Here is a very important reform, and one, though we
admit it looks petty, well worth Mr. Lloyd George's attention. We sincerely trust that he will have the courage—a quality, in which happily he is seldom lacking—to take the matter up. He need not be afraid of any one saying that he is proposing an old-age pension for himself. His tenure of office, whether we agree with what he has done or disagree, unquestionably entitles him to half-pay when in Opposi- tion. Somebody has got to grasp the nettle, for if no one does so this reform, which. all Ministers whether rich or poor will in their hearts agree is a desirable one per se, will never be accomplished. But if it is not accomplished, and half-pay when out of office does not become the rule, we shall certainly sink to a lower level than hitherto in the matter of political honour in what concerns the public purse. That is inevitable, and he who asserts the contrary is either ignorant or else feeding himself on clap-trap.
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