It was announced on Thursday that the office of Under-
Secretary for Foreign Affairs, vacated by Sir James Fer- gusson's appointment to the Post Office, had been given to Mr. James William Lowther, M.P. for the Penrith Division of Cumberland. Mr. Lowther, who married a daughter of Lord Salisbury's sister, Lady Mildred Beresford Hope, must not be confused with the Right Hon. James Lowther, the Protectionist, and sometime Irish Secretary. Mr. Lowther, though only thirty-six, has an exceedingly good Parliamentary record, and a year or two ago was chosen by the Speaker as one of the Deputy-Chairmen of Committees, a very high honour for so young a man. When the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary are one, and the statesman who fills those posts is in the House of Lords, the office of the -Under- Secretary in the House of Commons is a very difficult one to discharge. The holder must be prepared to be riddled with questions, and yet neither let out secrets nor put up the back of the House of Commons, which is always inclined to make its Members speak out. Mr. Lowther, will, we believe, prove quite equal to the task before him.
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