a white staff, the second by patent. Near the end of the 16th century he had developed into an official so occupied with the general policy of the country as to be prevented from supervising personally the details of the department, and Lord Burleigh employed a secretary for this purpose. On the death of Lord Salisbury in 1612 the office was put in commission; it was filled from time to time until 1714, when the duke of Shrewsbury resigned it; since that time it has always been in commission (see [Treasury]). The Scottish treasury was merged with the English by the Act of Union, but the office of lord high treasurer for Ireland was continued until 1816.
LORD HOWE, an island of the southern Pacific Ocean, lying about 31° 36′ S., 159° 5′ E., 520 m. E.N.E. of Sydney. Pop. 120. It was discovered in 1778 by Lieutenant Ball (whose name is commemorated in the adjacent islet of Ball’s Pyramid), and is a dependency of New South Wales. It measures about 5½ m. by 1 m., and is well wooded and hilly (reaching a height of 2840 ft. at the southern end), being of volcanic formation, while there are coral reefs on the western shore. It has a pleasant climate. The name Lord Howe is given also to an islet of the Santa Cruz group, and to two islands, also known under other names—Mopiha, of the Society group, and Ongtong Java of the Solomon Islands.
LORD JUSTICE CLERK, in Scotland, a judge next in rank to the lord justice-general. He presides in the second division of the court of session, and in the absence of the lord justice-general, presides in the court of justiciary. The justice clerk was originally not a judge at all, but simply clerk and legal assessor of the justice court. In course of time he was raised from the clerk’s table to the bench, and by custom presided over the court in the absence of the justice-general. Up to 1672 his position was somewhat anomalous, as it was doubtful whether he was a clerk or a judge, but an act of that year, which suppressed the office of justice-depute, confirmed his position as a judge, forming him, with the justice-general and five of the lords of session into the court of justiciary. The lord justice clerk is also one of the officers of state for Scotland, and one of the commissioners for keeping the Scottish Regalia. His salary is £4800 a year.
LORD JUSTICE-GENERAL, the highest judge in Scotland, head of the court of justiciary, called also the lord president, and as such head of the court of session and representative of the sovereign. The office of justice-general was for a considerable time a sinecure post held by one of the Scottish nobility, but by the Court of Session Act 1830, it was enacted that, at the termination of the existing interest, the office should be united with that of lord president of the court of session, who then became presiding judge of the court of justiciary. The salary is £5000 a year.
LORD KEEPER OF THE GREAT SEAL, in England, formerly a great officer of state. The Great Seal of England, which is affixed on all solemn occasions to documents expressing the pleasure of the sovereign, was first adopted by Edward the Confessor (see [Seals]), and entrusted to a chancellor for keeping. The office of chancellor from the time of Becket onwards varied much in importance; the holder being an ecclesiastic, he was not only engaged in the business of his diocese, but sometimes was away from England. Consequently, it became not unusual to place the personal custody of the great seal in the hands of a vice-chancellor or keeper; this, too, was the practice followed during a temporary vacancy in the chancellorship. This office gradually developed into a permanent appointment, and the lord keeper acquired the right of discharging all the duties connected with the great seal. He was usually, though not necessarily, a peer, and held office during the king’s pleasure, he was appointed merely by delivery of the seal, and not, like the chancellor, by patent. His status was definitely fixed (in the case of lord keeper Sir Nicholas Bacon) by an act of Elizabeth, which declared him entitled to “like place, pre-eminence, jurisdiction, execution of laws, and all other customs, commodities, and advantages” as the lord chancellor. In subsequent reigns the lord keeper was generally raised to the chancellorship, and retained the custody of the seal. The last lord keeper was Sir Robert Henley (afterwards Lord Northington), who was made chancellor on the accession of George III.