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Philip Yorke, 1st Earl of Hardwicke

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51-509: Philip Yorke, 1st Earl of Hardwicke , PC (1 December 1690 – 6 March 1764) was an English lawyer and politician who served as Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain . He was a close confidant of the Duke of Newcastle , Prime Minister between 1754 and 1756 and 1757 until 1762. A son of Philip Yorke, an attorney , he was born at Dover . Through his mother, Elizabeth, daughter and co-heiress of Richard Gibbon of Rolvenden, Kent , he

102-569: A Jacobite raised Yorke's reputation as a forensic orator; and in 1723, having already become attorney-general, he passed through the House of Commons the bill of pains and penalties against Francis Atterbury . He was excused, on the ground of his personal friendship, from acting for the crown in the impeachment of the Earl of Macclesfield in 1725; he soon found a new patron in the Duke of Newcastle . Lord Hardwicke

153-782: A few institutions in the United Kingdom . The Judicial Committee also hears very occasional appeals from a number of ancient and ecclesiastical courts. These include the Church Commissioners , the Arches Court of Canterbury , the Chancery Court of York , prize courts, the High Court of Chivalry , and the Court of Admiralty of the Cinque Ports . This committee usually consists of members of

204-705: A secretary of state. The Committee, which last met in 1988, is concerned with the design and usage of wafer seals . The Cabinet of the United Kingdom is the executive committee of the Privy Council and the senior decision-making body of British Government . The Judicial Committee serves as the final court of appeal for the Crown Dependencies , the British Overseas Territories , some Commonwealth countries, military sovereign base areas and

255-557: A smaller working committee which evolved into the modern Cabinet . By the end of the English Civil War , the monarchy, House of Lords, and Privy Council had been abolished. The remaining parliamentary chamber , the House of Commons , instituted a Council of State to execute laws and to direct administrative policy. The forty-one members of the Council were elected by the House of Commons;

306-446: Is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom . Its members, known as privy counsellors , are mainly senior politicians who are current or former members of either the House of Commons or the House of Lords . The Privy Council formally advises the sovereign on the exercise of the royal prerogative . The King-in-Council issues executive instruments known as Orders in Council . The Privy Council also holds

357-629: Is also remembered as one of the two authors of the Yorke–Talbot slavery opinion whilst he was a crown law officer in 1729. The opinion was sought to determinate the legality of slavery and Hardwicke (then Philip Yorke) and Charles Talbot opined that it was legal. The opinion was disseminated and relied upon widely. Lord Hardwicke would subsequently endorse the views in the opinion in a judicial capacity in Pearne v Lisle (1749) Amb 75, 27 ER 47. He rendered valuable service to Walpole's government by his support of

408-626: The Cabinet . With the creation of the United Kingdom on 1 January 1801, a single Privy Council was created for Great Britain and Ireland, although the Privy Council of Ireland continued to exist until 1922, when it was abolished upon the creation of the Irish Free State as an independent Dominion outside the United Kingdom, but within the British Empire . The Privy Council of Northern Ireland

459-724: The Duke of Newcastle Yorke entered parliament in 1719 as member for Lewes , and was appointed solicitor-general, with a knighthood , in 1720, although he was then a barrister of only four years standing. Although in his youth he contributed to The Spectator over the signature Philip Homebred, he seems early to have abandoned all care for literature, and he has been reproached by Lord Campbell and others with his neglect of art and letters. On 16 May 1719 he married Margaret, daughter of Charles Cocks (by his wife Mary Cocks, sister of Lord Chancellor Somers ) and widow of William Lygon (who died without issue in 1716), by whom he had five sons and two daughters: In 1739, he purchased Wimpole Hall ,

510-474: The House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975 ). The Crown-in-Council was formerly the supreme appellate court for the entire British Empire , but a number of Commonwealth countries have now abolished the right to such appeals. The Judicial Committee continues to hear appeals from several Commonwealth countries, from British Overseas Territories , Sovereign Base Areas and Crown Dependencies . The Judicial Committee had direct jurisdiction in cases relating to

561-607: The Scotland Act 1998 , the Government of Wales Act 1998 and the Northern Ireland Act 1998 , but this was transferred to the new Supreme Court of the United Kingdom in 2009. The Scottish Universities Committee considers proposed amendments to the statutes of Scotland's four ancient universities . Charles Talbot, 1st Baron Talbot Charles Talbot, 1st Baron Talbot , PC (1685 – 14 February 1737)

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612-905: The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom and senior judges of the Commonwealth of Nations who are Privy Counsellors. Within the United Kingdom, the Judicial Committee hears appeals from ecclesiastical courts , the Admiralty Court of the Cinque Ports, Prize Courts and the Disciplinary Committee of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons , appeals against schemes of the Church Commissioners and appeals under certain Acts of Parliament (e.g.,

