18 AUGUST 1917, Page 3

Mr. George Barnes, it was announced on Monday, has been

appointed a member of the War Cabinet, in place of Mr. Henderson. Mr. Barnes sat in the War Cabinet temporarily while his Labour colleague went on his mission to Russia, and is thus well acquainted with the work. It is unfortunate that he has so soon had to leave the Ministry of Pensions, where his organizing power and his great experience in Labour questions were invaluable. But another Trade Unionist leader will doubtless be selected for this important post, in which a strong and just man is needed to steer between the rocks of parsimony and extravagance.