Treasury, the central department of the British executive government. After the Norman Conquest a separate board was appointed for revenue matters on the model of the Exchequer of Normandy, and a royal treasurer was appointed. Odo, Earl of Kent and Bishop of Bayeux, was the first holder of the office, and the early treasurers were for the most part churchmen. The office was sometimes held along with that of Justiciar. The Lord High Treasurer was one of the great officers of state. So great was his political influence that James I. in 1612 thought it prudent to put the office into commission—i.e. to entrust it to a board of Lords Commissioners; since the death of Queen Anne no Lord High Treasurer has been appointed; the office has been always in commission. Similar offices existed in Scotland and Ireland. The Treasury Board now consists of four Lords Commissioners and the 'Chancellor of the Exchequer,' an officer originally appointed to check the accounts of the Treasurer (see EXCHEQUER, CABINET). The First Lord (the lord whose name stands first in the commission) is a political officer of the highest rank; he has no departmental duties to perform, and his office is therefore usually assigned to the prime-minister. Since 1806 the head of the administration has always presided over the Treasury; but in 1886 Lord Salisbury undertook the department of Foreign Affairs, the leader of the House of Commons acting as First Lord of the Treasury. The three junior lords perform such duties as it may be convenient to assign to them; they are usually members of the House of Commons, and it is customary to appoint an Englishman, a Scotsman, and an Irishman. The Treasury Board is now no more than a name; formal documents run in the name of 'my lords,' but the working head of the department is the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who holds under a distinct patent the office of Under-treasurer. There are two secretaries, both of whom are usually members of parliament; the Financial Secretary is specially responsible for the civil service estimates; the Patronage Secretary conducts correspondence relating to appointments, and acts as chief whip of the ministerial party in the House of Commons. The permanent officials of the Treasury enjoy a high reputation for ability, and the traditions of the office are not to be disregarded even by the most enterprising Chancellor of the Exchequer. When the First Lord of the Treasury is himself Chancellor of the Exchequer he receives only half the salary of the latter office.
Since the Restoration it has been the established practice to keep the receipt of revenue separate from the expenditure of public money; but the Treasury exercises a general control. By an arrangement sanctioned by parliament in 1834, all public revenue is paid into the Bank of England to the credit of the Comptroller-general; this officer is in fact the pivot of the whole system; he checks all receipts and payments, and reports independently to the House of Commons. The Boards of Customs and Inland Revenue, the office of Woods and Forests, and the Post-office are under the authority of the Treasury. Estimates of expenditure in all the public departments are submitted to and revised by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who is thus enabled to take a comprehensive survey of the resources and liabilities of the nation. Towards the end of the financial year he opens his budget in committee of the House of Commons, estimates the total expenditure of the coming year, and indicates the ways and means by which the required sum may be raised. Payments on account of the army, navy, civil service, &c. are made by the Paymaster-general on the authority of the Treasury. Under various statutes the Treasury regulates the salaries of newly-created officers in other departments, and fixes the number of officers employed in new departments. The duties of the Treasury also comprise the examination of the expenses of legal establishments, sheriffs, county courts, and criminal prosecutions. The Solicitor to the Treasury is a permanent official of great importance; his office is now combined with those of the Public Prosecutor and the Queen's Proctor. For a full account of the law relating to this subject, see Todd's Parliamentary Government in England.