* * The controversy arising out of the appointment of
Sir George Gater to the Colonial Office, with the rumoured proposal to import a number of other " outsiders " to the upper ranges of the Civil Service, has, like most con- troversies, two sides to it. Of Sir George Gater's own abilities and liberality of outlook there can be no question, and whoever was responsible for inviting him to Whitehall at a moment when our colonial administration palpably needs an overhaul showed considerable imagination. When there are other Gaters available—which is not likely to be often—it would be folly not to secure them for Government service. But a wholesale importation would be fatal. No Civil Servant will put his heart into his work if he thinks that whenever he nears the climax of his career he will find the top place occupied by someone who has climbed in by some other way.
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