1 JUNE 1918, Page 3

Speaking at Smethwick on Monday, Mr. G. H. Roberts, Minister

of Labour, said that one thing he had learned during the war was that the least governed were the best governed. Most of the people who had clamoured for centralization were now begging to be allowed to do their own business in their own way. That was a sound and healthy instinct, and as long as ho remained at the Minis- try of Labour he intended to act upon the principle. These words coming from the Minister of Labour are like a breath of fresh air. Every impartial person knows them to be true. Wherever one bears industrial experiences of the war recounted one also comes across the complaint that Government intervention means muddle and delay.