Cabinet Rumpus

COMMONWEALTH

(British Commonwealth of Nations)

Last week history almost repeated itself. One half of Premier Stanley Baldwin's Cabinet was at daggers drawn with the other and the Premier himself was in a ticklish position between the points.

First Lord of the Admiralty William Clive Bridgeman and the First Sea Lord, Admiral of the Fleet Lord Beatty, threatened to resign unless more warships were built. They based their stand upon the indisputable fact that the existing fleet would in a few years be obsolete unless replacements were made more rapidly.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Winston Churchill, who strenuously fought the Admiralty chiefs, did not even offer to resign. Doubtless he remembered that his father, Lord Randolph Churchill, had written finis to his political career in 1886 when, as Chancellor of the Exchequer, he suddenly made good his threat to resign, ostensibly because he also would not agree to the shipbuilding demands of the Admiralty. And who should be in a better position to learn the lesson which Lord Randolph neglected than his father's biographer, the present Chancellor of the Exchequer?

There was more to it than that. Behind Mr. Churchill were assumed to be Foreign Secretary Austen Chamberlain and the Secretary for India, Lord Birkenhead, all ex-coalition Ministers. Nasty things were said about Mr. Churchill; he was credited with a desire to oust Premier Baldwin and, with the aid of his coalition comrades, to install himself as Premier.

Between these two groups stood Mr. Baldwin, vainly attempting to mollify both and save his Cabinet. When everything seemed at the nadir of hopelessness, the King summoned him to Buckingham Palace and was reported to have informed his Premier that, if he valued his advice, he would see to it that the Admiralty's demands were met. This was all very well. More ships meant more money and Mr. Churchill was holding the purse strings and seemed determined to keep on holding them. How could he induce the Chancellor to accede to the King's wishes. He confided in the Lord President of the Council,* Lord Arthur James Balfour, who suggested, as a compromise, that the money needed for the naval replacements should be furnished by economies in the three fighting services. Mr. Churchill accepted and the Cabinet was again happy.

In Parliament, Premier Baldwin outlined what he called "requirements for fleet replacement." In October two cruisers are to be laid down; in February, two more. Beginning with the next financial year (Apr. 1), three cruisers a year are to be built together with nine destroyers and six submarines, a total of 18 warships annually.

*The Cabinet post of Lord President of the Council is a sinecure. An experienced statesman whom the ministers may consult is usually accorded the place.