9 - Conclusion

Summary

…the Secretariat whose special function it was to protect a powerful Chief from the interference of ordinary politicians, including Ministers and the heads of public departments. The Chief was thus saved from frivolous interruptions in his pursuit of far-reaching designs, and gained in power…by a mysterious aloofness, like Juggernaut hidden in a secret shrine into which no alien may gaze…

H. W. Massingham, ‘All in a Garden Fair’.

In their first memorandum for Lloyd George, Adams and Kerr envisaged that members of the Secretariat would act as intermediaries between the Prime Minister and the departments, write reports on important matters concerning the departments assigned to them, and interview people who wished to see the Prime Minister on departmental business. These specific and limited aims were only partly fulfilled during the two years of the Garden Suburb's life. The receipt of regular reports from departments was soon transferred to Hankey's Secretariat on the grounds that the information was of interest to many ministers besides Lloyd George. Nevertheless a regular contact was maintained between some of the secretaries and their assigned departments, which resulted in the submission of reports when that was merited: though Harmsworth's reluctance to comment on the National Service question ‘because there was nothing very material to say’ was perhaps extreme in its self-denial. The quality of contact with departments varied from secretary to secretary. Adams, Joseph Davies and Harmsworth maintained close and, for the most part, harmonious relations with their departments.