Anderson to a Cabinet post so soon after his entering Parliament is an outstanding feature of the new ap pointments. He will be free to undertake any work assigned to him, but it is assumed that he will be in charge of Home Defence, in general, with special- reference to air-raid precautions.
Sir John Anderson was appointed Governor of Bengal in 1932 and served until 1937. He was Chairman of the Committee of M: P.s, which was appointed by the Home Secretary to study the question of the evacuation of civilian populations from danger areas in wartime. The report of this Committee was published last week and the decision of the Government io accept its main recommendations was announced at the same time.
The appointment of Lord Runciman, who was mediator and investigator in the recent Sudeten-Czech dispute, is regarded as recognition of his work in Czechoslovakia, as well as of his high administrative powers.
The appointments, in general do not alter the essential character of the Government, and the general effect of the changes is to increase the administrative strength for the existing policy.
"Mr. MacDonald's appointment to hold the posts of both the Dominions and Colonial Secretaryships is a reminder that he has previously been Dominions Secretary, and has brought to a successful conclusion the most outstanding questions between Great Britain and Eire—Reuter.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.