30 NOVEMBER 1912, Page 2

The Attorney-General having explained that he expressed no opinion, but

merely advised, after examining the precedents, that this was not a question for the Law Officers but for a Select Committee, Lord Balcarres observed that if the Law Officers could not give an opinion, it was no use asking the House of Commons to make up its mind. He went on to argue, as we have already con- tended in these columns, that by entering the Cabinet the Attorney-General had lost his independence. He was no longer the legal father of the Cabinet; he was a junior, a subordinate partner of the firm. The Committee was not needed at all : it would not command confidence because of its composition, it could not enforce its verdict, and it would not be so expeditious as the High Court.