663-538: The Yorke–Talbot slavery opinion , as a crown law officer in 1729. The opinion was sought to determinate the legality of slavery: Talbot and Philip Yorke opined that it was legal. The opinion was relied upon widely before the decision of Lord Mansfield in Somersett's Case . Talbot married, in the summer of 1708, Cecil Mathew (d. 1720), daughter of Charles Mathew of Castell y Mynach, Glamorganshire , and granddaughter and heiress of David Jenkins of Hensol. There he built

714-420: The final court of appeal for the entire British Empire (other than for the United Kingdom itself). It continues to hear judicial appeals from some other independent Commonwealth countries , as well as Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories . The Privy Council of the United Kingdom, created on 1 January 1801, was preceded by the Privy Council of Scotland , the Privy Council of England , and

765-506: The woolsack . After the accession of George III Hardwicke opposed the ministry of Lord Bute on the peace with France in 1762, and on the cider tax in the following year. In the Wilkes case Hardwicke condemned general warrants , and also the doctrine that seditious libels published by members of parliament were protected by parliamentary privilege . He died in London on 6 March 1764. In 1736

816-591: The Civil Service (Amendment) Order in Council 1997, permitted the Prime Minister to grant up to three political advisers management authority over some Civil Servants. In the 1960s, the Privy Council made an order to evict an estimated 1,200 to 2,000 inhabitants of the 55-island Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, in preparation for the establishment of a joint United States–United Kingdom military base on

867-472: The Council — which later became the Court of the Star Chamber — was during the 15th century permitted to inflict any punishment except death, without being bound by normal court procedure . During Henry VIII 's reign, the sovereign, on the advice of the Council, was allowed to enact laws by mere proclamation. The legislative pre-eminence of Parliament was not restored until after Henry VIII's death. By 1540

918-788: The Court of Appeal were persuaded by this argument, but in 2007 the Law Lords of the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords found the original decision to be flawed and overturned the ruling by a 3–2 decision, thereby upholding the terms of the Order in Council. As of 2023, negotiations between the Mauritian and UK governments that included the sovereignty of the Chagossians were still ongoing. The Privy Council has committees: The Baronetage Committee

969-500: The King's Bench, under his presidency, delivered the seminal judgment in Middleton v. Crofts 2 Atk 650, which held that canons made in the provincial clergy convocations could not, by themselves, bind the lay faithful. He held the office of Lord Chancellor longer than any of his predecessors, with a single exception. His decisions fixed limits and established principles of Equity . His influence

1020-520: The King-in-Council, although in practice its actual work of hearing and deciding upon cases is carried out day-to-day by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council . The Judicial Committee consists of senior judges appointed as privy counsellors: predominantly justices of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom and senior judges from the Commonwealth . The Privy Council formerly acted as

1071-679: The Lord Protector, subject to Parliament's approval. In 1659, shortly before the restoration of the monarchy , the Protector's Council was abolished. King Charles II restored the Royal Privy Council, but he, like previous Stuart monarchs, chose to rely on a small group of advisers. The formation of the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707 combined the Privy Councils of England and Scotland,

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1122-554: The Privy Council of Great Britain (1708–1800). Its continued existence has been described as "more or less a constitutional and historical accident". The key events in the formation of the modern Privy Council are given below: In Anglo-Saxon England , the Witenagemot was an early equivalent to the Privy Council of England . During the reigns of the Norman monarchs , the English Crown

1173-452: The bill for prohibiting loans to foreign powers (1730), of the increase of the army (1732) and of the Excise Bill (1733). In 1733 Yorke was appointed lord chief justice of the king's bench, with the title of Lord Hardwicke, and was sworn of the privy council; and in 1737 he succeeded Lord Talbot as Lord Chancellor, thus becoming a member of Walpole's cabinet. One of his first official acts

1224-549: The body was headed by Oliver Cromwell , de facto military dictator of the nation. In 1653, however, Cromwell became Lord Protector , and the Council was reduced to between thirteen and twenty-one members, all elected by the Commons. In 1657, the Commons granted Cromwell even greater powers, some of which were reminiscent of those enjoyed by monarchs. The Council became known as the Protector's Privy Council ; its members were appointed by

1275-529: The continent Hardwicke was left at the head of the council of regency; it thus fell to him to concert measures for dealing with the Jacobite rising in 1745. After Culloden he presided at the trial of the Scottish Jacobite peers, his conduct of which, though judicially impartial, was neither dignified nor generous; and he must be held partly responsible for the severity meted out to the rebels, and especially for

