CHAP. 1. The Crown 141
The Sovereign is still the personification of the State, and has The
always enjoyed by prescription, custom and law the chief place in
Parliament and the sole executive power. The Act of ^Settlement
affirmed the laws of England to be the birthright of the people and
thai^L'all the Kings and Queens who shall ascend the throne of this
realm ought to administer the government . . . according to the
said laws; and their officers and Ministers ought to serve them respec-
tively according to the same.'l Parliament is summoned and dissolved
by the Queen; the powers of Ministers are exercised for and on
behalf of Her Majesty; the courts are the Queen's courts. The term,
prerogative, is sometimes used to include both the common law
and the statutory powers of the Crown. It is, however, preferable to
confine it to common law powers. It is also sometimes used in the
sense, that is now perhaps archaic, of certain of those attributes of
the Sovereign which result from the headship of the State. Thus the
term, prerogative of perfection, is used of the rule that the Crown
can do no wrong; prerogative of perpetuity, of the rule that the suc-
cession of one Sovereign is simultaneous with the death of his pre-
decessor.ltrhe living meaning of the prerogative to-day is, however^
that group of powers of the Crown not conferred by statute but- \
regoggisg^X-the common law as belonging to the Crown.^
The prerogative powers of the Crown are with very rare z excep- The Exercise
tions to-day exercised by the Government of the day. For their
exercise, just as for the exercise of statutory powers, Ministers are re-
sponsible to Parliament and may be asked questions relating to those
public duties for which the Sovereign is responsible, provided that
the duties fall within the province of the particular Minister. To this
there are some exceptions and in particular a question with regard
to the exercise of the prprogativ? of mercy in capital sentences is not
in order J&JFor the exercise of a prerogative power the prior authority of
Parliament is not required^ ^Thus, to take but one example, the Crown
may grant a new constitution to a colony which has no representative
legislature without first consulting or even informing Parliament.
Parliament may criticise Ministers for the consequences which result
from the exercise of prerogative; Parliament too may abolish or
curtail the prerogative by statute; 2 but in regard to the exercjsej?|
tJ3ife..pi:^Q^:^yg JM WQ£n1 has no right to fe cbnsuTteH^rj. ady&jp^.
Certain prerogative powerTcoufcfoft be exercised if the
Government were assured of parliamentary support. The Crown
may declare war, but no Government could take the risk of declar-
ing war without being assured of popular support, and Parliament
alone can vote supplies to enable war to be waged. Although the
contents of the prerogative depend largely upon historical causes,
1 E.g. the choice of a Prime Minister; see p. 63, ante.
s P. 145, post.