Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at on 4 July 1939.
Mr William Gallacher
, Fife Western
asked the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs whether His Majesty's Government will take advantage of the presence in London of the Finance Minister of New Zealand, in order to discuss with him matters of mutual interest to this country and New Zealand; and whether it is the policy of His Majesty's Government to extend to Dominion Governments facilities in regard to loans, at least as favourable as any that have been granted to non-Empire countries?
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
