We have nothing to say against Colonel Spurner personally, who,
we are sure, did what apparently he was required to do to the best of his ability. But we are frankly amazed that the Government, who have had their attention called repeatedly to this matter, should not see that such practices are a violation of the whole tradition of the Civil Service, and if persisted in must lead to endless suspicion and in the end to regular corrup- tion. It is not enough to avoid corruption ; it is just as necessary to avoid the appearance of it and any possible approach to it. Revolutionary orators, and the uninstructed people who are swayed by them, continually say that officials enrich themselves by spoiling the people. Although this is absolutely untrue, it is surely the part of scrupulous Ministers to see that malignant persons have no excuse for framing such charges. We know that Mr. Lloyd George agrees with us, for he was the author of one of the best speeches on the subject which we have ever read. Yet he remains silent now for some reason which we are unable to comprehend and still less able to appreciate. The present carelessness, not merely tacitly accepted, but sometimes defended by Mr. Bonar Law, marks a deterioration of our public standards. When the House of Commons condoned the laxness and equivo- cations of Ministers in the Marconi affair, we feared that the results would ultimately become apparent in our national life. We little thought, however, that those results would be so glaring or arrive so soon.
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