CO129-562-3 Vacancies in education departments 27-5-1937 - 8-12-1937 — Page 18

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Mr. Gent.

With your permission, I have detained

the drafts

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pending a talk with Mr. Charles,

Mr.

Chief Inspector of the Board of Education.

Charles has informed me today that he has received

from Mr. Cuttle intimation of his withdrawal, but

that he has reasons for believing that Mr. Cuttle

is still open to an offer of a post, provided that

he gets the free hand asked for in his letter to

me (no.9). Mr. Charles thought that he might even

accept something a little short of what he asks for

in that letter, but that he would certainly not

accept the post subject to the conditions mentioned

in our letter to the Board of Education, or stated

when we had our interview with him.

In these circumstances I have initialled

the draft letter to Mr. Cuttle.

Nothing is, I

There

think, to be gained by further negotiation.

is really no middle course between what Mr. Cuttle

asks for in no.9, which is quite out of the question,

and what we told him at our interview, which was

subsequently emphasised by me in a talk that I had

with him, namely that a man of real ability and

tact could undoubtedly get a good deal done even

while he was in a subordinate position, and that

such a man ought to be able to substantiate his

claim to the Directorship within a year or two.

It was also made plain that there was a very

reasonable chance of a vacancy in the Directorship

by the time he had learned the ropes and shown his

merits, and I added, on my own responsibility, that

it was quite possible that the present Director