Lord-lieutenant

Lord-lieutenant OF A COUNTY, a permanent provincial governor appointed by the sovereign by patent under the Great Seal. The office in England arose from the occasional commissions of array issued by the crown in times of danger or disturbance, requiring experienced persons to muster the inhabitants of the counties to which the commissioners were sent, and set them in military order. The right of the crown to issue such commissions was denied by the Long Parliament, this question proving the immediate cause of the breach between Charles I. and his subjects. Their legality was established at the Restoration by a declaratory act. The lord-lieutenant, who is usually a peer or other large land-owner, as a rule is also the Custos Rotulorum (q.v.). He is at the head of the magistracy, and is the chief executive authority. Under him, and of his appointing, are permanent deputy-lieutenants. He recommends qualified persons for the office of justice of the peace. Militia jurisdiction formerly belonged to him, but is now re-invested in the crown in 1871 (see COUNTY).