10 - The King's man

Summary

In the spring of 1801 Eldon changed his professional situation for the second time in two years, when he left the Common Pleas to become Lord Chancellor of England. His interlude of relative ease and independence was over, and he took up again the combined burden of professional and political duty, but with a responsibility more onerous than he had heretofore borne. The office of Chancellor was of medieval origin, and the first incumbents acted as royal secretaries. Over the centuries, however, the Chancellor had assumed a range of important functions. Professionally, he was the senior lawyer in the land, presiding in the court of Chancery. Politically, he was a privy councillor and member of the Cabinet, bringing legal and political expertise to bear on the problems of government. He was also a courtier of sorts, his particular role as keeper of the Great Seal affording him access to the sovereign whenever legislation required the royal assent. As a parliamentarian his was a guiding authority, moderating debates and litigation as Speaker of the House of Lords. The workload of the Lord Chancellor, consequently, was very considerable, but the potential conflicts of loyalty were more debilitating. He was obliged to balance the demands of his court against the time spent on political matters, his ties to ministers against his obligations to the sovereign, and his duties to the government with those to Parliament.