Evening Post FRIDAY, JANUARY 21, 1921. THE COLONIAL OFFICE

Evening Post, Volume CI, Issue 18, 21 January 1921, Page 6

Evening Post FRIDAY, JANUARY 21, 1921. THE COLONIAL OFFICE

After the lapse of twelve years Mr. Wrneton Churchill is- coming back to the Colonial Office. It was as Under-Secre-tary for, the Colonies that he first took his seat on the Ministerial Benches. This was in 1906, immediately after the, victory of the Liberals under Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman at the General Election. During the previous Parliament Mr. Churchill had sat as a Conser- . vative, but he changed sides just in time to avoid the disaster which overwhelmed the party,that.had hitherto claimed his allegiance. Though ' converts are always regarded- with suspicion, and commonly have to make good their footing in their new party by a period of probation, an exception had to bo made in the case 1 of so distinguished a convert as Mr. Churchill. He had no* particular qualifications for the Colonial Office, but he was considered to have a general claim upon the gratitude of his new party, and the Un-der-Secretaryship for the Colonies was the most convenient means of satisfying it. Even for a politician of Mr. Churchill's energy and • enterprise, ah Under. Secretaryship with Lord • Elgin as his chief offered small scope for distinction, and after two years he passed to the Presidency of the Board bf Trade. The number and importance of the positions which he has since filled have not been 1 less remarkable than the reverses which he has suffered from time to time and the vitality which has enabled him to return to the limelight after an eclipse which would have been fatal to any ordinary 'politician.. Vitality, versatility, and audacity are the secrets of his. strength. " . : It was at the Admiralty that .Mr. Churchill first made his mark as an Imperial statesman. . He took it over when "the Panther's, leap" at Agadir had startled the world, and the nation required a firmer hand than Mr. M'Kenna's at the helm. As First Lord- of the Admiralty, Mr. Churchill did not disappoint, expectations. .He reversed the policy of retrenchment by which the Liberal Government had been imperilling the efficiency of the Navy, and he succeeded in inspiring the service itself, the nation, and the Empire with a confidence which had been lacking during the five years of the Liberal, regime. It is interesting to recall that at that time Mr. Lloyd George was-the strongest champion of- economy within the Cabinet, and that this was one of. the points upon-which the rivalry of these aspirants to the future leadership of the party clashed most severely. Doubtless nobody is to-day more thankful than Mr. Lloyd George himself that Mr. Churchill, though embarrassed, was not overborne,, by the advocates of retrenchment. It may be added that the acute differences of those days have evidently left no bitterness or distrust behind them. Mr. Lloyd George's loyalty to his' colleague has been more consistent than the' 1 confidence of the public. Mr. Churchill's brilliant career at the Admiralty was clouded by the tragic blunder at the Dardanelles, and after his resignation, as the immediate result of disagreement with Lord Fisher,-He had to be content with the Chancellorship of the Duchy of Lancaster in the Asquith Coalition. Cabinet. After the other offices that he had heldjSnd the work that he had done, the acceptance % _JMr. Churchill of the Duchy of Lancaster seemed to mark the end of his political career almost as definitely as if he had applied tor the Chiltern Hundreds. But Mr. Churchill thought otherwise, and so did Mr. Lloyd George. The man whom the world regarded as irretrievably ruined became successively Minister of Munitions, Air Minister, and Minister for War in Mr. Lloyd George's Cabinet,' and he is now choosing a. new field for ■his talents. At the War Office he has done good work in resisting the pacifist reaction which has followed the war, but it -has not been popular work, nor does he appear to have done anything else to recover the favour of the public. So far, however, as his colleagues are concerned, Mr. Churchill has established a lasting claim upon their gratitude. The present Government was . never in greater peril than when Mr. Montague's tactless handling of the Amritzar incidentleft Ministers with defeat staring them in the face, and it is generally recognised that it was Mr. .Churchill's intervention with a cool, adroit, and powerful speech that saved the position. He has, therefore, a better claim upon the Government now than he had when he received any of his previous portfolios. If he really desires to go to the Colonial Office, not even those of his colleagues who do not share Mr. Lloyd George's confidence could say him nay. That Mr. Churchill- will acquit himself well in his new position we see no reason to doubt. He has, as The Times sayß, energy, enterprise, and imagination; and the soundness of hU Imperial-

ism is beyond suspicion. The Daily News "expresses dismay at the prospect of the appointment of so forceful a personality at a moment when the Dominions are vehemently protesting at having to transact business with the Imperial Government through the Colonial Office officials." The Dominions are not quite so seriously exercised over this indignity as the Daily News supposes, nor have they the slightest fear that Mr. Churchill's masterful personality will assert itself at their expense by substituting the rule of Downing-street for the autonomy which they now enjoy. On the contrary, they realise that theninterests were never better promoted by the Colonial Office, their Tights more scrupulously respected, or the cause of Imperial unity better served, than when a personality as masterful as that of Mr! Churchill himself had charge of the office. The Dominions have no desire to be run from DowningrStreet, but they will always be grateful for a good, lead from a Colonial Secretary who, combines strength with imagination, sympathy, and tact. It was Mr Chamberlain's possession of these qualities that revived the prestige of the Colonial Office under his administration and quickened the Imperial spirit throughout the Empire. We may reasonably hope that a statesman who 'is similarly equipped will carry on Mr. Chamberlain's good work in the same spirit.