News of the Week
THE Prime Minister has shown commendable prompti- tude in filling the Cabinet vacancies, though as he had known of the impending resignations for close on three weeks he had ample time for reflection. The new appointments will be pretty generally. approved. Sir John *Gilmour is not likely to make as good a Home Secretary as-his predecessor, but then few men would, for Sir Herbert Samuel has both experience and native genius to qualify him as an administrator. Major Walter Elliot, promoted from the Financial Secretaryship of the Treasuryito ,the Ministry of Agriculture, gets the advancement he well deserves. Though' trained as a medical man he has in- faet a ceitsiderable knowledge of agriculture; mainly, it is true, north of the Border. Sir Godfrey Collins, with his unflagging seal for economy, would have dropped well into the place left vacant by Major' Elliot at the Treasury, but his past record fully entitles him to the Cabinet rank he secures as Secretary for Scotland. Sir 'Archibald Sinclair, though new to administrative work when he went to the Scottish Office, has set a high standard of administrative efficiency for his predecessor to live up to.. Two other personal references are called for. Mr. MacDonald will find it hard to discover as good a Secretary for Mines as Mr. Foot, and Lord Lothian will be still harder to replace at the India Office. The Under-Secretary, wrapped up as he _is in the. Indian problem, which he took up first as member. of:the Round Table Conference, then as Under-Secretary. -'and finally as chairthariof the Franchise Committee, Might- reasonably have felt it his first duty to stay where he was.. The fact that he did not may well be regarded by' his colleagues ni resignation as a notable vindication of their action.
