BRITISH POLITICS.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 18923, 11 February 1927, Page 9

BRITISH POLITICS.

ADDRESS IN REPLY DEBATE CHINA AGAIN DISCUSSED. (BT CAE!.!—T2ES3 ASSOCIATION—COFY3:GBT.) (AUSTRALIAN <f.r. CABLE ASSOCIATIOK.) (Received February 10th. 7.15 p.m.) LONDON, February 9. I" tho Hons? of Commons, Mr ,T. H. lhoma?. resuming the debate in the Address-in-Reply, said tow King's Speeches had been so meaningless as this one. ,\lr Baldwin's new cry \v:is for shorter hours tor members of the House of Commons and longer hours i.or the minors. Unable to introduce new constructive legislation, the Government was completing last year's reactionary legislation, taking away the only bargaining power, namely, collects e bargaining, possessed by workers, lo put a plea for industrial peace into the King s Speech, in which an attempt was foreshadowed to remove workers' rights, compelled the workers to say, talk about peace is a fraud." Whatever might be said about the conduct of the mining dispute and the causes of tfce general strike, the main responsibility :.-sted upon Cabinet. ssr Austi'ii ('hnml erlaii:'s Birmingham spcc-h v,-::s one to which a large majority o: the people subscribed, but while negoliat 'ons were going on, Sir Ausien Chamherlriin'» Cabinet colleagues were dispatching a defence force, and Mr Anierv at the same time a S declaring that Britain had said the last weird. All this neutralised the effect of Sir Austen Chamberlain's speech. Mr Lloyd George remarked that Cabinet had achieved concrete unity by postponing every controversial topic. He warmly approved Mr Baldwin's statement yesterday on China, but the position was complicated by the fact that they had been driven to an exhibition of force. Amid cheers. Mr Lloyd George declared, "If there is any real peril to life and property the Government i 3 bound to act. They would have betrayed trust if they had not acted if the facts were such as to give reasonable apprehension of danger. He did not think the Government could take the responsibility for evacuating tho British from Shanghai. This would be a serious blow to Britain's position in tho East. The mere fact that certain eventualities which might occur did not occur, would not be a condemnation of the Government for sending a force to Shanghai. Ho approved the decision to land tho defence force at Hong-Kong, and sincerely hoped it would be possible to avoid landing troop:? at Shanghai. Mr Lloyd George asked whether the assertion of tho Paris newspaper "Le Temps," that tWe whole consular corps in Shanghai deprecated sending troops, was correct, and what the view was of the men on the spot on the subject. There was a danger of British judgment being deflected by talk of Bolshevik interference. Personally, he could not say whether the Reds or the "See Reds" were tho worse element. Probably on the whole it was the latter. He was of the opinion that the Chinese Government was not Bolshevik, but essentially Nationalist. The Chinese were not Communists; in fact, they were tho only Tories left outside the Liberals. Undoubtedly thero was propaganda on both sides. Sir W. Joynson-Hicks and Mr Churchill were doing a great deat of harm in trying to identify the Chinese Nationalist movement "• with Bolshevism.

"From my heart 1 identify myself with Sir Austen Chamberlain's pacific policy," he said, "and hope that he will tint allow his qollcagues to interfere, with the triumph Of that policy." Mr Churchill described Mr Thomas's speech as that of a patriotic Labourite putting himself right with his own extremists by belabouring the Government. Dealing with the alleged attack by tho Government on the workers right of collective bargaining, Mr Churchill asked whether tho general, strike, mass intimidation, and compulsory contribution to union funds were parts of the rights of reasonable collective bargaining. "If not, then the Government's proposols"in no wise affect those rights," he said. The Government had no reason to complain of the tone or the temper of the references bv tho Opposition to its policy in China, but Mi Churchill said he strongly deprecated Mr Chen's communications to the Labour Party, This dual diplomacy was dangerous. The Government was offering conciliation to all parties in China in an attempt to get justice and reasonable consideration for Britishers. Relations between Britain and Russia had not _ changed since Sir Austen Chamberlain's declaration last year. "But wo believe ourselves to bu tho object of insidious hostile propaganda throughout the world," declared Mr Churchill. "We are determined that ii this continues and at any time comes to a head, it shall be countered by British public opinion, vigilant, warned, and ready to meet tho danger.'" The debate wa3 adjourned. In the House of Lords, Earl Balfour welcomed the fact that no responsible member of the Opposition had encouraged the preposterous notion that Britain's dispatch of troops to the Far East was connected with any policy of territorial conquest in China. Conditions in China were chaotic. There vas not any single body with which a foreign Power could negotiate. There was also a special agitation against Britain for which there was nofc the smallest ground. The dispatch of troop® had been criticised as indiscreet and ill-advised. What would members of the Opposition have done if they had been in power? Tho evacuation of British nationals from Shanghai out of tho question, oven if possible, as it would leave vast pecuniary interests to the mob to pillage while ihey were helpless with troops a thousand miles away. The only method of avoidin.. that danger was to send troops After emphasising the fact that Sir Austen Chamberlain's present prob'ems were unprecedentedly difficult, Earl Balfour said that the Government was anxious to use the League of Nations wherever possible to smoothe out international difficulties. A full account of tho existing situation and Britain's policv. which had gone to the League, concluded : "Tho Govern me'it deeplv resrets that if doc« rot nppcr that there is any war in which the T.e.mie's assistance in the settlement of d'ffi uities in China, ran at present hr sought If an" such r.nuirinnities arise, the Gnvrmnir"* •!•{!! nrrjl fhwelrrs nf ihem." T.rrd Reading. m Mirlf of f.'benK uncompromisingly and urhe'itatin"h' Farl Balfour's statement. and the r*«e. LABOUR PARTY'S AMENDMENTS. (acstxaltan kfn> jr.r caisle association.! (Rceeived Fehrunrj lOfh. S.2J p.m.) j-OXDON. February 9. The Labour Party's amendment to the Address-ir.-Rcpiy, to be moved by Mr C. P.-Treveiyar. to-merrow, expresses regret at the Government's delay in dealing with the Chinese situation, and deplores tho dispatch of armed forces to the Far East, which is calculated not only to increase the risks to which British subjects in various parls of China are exposed, but to put obstacles

in the way of an equitable, permanent, and friendly understanding with the Chinese people on a basis of frank recognition of their national independence. The amendment invites the House to call for an immediate diversion or recoil of the troops en route to China. A second Labour Party amendment will be moved by Mr Clynes, regretting the reference in the King's Speech to the proposals defining the amending law regarding industrial disputes as indicating the intention of the Government to continue their partisan policy shown in the recent industrial conflicts, and to diminish the power of organised labour to resist encroachments on the already inadequate standard of living of the workers.