_Sale of Offices and Salaries in the Seventeenth Century._--Has the subject
of the sale of offices in former times ever been investigated? In the reign
of Charles II., a new secretary of state, lord chamberlain, &c., always
paid a large sum of money to his predecessor, the king often helping to
find the required sum. Was this the case with all offices? I do not think
the lord chancellorship was ever paid for. When and how did the practice
originate, and when and how fall into disuse? Has the subject of salaries
of offices (including fees) in these times ever been accurately
investigated? What were the emoluments of the lord chancellor, chancellor
of the exchequer, and president of the council, in the reign of Charles?