It appears to us that since the wireless stations are
for Imperial defence the advice of the Army Council, the Admiralty, and the Imperial Defence Committee cannot be set aside on the question of urgency as such. We do not, however, gather clearly from the debate whether these departments would subscribe to the contention that the plea, of urgency is equivalent to saying that the Marconi Company ought to be instantly employed on the terms of the present contract. The latter argument may be only the gloss put by the Government on the urgent warnings of the departments. If the departments are in full agreement with the statements of Mr. Samuel and Mr. Asquith we for our part should say that in the circumstances there was no alternative to approv- ing the contract. We have no notion of setting experts to inquire into such a grave subject as Imperial defence and then off-hand rejecting their advice. But the point is, perhaps, of no great moment now, as the contract is already approved. The other aspect of the contract, as a business agreement, remains quite unaffected by the plea of urgency on strategical grounds. In our judgment the contract is unbusinesslike and unsound; and it is nothing short of lamentable that it should have been rushed through without proper consideration wile the House was on the eve of rising.
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