“ That is almost the only act which is the personal act of the sovereign; it is for the sovereign to determine in whom her confidence shall be placed.” Yet this selection by the Crown is practically limited. No prime minister could carry on the government of the country for any length of time who did not possess the confidence of the House of Commons. The prime minister has no salary as prime minister, but he usually holds the premiership in connexion with the first lordship of the treasury, the chancellorship of the exchequer, a secretaryship of state or the privy seal. ”