THE BRITISH CONSTITUTION 25

is not. Under the Electricity Supply Act, 1926, the Electricity
Commissioners have the power to close down certain generating
stations if they are satisfied that the Central Electricity Board
can supply more cheaply; whether the Board can in fact do this
is to be decided by an arbitrator appointed by the Minister of
Transport, who is thus given a judicial function. Any Act which
gives the Government power to take over, or control the use
of property, will create problems of compensation which must
be settled by some kind of court. The ordinary courts would
have been overwhelmed by pressure of business if special bodies
had not been set up. Acts of this type have become more frequent
since the War; those creating the London Passenger Transport
Board, and the various Marketing Boards, are obvious examples.
Similarly, there are Acts, such as those about Pensions and
Unemployment Insurance, conferring rights on persons with
certain qualifications; special authorities are set up to decide,
in disputed cases, whether a person has these qualifications.

So while there has been no attempt to create a system of
administrative law in this country, examples of it spring up
here and there as need arises. To a large extent this cannot be
avoided, because of the growth of Government activity. Danger
appears, however, when the question "Is the Government
keeping the law?" is decided by persons appointed by the
Government. This danger may be avoided to-day by requiring
that any arbitrators needed for special purposes shall hold their
positions permanently, whether their decisions enjoy the
approval of the Government or not; and it will probably be wise
to see that at least one arbitrator is a person with legal experience.
But just because this administrative law has been added to the
- Constitution bit by bit, the principles which it involves have
never been considered. This is in accordance with the English
political habit of mind, which prefers treating particular problems
to examining principles, and does not meet its troubles half-way.

It is worth while emphasising that all the bodies which exercise
this administrative law get their powers from Acts of Parliament;