NEW MINISTER

Waikato Times, Volume 124, Issue 20785, 21 April 1939, Page 7

NEW MINISTER

TO CONTROL SUPPLIES DR. E. L. BURGIN APPOINTED ARMY SUPPLY PROBLEMS (Official Wireless) (Received April 21, 11.30 a.m ) RUGBY, April 20 Tho Prime Minister, Mr Neville Chamberlain, in the House of Commons, announced that the Government has decided to establish a Ministry of Supply, and Dr. E. L. Burgln, present Minister of Transport, will be the new Cabinet Minister. He added that the Bill, which will be introduced as soon as possible, will be so framed as to enable a Ministry of Supply in a full sense to be set up. For the time being, however, the scope of the new Ministry will be confined by administrative action to the following matters:— (1) It will deal with problems of Army supply, which have been considerably expanded by recent decisions to increase the strength of the Army. (2) The Ministry is to take over responsibility for certain stores of general use which the War Office at present already supplies to other

Government departments, including certain civil defence requirements. It is intended that this system should be progressively extended as found desirable. . (3) The new Ministry is also to take over responsibility for the acquisition and maintenance of reserves of essential metals and other raw .materials required in connection with the defence programmes. Priority for Government The branches to be transferred from the War Office to the new Ministry will include the branches responsible for research, design and experiment, production and inspection, and the Royal ordnance factories. Mr Chamberlain added that the Bill will, among other things, include provisions designed to secure priority for Government orders. It is proposed to establish a Ministerial Priority Committee on the lines of the committee which towards the end of last war performed the duty of settling questions of priority resulting from the demands from several services. The Prime Minister, in conclusion, made it clear that the Government still is of opinion that the supply arrangements in the case of the Admiralty and the Air Force are working extremely well, and that to interfere with those arrangements at present might only have the effect of reducing instead of increasing the output.