On Tuesday Sir Robert Hutchison raised the question of the
control of the fighting forces. He eschewed the use of the words " Ministry of Defence," but that is what the House debated. The Prime Minister gave a long and valuable account of the present organization ; much of this pointed to the importance of the Committee of Imperial Defence. Sir Robert had suggested that this advisory Committee should have some executive power, but Mr. Baldwin seemed to think that unless we changed our theories of Cabinet responsibility, the Committee must continue to be advisory. He and Mr. Lloyd George and the Secretary of State for War were informing rather than conclusive. We can only deduce that there is a great deal to be said in favour of the theory of a combination of control, especially if the " super man " of whom Mr. Baldwin spoke could be found, but that the difficulties in practice are almost insuperable, and that the question is bound up with the more tractable matter of the size of the Cabinet.
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