Who is Basil Halliday, The Crescent Chancellor from Swordspoint: A Novel and what is their importance?

Basil Halliday is the Crescent Chancellor of the Inner Council, which means that he is the closest thing that the city has to a king. Basil worries about his position and wishes the nobility had less power over the commoners. He is one of the only characters in the novel with a real conscience.