LABOUR CHALLENGE.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 339, 28 October 1908, Page 7

LABOUR CHALLENGE.

LIBERAL MAJORITY. THE GOVERNMENT PALLIATIVES. ACCEPTED BY COMMONS. {BY TELEGRAPH —I'l'-ESS ASSOCIATION—COPYRIGHT.) (Rec, October 27, 10.10 p.m.) London, October 27. In tho.Houso of Commons, Mr. P. Alden, Liberal member for the Tottenham division of Middlesex, moved, in accordance . with notice previously given:— " That the House welcomes Mr. Asquith's statement regarding tho national importance of the problem of unemployment, and approves of the steps proposed therein to deal with tho matter." | Mr. Iveir Hanlic, on behalf of tho Independent Labour party, moved the followiug amendment: — "That, while recognising the importance of Mr. Asquith's promiso to introduce early legislation dealing with unemployment on a per-< manent basis, and while welcoming his promise to administer with moro elasticity the existing Act, and to provide moro money, ,this House is of _ opinion that his proposals are quite inadequate to meet tho pressing needs of this winter; and that tho absenco' of the proper machinery even for carrying, out the existing powers, and the gonoral impreparedness of tho country to meet the present unemployed crisis, are duo to tho neglect of tho Government to inako provision for State affairs the need of which was clearly .foreseen." Tariff Reform Excluded. Mr. E. A. Goulding, who early in this year was elected by Worcester City as n Tariff .Reformer and Unionist, wished to move an amendment dealing with fiscal reform as a remedy for the existing depression.

The Speaker (tho Hon. J. W. Lowther) rejected Mr. Goulding's amendment on the ground that it was outside the scope of the Government proposals dealing with the present emergency. ■ This ruling of tho Speaker narrowed the debate to the question of the adequacy or inadequacy of the proposals as outlined in Mr. Asquith's statement. In moving tho motion, Mr. Alden expressed the hope that the palliatives contained in tho statement were intended to precede real effective blows at the causos of unemployment. Mr. Keir Hardie on Mr." Burns. Mr. Keir H'ardie endeavoured to belittle the Government's proposals. Ho raised Liberal protests by remarking that everybody except Mr. John Burns, who was tho Old Man of the Seairound'tho neck of tho Government-, knew that the present crisis was coming. ; Ho. contended that emigration was no longer available as a means of relief to the labour market in Britain. He emphasised the numbers. of unomployed in Canada and elsewhere. The policy of dumping our unemployed in the colonies was straining tho loyalty of many of the workers thore. Ho appealed to the Government not to leavo the distribution of tho grant for tho unemployed to tho Local Government Board, but to appoint a special committee of tho Cabinet to supervise its expenditure. Tho Right to Obey and the Right to Live.

Mr. Keir Hardie also threatened that if tho worst came to the worst he would go out among his, own ; people and would take tho responsibility of tho advico ho gave them. The right ,to live meant the. right to work. If the unemployed wore unprovided for under the law, they could not bo asked to obey the law. In conclusion, he declared that the country would have to be shocked out of its present inaction. Mr. Will Crooks (Labour member, for Woolwich) and Mr. Eamsay Macdonald (Labour member for Leicester) attacked the Government. Mr. Burns in Reply. Mr. John Burns, President of the Local Government Board,, vigorously defended the Government. He said there was not a distress committee that, was able to complain the money demanded of the Local Government Board for relief work had been, withheld. The present crisis was' not as bad as tho state of affairs that existed at the parsing of the Employment Act (? tho Unemployed Workmen Act, passed by the-last Unionist Government in 1905, and renewed by tho present Government). The accelerating of various works as set out in Mr. Asquith's statement meant that tho sum of five millions would be expended before March noxt. Tho best agencies for work were also better acquainted with deserving cases than tho Central (Unemployed) Body could be.

Mr. Burns expressed surprise at tho Opposition mentioning tho system introduced in 1906 to allow a maximum of 10,000 reservists to go to the colonies without forfeiting their pensions. Ho added that 6300 reservists were now in tho colonies. Mr, Balfour Cites Free Trade Doctrine. . Mr. Balfour, Leader of the Opposition, strongly complained at the refusal of the Government to permit a two days' debate on tho question. Referring to the unfit labour that was employed on special relief work, he described this as. contrary to Free Trade principles, inasmuch as it was buying tho worst goods in the dearest market. Mr. Asquith, ' Prime Minister, defended the Government's proposals as giving, within the country's immediate resources, the widest effective relief at the minimum risk of demoralisation and humiliation of the persons relieved. The voting on Mr. Keir Hardie's amendment was ,as follows:— For the Amendment 68 Against the Amendment 236 Majority against les Mr. Alden's motion was then carried on tho following division: — .For the Motion .196 ' Against the Motion 35 Majority for 161

Mr. Keir Hardie's concluding remarks recall Mr. Will Thome's alleged advice to tho unemployed in Trafalgar bquaro to rush bakers' shops. For doing this, the Labour member for West Ham appeared I ho other day at the Westminster Police Court, and claimed that his speech had been taken too literally; he still held that it was not a crime for a starving man to help himself to bread. Mr. Thome was ordered to enter into sureties for good behaviour for a year, failing which ho would be imprisoned for six months. With regard to Mr. Keir Hardie's complaint as to the dumping of unemployed in' the colonies, Canada has several times of late objected to criminals and undesirables, aud has in fact deported some.