Ministers' Powers
Lord Hewart's spirited protest in The New Despotism against the tendency of the Government Departments to exercise not merely legislative but also judicial functions, was no doubt partly responsible for the appointment in 1929 of the exceptionally strong Committee on Ministers' Powers. His complaints are substantially confirmed in its Report, which indicates that the powers conferred upon Ministers by Statute should be closely watched and strictly defined. On the legislative side it is doubtless impossible for Parliament, overworked and hampered by its own procedure, not to leave the Departments the power of making rules and regulations concerning endless details. But Parliament could and should adopt at once the Committee's suggestion that a Standing Committee should examine every Government Bill and see that the rule- making function is duly circumscribed. It is even more important that Ministers should refrain from making judicial decisions, taking upon themselves the work of the Courts and often making the citizen feel that he is denied justice. The Committee's Report demands not merely close attention but immediate action. Depart- mental autocracy may have been less evident since the War, but it is still a serious menace to our liberties.
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