The relevant ministers had to countersign executive decrees for them to be binding. The prime minister can also countersign decrees and laws passed by the president. Encipherment is performed by using an agreed-upon phrase called countersign, placed over the plaintext. Billy dispatched one of the sentries with his sword, while giving him the countersign. The monarch would appoint a Senate with the countersign of the privy council president. Snider's source for the provenance of the countersign should thus be considered to be unreliable. The president of the privy council, rather than the prime minister, would countersign all laws. Rather than countersign it as the King demanded, the government resigned. An example would be the sign "blue" and the countersign "moon". The countersign has been mandatory since the revision of 1840. On the way, a courier from General Taylor was captured and provided the countersign.