WELSH REBUKED

Dominion, Volume 24, Issue 62, 6 December 1930, Page 21

WELSH REBUKED

Lacking in Statecraft A SCATHING CRITICISM Welshmen were taken to task recently by Mr. John Rowland, chairman of the Welsh Board of Health, for their lack of experience in Statecraft, their weakness for indulging in flights of oratory, and their “smug self-satisfac-tion.”

Mr. Rowland declared that other countries were far in advance of Wales In their knowledge of the technique, procedure, and requirements of Governmental matters. London, Edinburgh, and Dublin had for a long number of years been centres of administration and government, and in consequence had produced—knowledge and experience having permeated, throughout England, Scotland, and Ireland—men capable of efficient administration and departmental service. This had not been so in Wales, which for generations had been ruled from London. Welshmen generally had lacked the experience which contributed so materially to a knowledge of Statecraft and nation-building, and the weakness manifested itself quite clearly when deputations and representations from Wales were received at Whitehall. Mr. Rowland said he spoke from many years’ experience as a Government official in Whitehall. With the lack of knowledge of departmental matters went a failure to appreciate the high standard expected in the submission of a case. He would not like to say that thoroughness had been a constant feature in the presentation of cases by Welsh deputations. More Florid than Exact. “So long as a Welshman has his say, and expresses himself in language which is often more florid than exact, he retires, and more frequently than not he returns to his native heath not with what he sought, but with that which looks very much like it—and he Is fully satisfied. “As a'Government official I have the advantage of knowing something of both sides of the picture. As a Welshman, I am naturally concerned about the position which my nation occupies in the mind of leaders of thought both at St. Stephen’s and Whitehall, where the qualities of different nations are assessed. It is not that I care so much what opinions other people may have of us. What is important is that when unfavourable opinions are prevalent they often tend to militate against our progress and best interests. “As an official I am keen that Welshmen should remedy these weaknesses and prove to all and sundry that they are entirely fitted for the most responsible administrative duties. It behoves us, as a nation, to develop keeness, thoroughness, painstaking attention to detail and real understanding of the duties entrusted to us."

Welshmen, Mr. Rowland added, should restrain their flights into oratory until they had made certain that the texture of which it was composed was sound, substantiated by facts, and in direct contact with reality. Wales often congratulated itself In public on high attainment in education, but the product of the Welsh University Colleges seldom appeared in international competitive examinations, such as the higher Civil Service examinations and the Comonwealth scholarships. Successes in those directions were, few, • and in this respect Wales compared unfavourably with other nations. “Perhaps In the past we have been content to regard our educational system as designed purely and simply to meet the needs of the teaching and preaching professions, and have neglected to prepare our youth for other equally important spheres of service.' A True Understanding. “Let- us not shirk these facts; let us not keep, silent about them, but concentrate on giving the general public a true picture of the state of affairs. If we get at grips with the facts we shall at least attain to a true understanding of our. problems, and this in itself will contribute to their eventual solution. “There is a feeling abroad among the neighbouring nations that the Welsh people can become intoxicated with sweets, and therefore we are stuffed with them. lam often inclined to believe that we Welshmen are, perhaps, rather prone to indulge our appetites in fruit tarts whose real ingredients are apt to remain a mystery because of the to copious supply of sugar with which they are coated. ' “I emphasise these points because it seems clear that if we are to progress it is necessary that we • should become more self-critical, and see ourselves as we really are. The pity of it is that the estimates of our' neighbours ' con cerning us are so much nearer the mark than they should be. But with a courageous recognition of the facts, and a determination to overcome our weaknesses, speedy advance should be possible. We Welsh have the grit, the temperament, and the ability for. great things. WhaC we need is- to be awakened out of our dream of smug selfsatisfaction.”—“Manchester Guardian.”