The Chancellorship

If the Labor Party comes into power, or when it comes into power, who will be Lord High Chancellor of England? The Labor Party is weak in the Commons; in the Lords it is practically nonexistent. As the post of Chancellor is one of considerable importance to any government, Mr.

MacDonald, prospective Labor Premier, would have to choose a Conservative or Liberal friendly to his Party's policies. It was rumored in London last week that Viscount Haldane will be Mr. MacDonald's choice.

Richard Burdon, 1st Viscount Haldane of Cloan, aged 67, is a National Liberal and was Lord Chancellor under Premier Asquith from 1912 to 1915. He is probably one of the most liberal minded peers in the House of Lords, besides being a man of gigantic intellectual gifts. A foremost authority on legal matters, a scholar with numerous degrees attached to his name, and author of several important and interesting philosophical works, it is said that he makes a habit of reading a book each morning before breakfast, a task which he accomplishes with lightning rapidity, and in such a way he keeps up with all the important branches of literature. Besides this and his work on the Juridical Committee of the Privy Council, he finds time to keep up with, and sometimes ahead of, the famed Einstein. Undoubtedly Labor could congratulate itself upon obtaining the services of so distinguished a man.

He received a good deal of his education in Germany and at the beginning of the War he fell into ill-odor on account of his pro-German sentiments. Not long ago he said: "The Germans are a great people, a tenacious, an industrious and indestructible people. I may claim to know them well. In England I am generally considered pro-German--and rightly so. My feelings toward Germany never have altered, and I never have concealed them. That is why I still am confident in her future. The Germans certainly are passing through a difficult period, but we in England will not cease to put our whole weight into the task of mediation between France and Germany."