Secretary of state: Difference between revisions

From 1660 there were always two secretaries of state, between whom oversight of foreign affairs was divided on a geographical basis while domestic affairs were shared: the [[Northern Secretary]] and the [[Southern Secretary]]. In 1707, England and [[Kingdom of Scotland|Scotland]] were merged into the [[Kingdom of Great Britain]], and there was a third [[Secretary of State for Scotland]] until 1746. A third [[Secretary of State for the Colonies]] existed from 1768. In 1782 a system reform resulted in reverting to having two secretaries of state: a [[Home Secretary]] (including colonial affairs) and a [[Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (UK)| Foreign Secretary]], with the addition of a [[Secretary of State for War| third for War]] from 1794. The title of [[Under Secretary]] came into use over the same period.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|last= Sainty|first= J. C.|url= https://www.british-history.ac.uk/office-holders/vol2/pp1-21#h3-0008|title= Office-Holders in Modern Britain: Volume 2 - Officials of the Secretaries of State 1660-1782|workvia=British History Online |publisher= University of London|year=1973|pages=1–21|language= en|chapter= Introduction |quote= At the Restoration [in 1660] the practice of appointing two Secretaries of State, which was well established before the Civil War, was resumed. Apart from the modifications which were made necessary by the occasional existence of a third secretaryship, the organisation of the secretariat underwent no fundamental change from that time until the reforms of 1782 which resulted in the emergence of the Home and Foreign departments. ... English domestic affairs remained the responsibility of both Secretaries throughout the period. In the field of foreign affairs there was a division into a Northern and a Southern Department, each of which was the responsibility of one Secretary. The distinction between the two departments emerged only gradually. It was not until after 1689 that their names passed into general currency. Nevertheless the division of foreign business itself can, in its broad outlines, be detected in the early years of the reign of Charles II. ... The first question to be considered in the light of the memorandum of 1684 is the origin of the office of Under Secretary. It should be emphasised in this connection that the term 'Under Secretary', although found in use as early as 1672, (fn. 28) passed only gradually into general currency.}}</ref>