WHITEHALL PILLORIED

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26996, 3 February 1949, Page 5

WHITEHALL PILLORIED

COLONIAL GOVERNOR’S SPEECH FURORE IN OFFICIAL CIRCLES Rec. 11 p.m. LONDON, Feb. 2. Earl Baldwin, Governor of the Leeward Islands, has’ been recalled to London because of a speech he made at the opening of the Leeward Island's Parliamentary session, says the diplomatic correspondent of the Daily Express. The speech was sarcastic about Whitehall and ironic about officials. He is to see the Colonial Secretary, Mr A. Creech Jones, and may not return as it is believed he will give up his office. Earl Baldwin ignored the suggestion that he should fly home and instead boarded a frigate yesterday and may not reach London until March.

In his speech, which caused a furore in Ministerial and official circles, the Daily Express says, he remarked about the number of official documents which came from Whitehall—hundreds and hundreds of pages of suggestions, but no money. He also is said to have declared that there were too many people visiting the Islands. If they had a quarter of the monev spent on conferences and paid to many of these visitors as salaries, they could build their own hospitals and start their own unemployment fund. Criticising the acting rank system, Earl Baldwin said: “We can make an auditor out of a postman, an engineer out of a policeman; we have to or go without, but there must be a limit to this. We must get the men before we

find ourselves in the ludicrous position of making, for example, our federal treasurer acting-matron of the hospital. Since I have been here only one new industry has started, namely cheesemaking. Unfortunately this one-man industry at present- is situated at Government House where your Governor is able to have every day for lunch the finest cheese he has ever tasted.” Earl Baldwin also spoke about the disease he called “ leewarditis,” the symptoms of which were that it made people enthusiastic about ideas but less enthusiastic about carrying them out.

The second Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, who was appointed Governor of the Leeward Islands last year, succeeded to his title in December, 1947. The first earl was better known as Mr Stanley Baldwin. The present Earl was always a bitter political opponent of his father. He stood for the Labour Party at the 1924, 1929 (successful), 1931. and 1935 elections. He is quoted in Who’s Who: Education—in football at Eton: in other things, beginning to learn.