The Geddes Committee, while wielding the axe vigorously against Education
of all kinds, found little fault with the very -costly Ministry of Labour. The Select Committee on Estimates, in its Report issued last week, took a less charitable view of Dr. Macnamara's department, which proposes this year to -spend £23,000,000, including £4,340,560 for administration—or about nine times as much as the old Employment branch of the Board of Trade. The Select Committee directed special attention to -the fast that while the Minister receives £2,000 a year and the Permanent Secretary £2,200, the Chief Labour Adviser and the President of the Industrial Court are paid £3,000 a year. The Chief Labour Adviser's salary has been raised by half, apart from bonus, since 1919. The President of the Industrial Court receives twice the salary of a County Court judge, though he is assisted by a chairman at £1,500 .a year, an employers' repre- sentative at £1,500 and two workmen's representatives at £1,250 and £1,000 a year, while the number of cases referred to the court is diminishing. The Select Committee should pursue its investigations into these expensive anomalies.
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