View source for Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Board of Admiralty

The '''Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Board of Admiralty''' was a ''de facto'' political member of the [[Board of Admiralty]].  The position was normally filled by a Member of Parliament who, although not a member of the Board, served as the second to the [[First Lord of the Admiralty]] in Parliament instead of the second political member of the Board, the [[Civil Lord of the Admiralty|Civil Lord]].
==History==
Sir Thomas Baring, Bart. (later Lord Northbrook), First Lord from 1849 to 1852, told the Commons Select Committee on Official Salaries in 1850 that:

<blockquote>When the First Lord is in the House of Lords, the Secretary takes a good deal of the Estimate business; when the First Lord is in the House of Commons, the Secretary is in constant communication with the First Lord, and does a great deal of that duty; but he has not that entire superintendence of of it which he has when he represents the department in the House of Commons.<ref>''Report from the Select Committee on Official Salaries''.  1850.  H.C. 611.pp. 262-263.</ref></blockquote>

By the provisions of the [[Order in Council of 14 January, 1869]], the duties of the Parliamentary Secretary were broadly defined as:

<blockquote>The Parliamentary Secretary to be responsible to the First Lord of the Admiralty for the "Finance" of the Department, and the [[Civil Lord of the Admiralty|Civil Lord]] to act as an Assistant to the Secretary.</blockquote>

Under the provisions of the [[Order in Council of 19 March, 1872]], the duties of the Parliamentary Secretary were:

<blockquote>The Parliamentary Secretary to be responsible to the First Lord for the Finance of the Department, and for so much of the other business of the Admiralty as may be assigned to him.</blockquote>

On 8 February, 1917, it was announced that the [[Victor Alexander George Robert Bulwer-Lytton, Second Earl of Lytton|Earl of Lytton]] had been appointed Additional Parliamentary Secretary to the Board in the House of Lords.<ref>''The Times''.  8 February, 1917.  p. 9.</ref>  He first attended a meeting of the Board on 19 February.<ref>"Board Minutes.  Monday, 19th February, 1917."  {{TNA|ADM 167/51.}}</ref>

The office of Parliamentary and Financial Secretary was abolished in 1959 in favour of retaining the post of Civil Lord on the disingenuous grounds that, "The position of Civil Lord on the board goes back more than 250 years, while a Parliamentary and Financial Secretary was first appointed in this century."<ref>"Reasons for changes in Admiralty posts."  ''The Times''.  21 October, 1959.  p. 7.</ref>

==Duties==
{| class="collapsible wikitable collapsed" style="width: 50%"
! 21 June, 1844.<ref>"Precis of the Division & General Mode of Conducting the Business of the Admiralty at Whitehall."  Dated 21 June, 1844.  {{TNA|ADM 1/5543.}}.</ref>
|-
| The Principal Secretary chiefly directs his attention to all matters of a Political, Parliamentary, & Financial Character.
|}

{| class="collapsible wikitable collapsed" style="width: 50%"
! 7 July, 1885.<ref>''Distribution of Business Between the Various Members of the Board of Admiralty Showing the Successive Changes Made Between 1885 and the Present Time''. C.&mdash;6199. Copy in Greene Papers. National Maritime Museum. GEE/2. p. 7.</ref>
|-
| 1. Finance.
|-
| 2. Estimates.
|-
| 3. Expenditure generally.
|-
| 4. Accounts.
|-
| 5. Purchases and sales of Naval and Victualling stores.
|}

{| class="collapsible wikitable collapsed" style="width: 50%"
! December, 1888.<ref>''Distribution of Business Between the Various Members of the Board of Admiralty Showing the Successive Changes Made Between 1885 and the Present Time''. C.&mdash;6199. Copy in Greene Papers. National Maritime Museum. GEE/2. p. 7.</ref>
|-
| 1. Finance.
|-
| 2. Estimates.
|-
| 3. Expenditure generally.
|-
| 4. All proposals for new and unusual Expenditure.
|-
| 5. Accounts&mdash;Cash, Store, and Dockyard Expense.
|-
| 6. Purchase and Sale of Ships.
|-
| 7. Purchase and Sale of Stores generally.
|-
| 8. Payment of Hire of Ships as Armed Cruisers, Troop Ships, Colliers, Freight Ships, &c.
|-
| 9. All questions involving reference to the Treasury financially.
|-
| 10. Exchequer and Audit Department&mdash;Questions with.
|}

{| class="collapsible wikitable collapsed" style="width: 50%"
! 1 January, 1904.<ref>''Statement Showing Present Distribution of Business Between the Various Members of the Board of Admiralty, Dated 20th October 1904; and that which it Superseded, Dated 1st January, 1904''. Cd. 2417. p. 6.</ref>
|-
| 1.&mdash;Finance.
|-
| 2.&mdash;Estimates.
|-
| 3.&mdash;Expenditure generally.
|-
| 4.&mdash;All proposals for new and unusual Expenditure.
|-
| 5.&mdash;Accounts&mdash;Cash, Store and Dockyard Expense.
|-
| 6.&mdash;Purchase and Sale of Ships.
|-
| 7.&mdash;Purchase and Sale of Stores generally.
|-
| 8.&mdash;Payment of Hire of Ships as Armed Merchant Cruisers, Troop Ships, Colliers, Freight Ships, &c.
|-
| 9.&mdash;Questions involving reference to the Treasury financially, except as provided for in the Note under C<small>IVIL</small> L<small>ORD</small>.
|-
| 10.&mdash;Exchequer and Audit Department&mdash;Questions connected with.
|}

