12 How to Pay for the Wnr 



article by Mr. Wilson-Fox in the Nineteenth Century Review 

 I cannot help noticing that on page 837 he points out 

 that "it must, however, be emphasized that the Committee 

 does not command the services of an expert staff and is,, 

 therefore, unable, even if so desired, to express an authori- 

 tative opinion upon any proposal submitted to it." With 

 all goodwill towards Mr. Fox and his ambitions, I must 

 say that I do not like this short paragraph, for it gives you 

 the idea that the Committee is ready to make proposals 

 and then seeks to shirk any responsibility concerning the 

 results. I have a sufficiently high enough opinion of 

 Mr. Wilson-Fox's knowledge and experience to suggest 

 that he is an expert staff in himself, and in any case I do not 

 see why such a statement should have been included. If 

 the Committee has not sufficient confidence in their 

 opinions to be willing to stand by them whatever happens, 

 why do they come before the public and ask them to accept 

 what they themselves are not sure of ? 



Again, on the same page, he goes on to tell us that "it 

 can hardly be questioned that the realization of the 

 Committee's aims would be highly desirable." To this 

 we will all agree, but I again disagree when he adds the 

 words with only a comma in between, "always provided 

 that such realization were not accompanied by evils which 

 it failed to take into account." " It " signifies of course 

 the Committee, which seems to me in face of this state- 

 ment, and of the one quoted above, to be trying to face both 

 ways, so that whatever happens, whether success or failure 

 comes out of their proposals, they will be in a position to 

 turn round and say, " I told you so." If this is not making 

 proposals and then shirking responsibility over the results,. 

 I should be curious to know what constitutes doing so. 



Taking the whole of the Committee's proposals, as laid 

 before us so far by the hon. secretary and Mr. Bigland, I 

 take it for granted that the scheme or schemes put forward 



