Cabinet Bossed

Britons who want a peek into how their new Cabinet works may have to wait 30 or 50 years for its members to write their memoirs, but last week John Bull had a foretaste in London's independent, chatty Sunday Referee.

"NEVILLE BOSSES THE CABINET: MINISTERS MUST REPORT DAILY" headlined the Referee, with considerable truth, as certain statesmen in Whitehall admitted off the record to friends this week. "Mr. Neville Chamberlain," continued the Referee, "is running the Cabinet as though it were a board meeting with himself as Managing Director of Britain Ltd. And the Cabinet members don't like it.

"The Premier demands regular weekly reports from Ministers, and special daily reports on the more important matters.

"More, he calls Ministers to No. 10 Downing Street and asks them to supplement their reports.

"Then he issues orders.

"Both Baldwin and MacDonald, the two former Premiers, regarded themselves as Chairmen of the Cabinet Committee. They gave advice, smoothed out difficulties--and let the Department heads get on with the job. They never interfered with the internal affairs of a Department.

"But Neville has a tremendous programme of armament to get through-- and his role of managing director is well in the Chamberlain tradition. Neville's family were among Birmingham's biggest industrialists. And Neville himself was for years a business man before he became a politician.

"But Ministers feel they are being treated like schoolboys.

"The Premier's grip is particularly tight on the Foreign Office and the Exchequer.

"The Foreign Office resents his interference. He sent Lord Halifax to Berlin without consulting the permanent officials.

"He brought Mr. Eden flying back from Geneva ahead of time in order to give him new instructions.

"At the Treasury, Neville Chamberlain is still Chancellor of the Exchequer, though nominally Sir John Simon holds the job. . . .

"Sir John Simon's job has been to stall off deputations that have been to the Treasury with proposals about the new tax."

As everyone in Whitehall knows, Sir John owes his presence in the Government not to any general feeling that he would be a good Chancellor of the Exchequer but to the fact that he heads a minute political party, the "Simonite Liberals," whose support the Prime Minister needs in order to maintain the "National" (i.e., coalition) character of his Cabinet. Similarly, Mr. Eden continues at the Foreign Office chiefly because Conservative Party electioneers think the British public still believe he is the shining Galahad of the League of Nations--although on the quiet at Geneva Mr. Eden has become a chronic misser of tricks for the League. Realistic Neville Chamberlain, his friends intimated this week, is bossing Eden & Simon hardest only because they need the most bossing, is giving plenty of scope to his more active and realistic Cabinet colleagues, such as Home Secretary Sir Samuel Hoare, War Minister Leslie Hore-Belisha, Minister of Health Sir Kingsley Wood.

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