We were glad to see in the Times of Tuesday
a letter from Sir John Marriott expressing very clearly what we feel about the Attorney-General's place within the Cabinet, which follows a precedent created when Lord Reading held that office in Mr. Asquith's Government. This is no personal matter. We have had proof that the present Attorney fills the office admirably. We also con- sider that Sir Douglas Hogg has shown himself fully worthy of Cabinet rank. But we do riot deduce from these premises that an Attorney-General is in his right place inside the Cabinet. His function is to be the expert legal adviser of the Executive, with a responsibility different from and often incompatible with that of the Executive. It is undesirable for the Cabinet that it should share its power with its expert. It is undesirable in the administration of the law that a law officer should have a share in the great power of the Executive. The War did not diminish the tendency to confuse functions to the detriment of liberty, and the more clearly we seek to define them the better.
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