GREAT SEAL OF EMPIRE

Evening Star, Issue 22687, 29 June 1937, Page 12

GREAT SEAL OF EMPIRE

THE SYMBOL OF SUPREME POWER The Realm of England is to have a ney key fitted to its lock. In other words, because we have a new king, a new Great Seal of Empire must be made, says B. R. Yarham, F.R.G.S., in ‘ Great Thoughts.’ As a general rule we hear little about tho Great Seal, but its power is immense. For the King, Parliament and the Cabinet are all powerless without it. So at the present time Sir William Goscomhe John, R.A., the eminent sculptor, is busily designing the new Great Seal of George VI. The task is a long one, requiring several months. As a matter of fact, the seal for King Edward VIII. was not completed, although plans for it were well advanced. To tide over the difficulty a special Royal Warrant has been issued authorising the continued use of the Great Seal of King George V. The Great Seal is so tremendously important that it is often referred to as the “ Key of the Realm,” and the Lord Chancellor, into whose charge it is given, was in times past known as the “ Keeper of the King’s Conscience.” The reason is that the Great Seal is the symbol of the supreme power of the Throne, and it is attached to ottiy the most important documents affecting the interests of Great Britain and the Empire. As one authority has said of it, “the affixing of the Great Seal renders valid and irrevocable—save by the consent of the three estates of the realm —every document which bears it.”

Knowing its tremendous importance, rogues have tried to steal it, and once some succeeded. One Great Seal was hurled into the Thames, and another, it is believed, into the Severn; one was buried up in some flower beds and lost for a time; and yet another was shattered by a blacksmith at the Bar of the House. The Great Seal is used on such important occasion as the dissolution or summoning of Parliament, when it is fixed to the Proclamations issued on authority of His Majesty. Other State documents which bear it are such things as charters of incorporation, treaties with foreign, powers, credentials to ambassadors, patents of nobility, and appointments of Colonial Governors. If the document, such as a charter or treaty, is of a permanent character, green is the colour of the sealing wax used; red or yellow is employed in such cases as appointments to office, which are not so long lasting. The seal is affixed not directly to the document, but to a silken cord. As might be expected, the strictest watch is maintained over the Great Seal. To-day it is kept in a strongroom of the House of Lords, but at one time it was in the personal charge of the Lord Chancellor, and even to-day he is, in a way, responsible for its safe keeping. It is on record that more than one Lord Chancellor —Lord Nottingham among them —nervous of the safety of the Great Seal, slept with it beneath their pillows in order to ensure that no harm came to it.

Usually there is only one Great Seal made during an average reign, but if the Sovereign lives for an unusually long time a new one is sometimes necessary. During Victoria’s reign three new ones were made. Sometimes changes in the Empire necessitate alteration in design. Such happened about 15 years ago, with the creation of the Irish Free State, and with the consequent alteration in the titles of King George V. a new seal had to be made. , When a new Great Seal is ordered there is much old-time ceremony associated with the bringing into use of the new seal and rendering the old one invalid. After the new seal has been made the authorities at the Mint send it to the King. Next the Lord Chancellor is informed that the King has the new Great Seal. He takes the old one to Buckingham Palace and hands the two halves to the King, who defaces the soft metal with three taps of a hammer. The Lord Chancellor then receives the new seal and the old one becomes his personal property. There must be quite a number of these old seals in the families of former Lord Chancellors.

A minor heirloom of the Lord Chancellor is the gorgeous purse, with its velvet and gold and silver embroideries, which symbolises the_ presence of the Great Seal. At one time it was always kept in this and taken wherever the Lord Chancellor went. The custom now is for the Great Seal to be kept in the purse in the House of Lords when not in use. At one time a new purse was supplied each year. Now a new one is given every three years. The Lord Chancellor has the old purse, and when the annual custom appertained, one Lord Chancellor had no fewer than 20 purses, while the wives of two other Chancellors had so many in their houses they made them up into sumptuous curtains for their four-poster beds. When the Lord Chancellor goes in procession the magnificent purse is always taken as well, as a sign of his high oflice. But to-dav the purse is borne empty, for the Great Seal is safely locked, away, and only on the day of the opening' of Parliament does it contain anything. Then it carries to the steps of the Throne the signed copy of the King’s speech. The Great Seal is impressive in size. It is 3in across, and opens into two, so that the wax can take the impression of each side. The seal is about a quarter of an inch thick.