42 The Opposition in the House of Commons on Wednes-
48 day had a singularly weak case to present against the a -appointment of Lord Byng as Chief Commissioner of Police; A good deal can be said with justice against the 44 Home Secretary's manner of announcing the appoint- 46 ment, but the essence of the case as presented on Wed- 46 nesday was not against the fumbling of Sir William 47 `Joynson-Hicks but against the suitability of Lord Byng. 48 Sir William might well have been quick enough to see 48 a fortnight 'ago that there was a grotesque aspect to his statement that Sir William Horwood was retiring under the age limit at the age of sixty, and that Lord Byng was 48 to be appointed in his place at the age of sixty-five.
'Really, however, it was only the inartistic conjunction of 49 these figures that made them ridiculous. Sir William 50 Horwood does not create any precedent in retiring at the age of sixty, and it so happens that Lord Byng is still a young man at nearly sixty-six.
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