1326-880: The dates of bank holidays . The Privy Council formerly had sole power to grant academic degree-awarding powers and the title of university , but following the Higher Education and Research Act 2017 these powers have been transferred to the Office for Students for educational institutions in England. Before the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 the Civil Service was governed by powers of royal prerogative . These powers were usually delegated to ministers by Orders in Council , and were used by Margaret Thatcher to ban GCHQ staff from joining trade unions. Another,

1377-466: The delegated authority to issue Orders of Council, mostly used to regulate certain public institutions. It advises the sovereign on the issuing of royal charters , which are used to grant special status to incorporated bodies, and city or borough status to local authorities. Otherwise, the Privy Council's powers have now been largely replaced by its executive committee, the Cabinet of the United Kingdom . Certain judicial functions are also performed by

1428-516: The executions on obsolete attainders of Charles Radclyffe and (in 1753) of Archibald Cameron of Locheil . He carried out a major reform in 1746 which swept away the feudal power surviving in Scotland in the form of private heritable jurisdictions in the hands of the landed gentry. On the other hand, his legislation in 1748 for disarming the Highlanders and prohibiting the use of the tartan in their dress

1479-418: The following year he established his reputation as an equity lawyer in a case in which Robert Walpole 's family was interested, by an argument displaying profound learning and research concerning the jurisdiction of the chancellor, on lines which he afterwards more fully developed in a celebrated letter to Lord Kames on the distinction between law and equity. Through the Earl of Macclesfield's influence with

1530-732: The greatest country house in Cambridgeshire. He is buried, with many of his descendants, at the St. Andrew Churchyard at Wimpole. Hardwicke was succeeded in the earldom by his eldest son, Philip . His monument was sculpted by Peter Scheemakers . His cousin Sir William Yorke, 1st Baronet had a highly successful career as a judge in Ireland, becoming Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas . The prosecution of Christopher Layer for treason as

1581-541: The largest island in the archipelago, Diego Garcia . In 2000, the High Court of Justice ruled that the inhabitants had a right to return to the archipelago. In 2004, the Privy Council, under Jack Straw 's tenure, overturned the ruling. In 2006, the High Court of Justice found the Privy Council's decision to be unlawful. Justice Kentridge stated that there was no known precedent "for the lawful use of prerogative powers to remove or exclude an entire population of British subjects from their homes and place of birth", and

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1632-457: The latter body coming to an end in 1708. Under King George I , even more power transferred to a small committee of the Council, which began to meet in the absence of the sovereign, communicating its decisions to him after the fact. Thus, the Privy Council, as a whole, ceased to be a body of important confidential advisers to the Sovereign; the role passed to a committee of the Council, now known as

1683-732: The life of Lord Chancellor Hardwicke are voluminous, in the memoirs of the period and in collections of correspondence. See, especially: See also: Privy Council (United Kingdom) King Charles III [REDACTED] William, Prince of Wales [REDACTED] Charles III ( King-in-Council ) [REDACTED] Starmer ministry ( L ) Keir Starmer ( L ) Angela Rayner ( L ) ( King-in-Parliament ) [REDACTED] Charles III [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] The Lord Reed The Lord Hodge Andrew Bailey Monetary Policy Committee The Privy Council (formally His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council )

1734-428: The nineteen-member council had become a new national institution, most probably the creation of Thomas Cromwell , without there being exact definitions of its powers. Though the royal Council retained legislative and judicial responsibilities, it became a primarily administrative body. In 1553 the Council consisted of forty members÷, whereas Henry VII swore over a hundred servants to his council. Sovereigns relied on

1785-501: The post of prime minister , and for reward was created earl of Hardwicke and Viscount Royston; and when in November 1756 the weakness of the ministry and the threatening aspect of foreign affairs compelled Newcastle to resign, Hardwicke retired with him. He played a part in negotiating the coalition between Newcastle and Pitt in 1757, when he accepted a seat in Pitt's cabinet without returning to

1836-445: The power to grant royal assent to legislation, are a form of primary legislation, while orders made under statutory powers are a form of secondary legislation. Orders of Council , distinct from Orders in Council, are issued by members of the Privy Council without requiring the approval of the sovereign. Like Orders in Council, they can be made under statutory powers or royal prerogative. Orders of Council are most commonly used for

1887-566: The proposal to indemnify witnesses against Walpole in one of his finest speeches in May 1742. He exercised a leading influence in the Wilmington Cabinet; and when Wilmington died in August 1743, it was Hardwicke who put forward Henry Pelham for the vacant office against the claims of Pulteney . For many years from this time he was the controlling power in the government. During the king's absences on

1938-513: The regulation of public institutions and regulatory bodies. The sovereign also grants royal charters on the advice of the Privy Council. Charters bestow special status to incorporated bodies ; they are used to grant chartered status to certain professional, educational or charitable bodies, and sometimes also city and borough status to towns. The Privy Council therefore deals with a wide range of matters, which also includes university and livery company statutes, churchyards , coinage and

