I  shall  accordingly  assume  that — in  a  unitary  state  such
as  we  are  now  considering^ — all  or  the  most  important
permanent  departments  of  centralised  executive  business
will  be  under  the  supreme  direction  of  one  individual  or
body,  to  whose  decisions  the  heads  of  departments  and  their
subordinates  wUl  conform:  and  I  shall  refer  to  this  depositary
of  the  supreme  executive  power  as  the  "  supreme  executive  "
or — where  there  is  no  danger  of  ambiguity — "  the  executive."

^  I  do  not  mean  to  aflBrm  that  the  English  Treasury,  as  at  present  organised,
possesses  the  required  qualifications  in  an  adequate  degree.
^  The  deeper  division  of  governmental  functions  that  characterises  a
composite  State  and  its  possible  effects  on  the  organisation  of  the  executive
will  be  considered  later  (chap.  xxvi.).
