ATTORNEY-GENERAL, the title by which, in England and Ireland, the first minis terial law officer of the crown is known. The A. is appointed by letters-patent. His office, powers, and duties correspond in many respects to those that belong to the lord advocate (q.v.) in Scotland, though the powers of the latter functionary are more exten sive and less clearly defined. Originally, the A. was simply the king's attorney, and stood to the sovereign in the same relation that any other attorney does to his employer. The term "general" was afterwards conferred to distinguish him from attorneys appointed to represent the interests of the crown in particular courts, such as the court of wards; or from the master of the crown ollice, who is called the " coroner and attorney for the queen." The early history of this office is involved in obscurity. Though there can be no doubt that the crown must always have been represented by an attorney in the courts of justice, there is no trace of the existence of such an officer as the A., in the modern sense, till some centuries after the conquest. Up to a period compar atively recent, the king's serjeant was the chief executive officer of the crown in proceedings, and this circumstance gave rise to various questions of difficulty as to the right to precedency of these officers respectively. These questions were set at rest in 1811, by a special warrant by the then prince Regent, afterwards king George IV., by which it was declared that both the attorney and solicitor general should have place and audience before all other members of the English bar. A similar question arose in a
Scotch appeal in the house of lords in 1835, between the A. and lord advocate, which was also decided in favor of the former. The following may be enumerated as the principal duties of the A.: 1st, To exhibit informations and conduct prosecutions for crimes which have a tendency to disturb the peace of the state or endanger the constitu tion (see PLEAS OF THE Cnowx); 2d, To advise the government on legal questions; 3d, To conduct prosecutions and suits relating to the revenue; 4th, To file informations in the exchequer for personal wrongs committed on any of the possessions of the crown; 5th, To protect charitable endowments in time sovereign's name, as parens patria; and, generally, to appear in all legal proceedings in which the interests of the crown are at stake. The attorney and solicitor general are two of the commissioners of patents (q.v.) ex (Side. The powers of the solicitor general are co-ordinate with those of the A., and in the absence of the latter, or during a vacancy, the former may perform his functions in all their extent. Both usually have seats in the house of commons, and their tenure of office concurs with that of the government of which they are members. They were formerly paid by fees, but now by fixed salary. • The duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall, and the county palatine of Durham, have separate attorney-generals.