1989-564: The reputation of a wit; he was a patron of the poet James Thomson , who in The Seasons commemorated a son of his to whom he acted as tutor; Joseph Butler dedicated his famous Analogy to Talbot, as was Upton 's edition of Epictetus . The title he assumed derived from the Hensol estate in Pendoylan , Glamorgan , which came to him through his wife. Talbot is remembered as one of the authors of

2040-417: The storm and declared war against Spain , Hardwicke advocated energetic measures for its conduct; and he tried to keep the peace between Newcastle and Walpole. There is no sufficient ground for Horace Walpole's charge that the fall of Sir Robert was brought about by Hardwicke's treachery. No one was more surprised than himself when he retained the chancellorship in the following administration, and he resisted

2091-448: The supreme legislature of the kingdom. Nevertheless, the Council retained the power to hear legal disputes, either in the first instance or on appeal. Furthermore, laws made by the sovereign on the advice of the Council, rather than on the advice of Parliament, were accepted as valid. Powerful sovereigns often used the body to circumvent the Courts and Parliament. For example, a committee of

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2142-422: Was called to the bar , where his progress was, says Lord Campbell , more rapid than that of any other debutant in the annals of our profession, his advancement being greatly furthered by the patronage of Thomas Parker, 1st Earl of Macclesfield , who became Lord Chancellor in 1718, when Yorke transferred his practice from the king's bench to the court of chancery, though he continued to go on the western circuit. In

2193-407: Was a British lawyer and politician. He was Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain from 1733 to 1737. Talbot was the eldest son of Rt. Rev. William Talbot , Bishop of Durham , a descendant of the 1st Earl of Shrewsbury , and Catherine King. He was educated at Eton and Oriel College, Oxford , and became a fellow of All Souls College in 1704. He was called to the bar in 1711, and in 1717

2244-400: Was advised by a royal court or curia regis , which consisted of magnates , ecclesiastics and high officials . The body originally concerned itself with advising the sovereign on legislation, administration and justice. Later, different bodies assuming distinct functions evolved from the court. The courts of law took over the business of dispensing justice , while Parliament became

2295-548: Was appointed solicitor general to the prince of Wales . Having been elected a member of the House of Commons in 1720, he became Solicitor General in 1726, and in 1733 he was made Lord Chancellor and raised to the peerage with the title of Lord Talbot , Baron of Hensol, in the County of Glamorgan. Talbot proved himself a capable equity judge during the three years of his occupancy of the Woolsack . Among his contemporaries he enjoyed

2346-571: Was connected with the family of Edward Gibbon the historian. He was educated at a school in Bethnal Green run by Samuel Morland , a nonconformist. At age 16, Yorke entered the attorney's office of Charles Salkeld in Holborn , London. He was entered at the Middle Temple in November 1708, and perhaps recommended by his employer to Lord Chief Justice Parker as law tutor to his sons. In 1715, Yorke

2397-477: Was created in 1922, but became defunct in 1972, when the Parliament of Northern Ireland was closed down. The sovereign may make Orders in Council upon the advice of the Privy Council. Orders in Council, which are drafted by the government rather than by the sovereign, are forms of either primary or secondary legislation , depending on the power they are made under. Orders made under prerogative powers, such as

2448-635: Was established by a 1910 Order in Council, during Edward VII 's reign, to scrutinise all succession claims (and thus reject doubtful ones) to be placed on the Roll of Baronets . The Committee for the Affairs of Jersey and Guernsey recommends approval of Channel Islands legislation. The Committee for the purposes of the Crown Office Act 1877 consists of the Lord Chancellor and Lord Privy Seal as well as

2499-478: Was powerful in obliterating the traditions of the judicial bench under the Stuart monarchy, and in establishing the modern conception of the duties and demeanour of English judges. While still at the bar Lord Chesterfield praised his conduct of crown prosecutions as a contrast to the former bloodhounds of the crown; and he described Sir Philip Yorke as naturally humane, moderate and decent. The contemporary authorities for

2550-514: Was to deprive the poet James Thomson of a small office conferred on him by Talbot. Hardwicke's political importance was greatly increased by his move to the House of Lords , where the incompetency of Newcastle threw on the chancellor the duty of defending the measures of the government. He resisted Carteret 's motion to reduce the army in 1738, and the resolutions hostile to Spain over the affair of Captain Jenkins 's ears. But when Walpole bent before

2601-404: Was vexatious without being effective. Hardwicke supported Chesterfield 's reform of the calendar in 1751; in 1753 his bill for legalizing the naturalization of Jews in England had to be dropped on account of the popular clamour it excited; but he successfully carried a Marriage Act which became the basis of subsequent legislation. On the death of Pelham in 1754 Hardwicke obtained for Newcastle

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