CABINET MAKING.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2036, 22 March 1907, Page 1

CABINET MAKING.

'J'ho Unionist Press in London made rather merry over ttic shots of certain Liberal newspapers at recent cabinet appointments. Amateur cabinet-making is an exciting sport. Some nine people wore mentioned as the successor of Mr Bryce at tin Irish office, Mr "Winston Churchill gets Cabinet piomtitiou on papoi once a mouth or more often, tin Marquis of Ilipon and Lord Elgin are constantly about to retire, and the Prime Minister is always on the. point of socking n position in the House of Lords, where his duties will he less onerous, It is not often thal such brilliant shots arc made as that by which Delano announced in The Times that Lord Lytton would be Viceroy of India.. Lytton was nothought of for the p'qsjt><jn, hub Delane heard that he had consulted a doctor as to the effect of the climate of India on his constitution, and that was enough. The meeting place of the Cabinet in Downing street is closely watched by journalists for indications of Cabinet changes, and hints of what has happened behind the closed doors. Mr Spencer Leigh Hughes, draws an amusing picture of the kind of thing that is noted: “Mr A. walked over from his office, and he was observed to he fingering liis watch-chain in a manner iliai indicated nervous apprehension. Lord B. and Mr C. arrived together in a hansom, and it was noticed that his lordship, who is a member of a very old Scottish family, hurried in to 10 Downing street, leaving hi* colleague to pay the cabman, who by the way, did not seem to he on tirely satisfied by the amount bunded him. Sir N. V. '/•■ was one of the last to arrive, reaching the Ministerial rendezvous in a borrowed motorear. It was noticed that lie- was whistling in a light-hearted manner as he went in. In well-informed circles this is supposed to imply that he fully expects promotion at no distant date. The other day the press announced that Mr Winston Churchill was engaged in packing private papers into the boxes at the Colonial Office, and of course this was taken to mean much. But Mr Churchill still watches over the destiny of this colony and others. W lien Mr Churchill denied that he was leaving the Colonial Office, it was asserted with confidence that he must be packing up Lord Elgin’s possessions as a hint to that gentleman that he no longer needed his services. But these shots at Cabinet appointments arc said to he most embarrassing to the people concerned. When it is announced that Mr A. will he promoted to the Cabinet, Mr A. gets a hundred or two of letters of congratulation, some requests for loans, and a large number of applications for departmental posts. If he does not answer he is set down as a cold-blooded and haughty person; if ho does his letters are hound to get into print and he misunderstood.