LABOUR CABINET

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLIX, Issue 161, 8 June 1929, Page 10

LABOUR CABINET

J PI EDITION

MR JOWITT CAUSES SURPRISE. CAREERS OF NEW MINISTERS. (United Press Association—By Electric Telegraph—Copyright). (British Official Wireless.) Received June 8, 1.5 p.m. RUGBY, June 7. Considerable surprise has been created in political circles by the announcement that Mr Jowitt, the eminent K.C., who is a Liberal, has the post of Attorney-General in Mr MacDonald’s Ministry. Mr Jowitt’s position is somewhat peculiar. He won as a Liberal one of the two seats at Preston, the other seat being won by Mr Tom Shaw (Labour). It is claimed that Mr Jowitt was elected by the aid of Labour votes. The post is one of very great importance and involves almost invariably close and confidential relations with the Government. It can hardly be regarded a.s a simple legal office. In the last Government, for instance, Sir Douglas Hogg, as Attorney-General, led the House of Commons on tho most important occasions, such as the long debates on the Trade Disputes Act, and ho even deputised for the Prime Minister. The Scottish legal Cabinet appointments are still under consideration. It is also announced that the reason why the name of Sir Henry Slosser, who was Solicitor-General in the last Labour Government, does not appear in the list is that other services have been assigned to him, which will be made known later. It is pointed out that the Rt. Hon. Vernon Hartshorn, who was Post-master-General in the previous Labour Administration, is temporarily engaged on the Indian Statutory Commission. Lord Arpold, the unpaid PaymasterGeneral in the new Government, has accepted the position with nominal duties, in order to he free for work in the House of Lords, and in other ways.

Sir Oswald Mosley and Mr Lansbury, it is announced, will also have other duties imposed upon them in connection with file schemes for national reconstruction which are being prepared. Although several Ministers have changed to other departments. 13 out of 19 members of the new Cabinet were members of the 1924 Labour Cabinet.

In his earlier administrations, Mr MacDonald combined the duties of Foreign Secretary, now undertaken by Mr Henderson, with those of Prime Minister, and the First Lord of the Treasury. With the appointment of Miss Margaret Bondfield as Minister of Labour, a woman attains Cabinet rank for the first time. Following are a few details regarding tho new Ministers: MR I>. SNOWDEN. Mr P. Snowden was Chancellor of the Exchequer in the first Labour Government. 110 first entered Parliament in 1900. He entered the Civil Service as a youth, afterwards taking up journalism, and has written Utld lectured extensively on .social and financial questions. He was appointed a Privy Councillor in 1924. MR HENDERSON. Mr Hendersop was Homo Secretary in the first Labour Government. He first entered Parliament in 1903 and was made a Privy Councillor in 1915. He was President of the Board of Education in 1915, Paymaster-

