On Tuesday night Lord Rosebery was the guest of the
Eighty Club. After pleasantly reminding the chairman, Sir Edward Grey, that "anybody who has lived with an Under- Secretary like Sir Edward Grey must feel that, even as Secretary of State, he was in some degree under his guidance and presidency," Lord Rosebery went on to recommend "concentration" as the policy of his party. Since, however, as we have pointed out elsewhere, he did not indicate the points upon which concentration was to take place, the advice fell very flat. They were told that the Government had made a great stroke of policy in the Transvaal, but as the details oozed out it appeared not to be quite so certain that our heaven-born Ministers had been able to counteract "the- Dutch rural simplicity of our old friend President Kruger." On the whole, the increase in the Naval Estimates was justifiable, but "let us see that we got fall value for our money." You will never really subject the votes in Supply to a searching criticism until you discuss them by Grand or Standing Committees outside the walla of the House of Commons, "with the necessary permanent officials in attend- ance."
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