A Minister from Australia
The Australian Cabinet decision, which brings Mr. S. M. Bruce to London as permanent representative of his country, will be unfeignedly welcomed here. Mr. Bruce is, of course, a member of the Cabinet himself, and will therefore enjoy a quite different status from that of the series of High Commissioners whom he succeeds and whose office he absorbs. The appointment inevitably revives the idea of that Imperial Cabinet whose creation seems superficially so attractive, but is revealed on examination to be beset with so many practical difficulties. However that may be, Mr. Bruce's distinguished political record, memories of his rowing career at Cambridge, and his own forceful personality will all conspire to ensure him a singularly cordial reception when he arrives to take up his new post. It is very far from the least of the advantages of the new departure that it will give Australia adequate repre- sentation at Geneva. Mr. Bruce, it will be remembered, headed the Australian delegation at the League Assembly in 1922. His counsel during the discussions on Japanese action at Shanghai would have been of particular value.
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