Chancellor

(chan'sl-lur.) [Fr. chance lier.] A high officer of state who presides over a court of chancery or other court of judicature. In England, the Lord High Chancellor is the first judicial officer of the crown, and, ex-officio, president of the House of Peers. He is chief judge of the court of chancery, appoints all justices of the peace throughout the kingdom, and has, besides, other high powers and prerogatives. The Chancellor of France, under the old regime, was a high functionary of state whose position was analogous to that of the Lord Chancellor of England. After its abolition in 1790, the office was restored by Napoleon, but it was finally extinguished in 1830. C. of the Exchequer. (Eng. Pol.) The cabinet minister who has charge of the national finances:-corresponding with the American Secretary of the Treasury.- C. of a Con su late. (Com.) An officer who has charge of the archives, ., of a foreign consulate. [s. 164]