142
him. The constitutional king of Great Britain
does not negotiate state affairs except through his
ministers. It was the doctrine of ministerial
responsibility which gave birth in England to the
constitutional formula : "The king can do no
wrong.
* * *
" Apart from the cautious temperament of
His Highness there had been present to the minds
of Hyderabad statesmen the desirability of having
a body of advisers in the form of a Council of State
or a Cabinet Council. And the Government of
India had thought fit to suggest the employment
of Colonel Marshall as Chief Adviser for a short
period in 1886-87. And later, there was a Cabinet
Council in the nineties and its constitution was
embodied in a state paper called " Qanooncha-e-
Mubarak," which briefly indicated the powers and
functions of the Prime Minister and the Depart-
mental Ministers (Moin-ul-Mohams) and the duties
of the Secretaries. The most significant provision
in it was that the Cabinet should be the medium for
submitting all matters of unusual importance to
His Highness for orders. Thus it acquired a
status and authority higher than that of the Prime
Minister. This may be regarded as the beginning
of an important constitutional change ; for, under
the Salar Jung regime, the Dewan or Prime Minis-
ter had been the sole authority for dealing with all
state affairs and as regent his power and prestige
had risen still higher. After Salar Jung's death
there was an obscure interregnum under the acting