ABSTRACT
A T T H E F O R E IG N O FFIC E-T H E A M ERICAN W AR, 1812-1814
W ho was to succeed Spencer Perceval? Lord Liver pool acted temporarily as the convener o f his colleagues, but although he is reported by Speaker A bbott as speaking (21 May) o f ‘his ow n new situation (as First Lord o f the Treasury)’, ministers were, in fact, only holding their offices ad interim. The Prime M inister is the ‘keystone’ o f the Cabinet arch, his removal by resignation o r death destroys the arch, and his late colleagues ipso facto lose any corporate capacity which conventionally, though not legally, attaches to a ‘Cabinet’.
