"This high official, all allow, is grossly overpaid; there wasn't any Board, and now there isn't any Trade"

A. P. Herbert’s satirical observation paints a wry portrait of bureaucratic absurdity, using razor-sharp wit to critique systems of governance and administration. The figure described as a “high official” draws a universal consensus of being “grossly overpaid,” pointing first to the familiar public resentment regarding lofty salaries assigned to those in upper government ranks, especially when perceived value or output fails to justify the compensation. This is not merely about personal animosity or envy; it reflects a broader skepticism toward the rationality of public expenditures on administrative roles.

The reference to the “Board” and “Trade” casts the situation in sharper relief. By stating, “there wasn’t any Board, and now there isn’t any Trade,” Herbert underscores a kind of institutional hollowness or even disappearance. The supposed work or oversight that justified the board’s existence was either never real or has now completely vanished, rendering the high official’s presence not only unnecessary but farcical. It evokes the classic image of bureaucracies continuing to function, if only in name or as a matter of procedure, long after their original reasons for being have evaporated. Here, the bureaucrat is not serving a vital function but presiding over a void, his title and emoluments separated from real responsibility or purpose.

Herbert’s lines draw upon a tradition of British satire, exposing inefficiency and self-perpetuating administrative structures. The passage mocks not just the particular official or circumstance, but a system that allows positions to persist in the absence of utility, insulated from scrutiny by title or tradition. The irony is sharpened by the antithesis: even as the roles dissolve, the rewards remain, highlighting the mismatch between what is paid and what is achieved. Ultimately, Herbert’s words stand as both commentary and warning about the perils of unchecked bureaucracy, and the social costs of maintaining officials who preside over nothing at all.