THE WORLD SLUMP

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 42, 19 February 1931, Page 12

THE WORLD SLUMP

DEBATE IN COMMONS

UNEMPLOYMENT BILL'

SECOND READING PASSED

United Press Association—By Electric Telti graph—Copyright. (Received 19tU February, 2 p.m.) LONDON, 18th February. 4 In the House of Commons Mr. J. J. Lawson, Secretary for Labour, moving the .second reading of the Unemploymuit Insurance Bill embodying increased borrowing powers, instancing the rapid development of the situation, ; pointed out that Prance months a.go i did not admit that she had any unenv ; ployed. She now had 1,300,000. Ini stead of wage cuts, they needed an imjprovement in the workers' standard of 1 ife in order to increase their power of t ;onsumption of goods. Sir Arthur Steel-Maitland (C), moving the rejection of the Bill, said that I unemployment was still increasing dea pite Mi-. Snowden 's warning of tha g ,-iravity of the financial situation. Tha liill would commit them to an uncontrolled additional twenty millions in ordinary benefits and seventeen to ti .venty millions in transitional benefits. D : Mr. Snowden did not balance his Budget, the blow to British credit m ould intensify the hardship by Teat '.tions upon trade. If he balanced tl t-e Budget, it must be by means of f i -esh taxation, which Mr. Snowden adax itted industry was unable to bear. Tl le only way was a reduction of mispi aced expenditure. A considerable pr oportion of unemployment insurance ex penditure- was unjustified. ■ Mr. Winston Churchill (C.) covered th c whole range of unemployment despite Labour cries of "You should keep to the subject of discussion." He declared that the Government co uld truly and honestly proclaim that it had by every device and,dodge manag ed to continue paying for the longest tij ne in the loosest fashion the largest dc ile to the largest number. He atta eked Mr. Lloyd George's scheme^ wi hich he declared was rejected End sp at upon by every expert and every, r<j sponsible Minister. Dealing with, tfi c recent speech on the city, he dccl ared that the result of it was a loss of 70 to ,80 millions inflicted on British. fn mds at a time when delicate handling vr, as essential. He pointed to the effect of such a speech in' Australia, w. here a tremendous struggle was going forward, in which the whole people W ero involved, for sound, honest m ethods of finance. The context of such.' sj >eeches and the atmosphere in which, th ey were delivered was not understood abroad. Turning to the causes of :• the great economic collapse, he said ti ley could be described in one word, "Asia." China was in a state of ai larchy and India seething with unre st>, while Russia constituted an econ4 jmie factor, stranger and more menacia g than anything witnessed. Nevertl leless, the resources, strength,- and ci lergy of comradeship of these islands, w ere unsurpassed, perhaps^ unequalled^ in i the world. Much would have to b» ci idured, but we had ridden' through. M any a gale. We must reach out m it hands in special co-operation with. oi ir S kith and kin the world wide. " When the- economic revival of tb« M /estern World comes, as surely it will, &i sspito Asia, we shall be borne forward U > the f or-ef ron.t. Normal industry; tv ill reabsorb the unemployed by man.« a{ jeable dimensions." The Unemployment Insurance Bill passed' its second, reacting t>y 279 votes to 218.