A CABINET OF BUSINESS MEN.
[To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR:1
Sls,—The able article under the above heading in the Spectator of December 21st appears to me to require a defi- nition of that elastic term, a "business man." Surely these two simple words cover a multitude of sins. The class included is a very wide and varied one, ranging as it does from those who are only conspicuous through their quiet clothing, who keep their appointments and catch their trains, to the wily individuals "whom," writes a modern author, "I have always avoided, since the mental strain involved in keeping clear of their shrewdness and the expense of suc- cumbing to it were equally distasteful to me." But the writer of your article thinks that only successful business men who have acquired a fortune at the expense of half a lifetime would be suitable for selection to a future Cabinet; and be proceeds to argue, with much justice, that such men are apt to become tied by habit, and to be found altogether deficient in originative power. But, Sir, why a fortune and middle age? Take the case of a young man of thirty-five of sufficient capacity to take a share in the direction of an immense busi- ness on which the interests of several hundred shareholders, not to mention the livelihoods of a large staff and numerous employes, are dependent. Suppose that this young man, in addition to his business qualifications, possesses the con- spicuous talents of a Churchill. Is such a man to be debarred from inclusion in a Cabinet because he cannot show a bald head or flourish a fortune ? Truly in our Governments we reverence old age, and we are both content to be guided, and perhaps hindered, by it, while in no country probably does the political or commercial young man create such universal horror, aversion, and distrust. Surely the writer of your article was thinking of the business man grown old. Perhaps Lord Pirbright may have had a fresher, more contemporary type in his mind when he prophesied that the country would some day make a selection for its better government from that source.—I am, Sir, &c.,
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