Cabinet, in Great Britain, is the body of ministers who carry on the government. It is an institution which has gradually grown out of the needs and exigencies of our political life, and is now an essential part of our polity. 'Yet,' says Macaulay, 'it still continues to be altogether unknown to the law; the names of the noblemen and gentlemen who compose it are never officially announced to the public; no record is kept of its meetings and resolutions, nor has its existence ever been recognised by any Act of Parliament.' In former times the Privy-council were the advisers of the crown, but as the Privy-council was a large body, a small informal council of royal advisers grew up within it. This became marked under the Stuarts, especially Charles II. The rise of the cabinet as we know it, however, really dates from the revolution of 1688 and the effectual establishment of parliamentary government. The members of cabinet are the leaders of the majority of the House of Commons, and the position of the cabinet as the executive government marks the supremacy of the representatives of the people. It was a considerable period after the revolution of 1688 before this state of things received their full development. As William III. was a foreigner raised to the throne by a revolution and dependent on parliament, it was during his reign about 1693 that the cabinet in its modern form originated. But for some generations the cabinet was a loosely arranged body of ministers without a fully acknowledged chief, without full powers, and without a fully developed collective policy. The aim and tendency of the personal rule of George III. was to degrade the cabinet into ministers dependent on himself. Even so late as 1834, William IV. took it upon him to dismiss a cabinet which was objectionable to himself personally. At present, in the event of a change of government, the royal initiative is confined to the duty of 'sending for' the leader of one of the great parliamentary parties. The particular leader may not always be definitely indicated, in which case the sovereign exercises a certain discretion. With regard to the cabinet generally, it may be said that while composed of members of both Houses of Parliament, it must depend on the majority of the House of Commons; it must be united on the leading questions of the day, and must follow a common policy; and it acknowledges a collective responsibility to parliament for its principal acts. But as we said at the outset, the cabinet has no formal place in the constitution, and its functions are not governed by written rules. As the executive organ of parliament it is very elastic, and while subject to considerations of use and wont its action can be suited to the exigencies of time and circumstance. The cabinet now always includes: The First Lord of the Treasury, the Lord Chancellor, the Lord President of the Council, the Lord Privy Seal, the five secretaries of state, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and the First Lord of the Admiralty. Thus the minimum number of members is eleven. With the addition of other members it has sometimes numbered seventeen, but a large cabinet is not an advantage.
In the United States the cabinet consists of the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of War, the Secretary of the Navy, the Secretary of the Interior, the Attorney-general, and the Postmaster-general. These are the heads of their respective departments, and in their collective capacity act as Advisory Board to the president. They are appointed to office by the president, but their appointments must be confirmed by the senate, and they generally hold office until their successors are appointed and confirmed. Contrary to the English system, the United States cabinet-ministers must not have seats in congress; there is no premier, and the president, not the ministers, is responsible for the acts of the government. The salary of members of cabinet is $8000 a year.
The word cabinet, it may be added, is frequently used for analogous institutions in other countries. See W. M. Torrens, History of Cabinets (1894).