General Seely on Tuesday took an opportunity of replying to
the charge that the Air Ministry was extravagant. Since the Armistice, he said, the Departmental staff had been reduced in number from 806 to 402. Two hundred and ten out of 386 aerodromes and landing-grounds had been given up. He had demobilized two-thirds of the 30,000 officers, and 203,000 out of the 264,000 cadets and other ranks. He dealt in detail with specific complaints about the Blandford camp and other matters. The Lord Advocate, in his turn, explained that he declined to prosecute for frauds at Renfrew, involving a sum of about £300, because the evidence was too vague and incomplete to -secure a conviction. The lack of proper Departmental supervision would, he said, have told in favour of the persons accused if criminal proceedings had been taken. Despite these speeches —we think Mr. Clyde's defence of his words was quite satisfactory—the House and the public were by no means convinced that Estimates of £66,000,000 for the Air Force could be justified.
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