“ At no period could a king of England act, according to law, without advice in the public concerns of the kingdom; the institutions of the crown of England and the institution of the privy council are coeval. At the Norman Conquest the king’s council, or as it is now called, the privy council, was composed of certain members of the aristocracy and great officers of state, specially summoned by the crown, with whom the sovereign usually advised in matters of state and government. ”

“ It is now also distinctly understood that the members of a cabinet are jointly and severally responsible for each other’s acts, and that any attempt to distinguish between a particular minister and his colleagues in such matters is unconstitutional.
During the 19th century the power of ministers was greatly extended, and their duties became more distinctly marked out. As now interpreted, the leading principles of the British constitution are the personal irresponsibility of the sovereign, the responsibility of ministers, and the inquisitorial and controlling power of parliament. ”

“ The public authority of the crown being only exercised through the medium of ministers, it became absolutely necessary that the advisers of the sovereign, who were responsible for every public act of the Crown as well as for the general policy they had been called upon to administer, should have seats in both Houses of Parliament. Still nearly a century had to elapse before political unanimity in the cabinet was recognized as a political maxim. ”