The Primo Minister in the House of Commons on Thursday,
June 23rd, made an elaborate defence of his appointment of Dr. Addison as Minister without Portfolio. Ministers, he said, worked far harder than they did in the old days, and it was necessary to have a Minister, who was free from departmental duties, to deal with special problems. Dr. Addison, for instance, was the chairman of four important Cabinet Committees. But the Cabinet only needed him until the end of the session. Colonel Guinness, who was to propose a reduction of £2,000 in the vote for Dr. Addison's salary, should ask for a reduction of £2,500. The Prime Minister went on to eulogize Dr. Addison's services during the war, at the Ministry of Munitions,where he set up a costing system and saved the country £90,000,000 on the cost of shells alone. It was unfair, he said, to blame Dr. Addison for spending money on health problems. He asked the House as a question of confidence to let Dr. Addison remain as Minister till the end of the session. Mr. Asquith said that, while ho admired Dr. Addison, he did not think a Minister without Portfolio necessary or desirable in time of peace. After a long debate, Colonel Guinness's motion for a reduction of the vote was carried without a division.
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