PENSIONS OR POWER?

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 93, 13 January 1908, Page 7

PENSIONS OR POWER?

LIBERALS* DILEMMA. DIFFERENCES IN THE CABINET: / ;; REVENUE LIMITATIONS. SI TELEQUAFH—PRESS ASSOCIATION—COrYnIOIIT. London, January 10. The " Manohester Guardian " and other Liberal. organs, hint at difficulties between Lord Tweedmoutli (First Lord of tho Admiralty) and Mr. Haldario (Secretary of State for War), on tho one hand, and Mr. Asqiiith (Chancellor of'the Eschequor) on the other; It is said that tho two former are- Unwilling to surrender funds for tho purpose of providing old-ago pensions. Tho Cabinet is stated to ho uneasy concerning tho extent of expenditure on naval and military requirements; and is inolined to make retrenchments if tho Liberal party is prepared to accord them support in tho matter. Mr. Asquith's Inst Budget proposed to set! .asido a fund which is to he the nucleus of an. old "age' ponsioas scheme. Iri a recent' speech Mr. llaldano, referring to old age said that "the Government wore pledged to deal with tho subject licit session. That they ivould bo ablo to cover the whole field lie did not believe, it was 60 crior-' mouSly difficult and complicated, but they were working hard at it and hoped to produce some plan for a beginning in the , courso of next session." , ■ ■ . ■ . • In tlie same speech Mi - . Ilaldarie said he did hot want to cut the" Army'-too tight; but he had been able to reduce the cost of tlie Ajiny by two niilHohs a year, without, ho believed, maidiig it one penny the le?s efficient, By the end of-.March: nnjt the Government would have paid off S3' millions of National Debt. A univortnl pension, to bo paid to all persons of G5 years and upwards, would—according to a memorandum, of the Local Government Board, as summarised iii the " Express "—require at. the outset an annual vote of .£27,503,0DD, apart from the cost of adininistra-. tion. The cost of administration is estimated nt -C.lt i.ODO. , ■ ' , . The " Westminster. Gazette " recently stated that in 1908 tho Government will probably dovoto five or six millions to old ago pensions. 1