General and Labour adviser to the Government in 1916. He went on a Government mission to Russia in the following year and was a member of the war C*abinet, without portfolio. Ho has been president of the Labour and Socialist international since 1926. AIR THOMAS, Air Thomas was Colonial Secretary in tho first Labour Government. He has been Labour ALP. for Derby since 1910, and for many years general secretary of tho National Union of Railwavmen. He was made a Privy Coum cillor in 1917. It is understood that he will now devote himself mainly to the unemployment problem, with Air Lansbury and Sir Oswald Mosley as his principal lieutenants. AIR SIDNEY WEBB. Air Sidney Webb was made a Privy Councillor in 1924, and has been a member of Parliament since 1922. He recently notified his intention of retiring from Parliamentary life. He is an authority on economics and has printed voluminously upon them in collaboration with his wife. LORD PARAIOOR. Lord Parmoor was Lord President of tho tJouncil in tho first Labour Government and represented Britain nt the League of Nations. He was specially appointed a judicial member or the Privy Council in 1914 in which year ho was created a peer. He hrst entered Parliament as a Conservative in 1895. He has been leader of the Labour Party, in the House of Lords. Lord Sankev has been Lord Justice of Appeal since last year. He was chairman of the Coal Industry Commission of 1919. AIR J. R. CLYNES. Air J. R. dynes was Lord Privy Seal and deputy leader of the House of Commons in the first Labour Government. He first entered Parliament in 1900. During the war lie was first Parliamentary secretary tor the Ministry of Food and afterwards was I ood Controller. He was made a Privy Councillor in 1918. AIR WEDGWOOD BENN. Air Wedgwood Beun had a brilliant career as an airman during the n ai, receiving tho Distinguished Service Order and Distinguished Flying Cross, as well as the Legion of Honour, the Croix de Guerre, the Italian bronze medal for valour, the Italian war cross and other decorations for gallantry in the Near East and Mediterranean. He entered the House of Commons as a Liberal in 1906 and held several posts, including Junior Lord of the Treasury in the pre-war Liberal adminstration. He joined the Labour Party in 1927. AIR T. SHAW. Mr T. Shaw, the Alinister of War, was Labour Alinister in the first Labour Government and has been a member of the House of Commons since 1918, and a Privy Councillor since 1924 j and sometime joint secretary of the Labour and Socialist International. LORD THOAISON. Lord Thomson returns to the post lie held in the first Labour administration —Secretary of State for Air. A regular .army officer, serving in the South African and Great AI ars, he was attached to the Supreme War Council of 1918, retiring with the honorary rank of Brigadier-General the following year. AIR A. GREENWOOD. Air A. Greenwood has been a member o! Parliament, and has been interested particularly in health and other social questions. AIIS3 MARGARET BONDFIELD. Aliss Alargaret Bondfield was Parliamentary Secretary to the Labour Alinistry in the last Labour Government. She has been actively engaged with the women’s trade union movements, was Labour adviser to the Labour Convention of Washington in 1919 and was subsequently for several years at Geneva under the League of Nations. AIR NOEL BUXTON.

Mr Noel Buxton entered Parliament in 1910 as a Liberal, joining Labour in 1922, and was Minister of Agriculture in the first Labour Government. He is a member of a well-known family of East England landowners. SIR CHARLES TREVELYAN. Sir Charles Trevelyan is a son of the noted historian, Sir George Trevelyan. He returns to the post he held in the earlier Labour Government —president of the Board of Education. He first entered Parliament as a Liberal and was before *he war Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education. MR W. GRAHAM. Mr W. Graham was Financial Secretary to the Treasury in the last Labour Government. He entered Parliament in 1918 and was made a Privy Councillor in 1924. He has taken a leading part in financial legislation and has written extensively on social, industrial and economic questions. MR A. V. ALEXANDER. Mr A. V. Alexander was Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade in the earlier Labour Ministry. He was an army officer during the war. MR. W. ADAMSON. Mr W. Adamson has been a member of Parliament, since 1910 and has been the Miners' Union leader. He held the same post in the first Labour Government —that of Secretary of State for Scotland. MR G. LANSBURY. Mr G. Lansbury first entered Parliament in 1910 and was prominently identified witli the women’s suffrage movement and was formerly editor of the Daily Herald. He is now editor of the Labour weekly. He has been prominently identified with the Independent Labour Party and is expected to act as “Assistant Minister for Employment” to Mr Thomas. OTHER MINISTERS. Among the new Ministers who are not members of the Cabinet is Mr Roberts, who was Minister of Pensions in the first Labour Government. He entered Parliament in 1918, and was made a Privy Councillor in 1924. Mr Jowitt has been a Liberal member of Parliament since 1922. He is a prominent K.C., and has one of the largest practices at the Bar. The acceptance of a post in the Labour administration is ail interesting development.

EX-CABINET MINISTERS. RECEIVED BY HIS MAJESTY. (British Official 'Wireless.) Received June 8,2 p.m. RUGBY, June 7. His Majesty to-day dressed and received i.he ex-Cabinet members in the audience chamber with full ceremonial. Mr Sidney Webb’s lack of a parliamentary seat will be overcome by_ his elevation to the peerage.