{| class="collapsible wikitable collapsed" style="width: 50%"
! 20 October.<ref>''Statement Showing Present Distribution of Business Between the Various Members of the Board of Admiralty, Dated 20th October 1904; and that which it Superseded, Dated 1st January, 1904''. Cd. 2417. p. 6.</ref>
|-
| 1.&mdash;Finance, Estimates and Expenditure generally, and all proposals for new and unusual Expenditure.
|-
| 2.&mdash;Accounts&mdash;Cash, Store, and Dockyard Expense.
|-
| 3.&mdash;Purchase and Sale of Ships, and of Stores generally.
|-
| 4.&mdash;Payment of Hire of Ships as Armed Merchant Cruisers, Troop Ships, Colliers, Freight Ships, &c.
|-
| 5.&mdash;Questions involving reference to the Treasury financially, except as provided for under ''Civil Lord''.
|-
| 6.&mdash;Exchequer and Audit Department&mdash;Questions connected with.
|}

{| class="collapsible wikitable collapsed" style="width: 50%"
! 27 September, 1912.<ref>"The Board of Admiralty.  Distribution of Business."  Copy in Greene Papers.  National Maritime Museum.  GEE/2.</ref>
|-
| 1.  Finance, Estimates and Expenditure generally, and all proposals for new and unusual Expenditure.
|-
| 2.  Accounts&mdash;Cash, Store, and Dockyard Expense.
|-
| 3.  Purchase and Sale of Ships, and of Stores generally.
|-
| 4.  Payment of Hire of Ships as Armed Merchant Cruisers, Troop Ships, Colliers, Freight Ships, &c.
|-
| 5.  Questions involving reference to the Treasury financially, except the less important Works questions dealt with finally by the ''Civil Lord''.
|-
| 6.  Exchequer and Audit Department&mdash;Questions connected with.
|-
| 7.  General Labour Questions, including Annual Petitions.
|}

{| class="collapsible wikitable collapsed" style="width: 50%"
! 27 June, 1917.<ref>"The Board of Admiralty.  Distribution of Business."  Copy in Greene Papers.  National Maritime Museum.  GEE/2.</ref>
|-
| Finance, Estimates and Expenditure and Accounts, and proposals for new and unusual Expenditure generally.
|-
| Contract business except as dealt with by the ''Controller''.
|-
| Sale of Ships and Stores.
|-
| Payment of Hire of Ships.
|-
| Questions involving reference to the Treasury financially, except the less important Works questions dealt with finally by the ''Civil Lord''.
|-
| Exchequer and Audit Department&mdash;Questions connected with.
|-
| General Labour Questions, including Annual Petitions.  (See Note under ''Controller''.)
|}

==Parliamentary and Financial Secretaries to the Board of Admiralty==
Dates of appointment given:

*[[Henry Thomas Lowry Corry|The Right Hon. Henry T. L. Lowry Corry]], M.P., 9 March, 1858.
*{{ViceRN}} [[Lord Clarence Edward Paget|The Right Hon. Lord Clarence Paget]], M.P., 30 June, 1859.
*[[Thomas George Baring, First Earl of Northbrook|The Hon. Thomas G. Baring]], M.P., 30 April, 1866.
*[[Lord Henry George Charles Gordon-Lennox|The Right Hon. Lord Henry G. C. Lennox]], M.P., 16 July, 1866.
*[[William Edward Baxter|The Hon. William E. Baxter]], M.P., 18 December, 1868.
*[[George John Shaw-Lefevre, First Baron Eversley|The Hon. George J. Shaw-Lefevre]], 17 March, 1871.
*[[Algernon Fulke Egerton|The Hon. Algernon Fulke Egerton]], M.P., 6 March, 1874.
*The Hon. George J. Shaw-Lefevre, M.P., 15 May, 1880.
*[[George Otto Trevelyan, Second Baronet|The Hon. George O. Trevelyan]], M.P., 1 December, 1880.
*[[Henry Campbell-Bannerman|The Honourable Henry Campbell-Bannerman]], M.P., 13 May, 1882.
*[[Thomas Brassey, First Earl Brassey|The Hon. Sir Thomas Brassey]], M.P., 20 November, 1884.
*[[Charles Thomson Ritchie, First Baron Ritchie|The Hon. Charles T. Ritchie]], M.P., 3 July, 1885.
*[[John Tomlinson Hibbert|The Right Hon. John T. Hibbert]], M.P., 17 February, 1886.
*[[Arthur Bower Forwood, First Baronet|The Right Hon. Arthur B. Forwood]], M.P., 6 August, 1886.
*[[Ughtred James Kay-Shuttleworth, First Baron Shuttleworth|The Right Hon. Sir Ughtred James Kay-Shuttleworth, Bart.]], M.P., 24 August, 1892.
*[[William Grey Ellison-Macartney|The Hon. William G. Ellison-Macartney]], M.P., 4 July, 1895.
*[[Hugh Oakeley Arnold-Forster|The Hon. Hugh O. Arnold-Forster]], M.P., 20 December, 1900.
*[[Ernest George Pretyman|The Hon. Ernest G. Pretyman]], M.P., 13 October, 1903.
*[[Edmund Robertson, First Baron Lochee|The Right Hon. Edmund Robertson]], K.C., M.P., 21 December, 1905. 
*[[Thomas James Macnamara|The Right Hon. Thomas J. Macnamara]], L.L.D., M.P., 16 April, 1908.

==Additional Parliamentary Secretary==
*[[Victor Alexander George Robert Bulwer-Lytton, Second Earl of Lytton|The Right Honourable The Earl of Lytton]], February, 1917.<ref>''The Naval Staff of the Admiralty''.  p. 126.</ref>

==Footnotes==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin}}

{{refend}}


{{Template:Board of Admiralty}}

[[Category:Parliamentary and Financial Secretaries to the Board of Admiralty|*]]