There can be no possible criticism of the choice on
personal grounds, then, except that Lord Byng is already sixty-five years of age. That the Home Secretary desperately wanted Lord Byng is proved by the fact that he accepted Lord Byng's stipulation that he should be allowed to retire at twenty-four hours' notice if he did not give satisfaction. Lord Byng evidently met in a generous spirit an extremely strong appeal. It is an unprecedented thing that an ex-Governor General should become Chief Commissioner of Police. The Opposition asked some silly questions in the House, insinuating that Lord Byng wanted a new salary and a new pension, in addition to the State grant he had already received. ' Yet the fact is that Lord Byng has made no conditions of pay or pension, but has come forward, as everybody who knows him must be convinced, as a matter of duty. * * * *
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