Evening star., 1936-12-27

BY THE RIGHT HONORABLE
H. b. LEES-SMITH.
Former Postmaster-General OF Great
Britain.
"NGLAND is ruled not by its
~ King, but by its cabinet. The
cabinet members themselves
have always been well aware
Of this fact; but the immense defer
ence paid to the King gave an i'm.
preston to the world In general that
he still retained the supreme authority.
that even SO apparently private .
question as q Kings choice of a wife
Is q matter for cabinet approval.
Ours is q constitutional monarchy:
acts of state are carried through the
Kings name. but most Of them are
invalid unless they are countersigned
by cabinet minister. On all matters
Of state-even his marriage-the King
can act only upon the advice of the
cabinet. The objections of the cabi-
net to Edwards marriage with Mrs.
Simpson were not due to the fact that
she is an American or . commoner,
but the attitude of this country and
the dominions to her divorces, which
raise awkward problems for one who
ID not only King but head of the
Church OF England.
Who, then, are these cabinet min.
isters? How are they chosen? What
are their duties in directing the course
Of the British ship of state? These
things shall endeavor to make clear.
Election Sporting Event.
As soon as an English general elec-
ton has brought about the defeat Of
the party in power, the cabinet-mak-
ing process commences. At dinner
tables throughout the land guesses,
prophecies and arguments begin as to
who will become members Of the group
that will control Great Britain during
the coming regime. The prime min
lister is a certainty-he naturally will
be the leader of the party that has
Just won the battle; but no one can
predict who Is going to be his 20
colleagues in the cabinet. or what
RSoeo why WAA 8Cts I'D u uiottCE O4
fact. an election in England Is re-
garded as a sporting event: the news
papers publish their selections for the
different cabinet positions and bets
are made upon them in much the
same spirit as for the Derby.
Meanwhile. the prime minister is In
constant touch with the King. At last
those whom he has selected for the
cabinet receive Q message that he
would like to see them at his private
residence ut certain time. They 60;
and when they enter his study they
have not any notion whether they
will come out secretary for war, min
ister Of labor, secretary for India, first
lord of the admiralty, minister of edu-
cation or any Of o dozen different Of
fices. Whatever it Is, from the mo-
ment that they close his door they are
in supreme command Of that depart
ment and must answer for it to Parlia-
naent and the nation.
Position Not Certain.
A cabinet minister Is by no means
sure that he will be sent to q depart
ment Of which, he has any previous
knowledge. An old political hand once
gave me . piece of sound advice-"A
politician takes what he can get." He
must not be surprised II, as q reward
Of specializing for 20 years on hous-
ing, he Is sent to take control Of the
British Navy or put In charge Of the
countless millions Of India. The
makeup Of . cabinet must represent
the different political forces on which
1t depends for its support, and this pre-
vents the members from having the
positions which they would select for
themselves. The system was hit Oh
by w. s. Gilbert in III. M. 8. Pinafore"
in his famous coupiet:
Stick close to your desks and never
60, to sea
And you all may be rulers Of the
Queens Navee.
The plain man says that the system
Is ridiculous and that the head of q
department should be the specialist
who has known its work for the whole
OF his life. But the control of . state
service k not like that of q wholesale
store or factory. The vital decisions
which members Of the cabinet have
to make are questions of political
principle, and In these 1t b the states
man who Is the specialist.
The expert u likely to forget the
public. But the cabinet minister has
to remember that democratic govern
ment y government by consent, and
he Is guided by the maxim that ''the
business Of . minister Is to know how
much the public win stand" A genial
minister at dinner Of experts, at
which he was the guest, put the arRu-
ment when he said to them, "The duty
Of . minister Is to save al Of you gen-
tlemen from being hung upon the
nearest lamppost"
Arrives ct Once at 10.
"A minister arrives at his ONCE at 10
O'Clock in the morning. The chief
olliciAls are waiting for him. and be
discusses with them the policy to BE-
fnllousaA A thA sa,hincka which hANn