BRITISH CABINET CHANGES.

West Coast Times, 18 February 1914, Page 1

BRITISH CABINET CHANGES.

SOME FURTHER APPOINTMENTS, [per press association!—copyright.] LONDON, February, 14. The Hon. E. S. Montagu (Undersecretary for India) succeeds the Ht. Hon. C. F, 0. Mastcrman. Cabinet Changes In England. 'Hie appointment of Mr. Sydney Boxton to succeed Lord Gladstone as Gov-ernor-General of the South African Onion necessitates another of the toofrequent re-shufflings of Cabinet posts. Mr. John Rums succeeds Mr. Buxton at. the Board of Trade, Mr. Herbert Samuel goes to the Loc.il Government Board, Mr. C. E. Hobhouse heroines Post-master-General, and Mr. C. F. 0. Masterman is promoted to Cabinet rank as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Tho most interesting of these changes*is the transfer of Mr. John Burns from the Local Government Board to the Board of Trade. Besides Sir Edward Grey, MV. Burns is the only other member of the Cabinet who holds to-day the position he was appointed to at the end of 190b. He was paticularly well fitted to be President of the Local Government Board, and probably it has been at bis own desire that he lias remained in the position ever since. Mr Burn’s administration of Ilia Local Government has been notable for strength and eommonsense, and particularly for its opposition to Socialistic schemes. Mr.' Burns is one of the most striking examples in the world to-day of the sobering and broadening effect of the responsibilities of office, 'the leader in the Trafalgar square derm nstration of the eighties became the exposure of the Socialistic extiavagancp under the poor-law system, and of the waste of relief works. Mr. Burns calls himself a Radical, but the Radicals dislike him, and the Labour members, or some of them, detest him. He will find plenty of scope for his energy the Board of Trade. In the old days, before Mr Lloyd George took over the department, one of its chief products was poetry, and although Mr. Lloyd George imbued the staff with a gootl deal of his activity, the revelations following the Titanic disaster suggested that literature was still pursued 1 1 a rather greater extent than duty to the public permitted. Mr. Masterman’s pit motion was to be expected. He bat long been recognised as one of the ablest and most sincere of the younger Radicals. Rut in promoting him Mr. Asquith is taking u risk, for his majority for Bethnal Green at the last election was only 184, and it is quite likely that he will lose the by-election necessitated by his taking a new post.