The House has been amused this week by the Gilbertian
comedy of the publication of the Report of the Private Members' Economy Committee. The comedy is not the Report itself, which contains many useful suggestions. But the trouble is that nobody can be found to accept responsibility for the Report as a whole. It is a synthesis of the 'reports of eight sub-Committees, and for some extraordinary reason publication has been made before submission for approval to the whole body of those who served on the separate sub-Committees. As the potential value of such a report was never higher than an indication to the Government of the views of its own supporters, this muddle mist seriously impair its authority. This is a pity, because the experiment of unofficial inquiry by private members looked highly promising.
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