FEATURES OF THE DEBATE

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 145, 20 June 1924, Page 7

FEATURES OF THE DEBATE

IS FRUIT THE FOUNDATION OF EMPIBE? • • LONDON, 19th June. The intervention of all the party leaders, except Sir. Lloyd' George, partially atoned for the dullness of the opening day's debate. There were many comments on Mr. Lloyd George's absence, but it was announced that he had an engagement, and had paired in favour of tlie first four' resolutions and against the rest. . . The main point in Mr. Baldwin's speech was his appeal to the House to separate the. resolutions into two catc-

gpnes, and'to agree to the first four, as they would impose no new duties, but ' Mr. Asqiiith rejected the appeal in the opening phrases of his speecii, confessing frankly that he could not flog himself into excitement over any of the resolutions.

The most telling passage in Mr. Asqmths speech was .that following his analysis of the 10 resolutions:—"Three of them deal with dried fruits; three with apples, honey, and limejiiice"— (laughter)—"and one with various forms of canned peaches"—(laughter). When I read them in all their pompous array on the Order Paper," said Mr. Asquith, "I am reminded of the Bagdad vendor who perambulated the streets of Bagdad, shouting: "In .the name of the Prophet, figs!", (Loud Liberal and Socialist laughter.) Mr..Asquith said that Mr. Baldwin had said the rejection of the resolutions would imperil the . Empire. If this was true ■what a conception the people must have of the stability of the Empire! LIBERALS NOT.UNITED Later in the, debate it was evident thjit, apart from-Mr. Lloyd George, the Liberal leader did not carry all his party with him. Mr. H. A. L. Fisher, ex-Min-' ister for Education, said that Imperial preference on a grand scale was a practical impossibility, but he proposed to vote for those resolutions which imposed no new duty. Major A. G. Church (Lab.) advanced similar arguments to Mr. Fisher's.

The Rev. Campbell Stephen (Lab.) promised Mr. Baldwin the support of all the Labour members if he would give an assurance that his Empire policy would be one of national buying and marketing of all surplus colonial produce, to the exclusion of the parasitic middle.man.

Captain Brass (Con.) said that although ft Freetrader he proposed to vote for ihe first four resolutions. He thought Britain should malcfi a gesture to the Dominions to help the Empire settlement Mr, H. E. Spencer (Lib.) said he had

served as a Tommy in the Australian .borces, but had never heard his fellows base their loyalty to the Empire upon Imperial preference. Mr. Spencer, who is a Bradford woollen manufacturer, con-, turned that he had had a new suit made of Australian Botany Bay wool, in order -to enforce 'his argument that when ho endeavoured'to sell some of his cloth he found that the tariff of Holland and Denmark was 5 per cent., that of Switzerland 6 per cent., and that of Sweden and France 10 per cent., but that of Australia, was 30 per cent, on cloth made from their own wool. *

Mr. Philip.Snowden; Chancellor of the •Esechequer, declared that in the Budget he made the greatest reduction of food taxes ever known; and he did so intending ultimately to abolish them altogether, but if the preference resolutions were adopted they must say good-bye to the remission of food -taxes during their Parliamentary career. A DRAMATIC CONCLUSION Mr. Austin Chamberlain (Con.) winding up the debate, ' contrasted the attitude of members of the Treasury Bench! Mr. J. H. Thomas, he said, felt he was doing an ungracious thing, and did not like the lash; Mr. llamsay Mac Donald felt it \vsis necessary, but ungracious; Mr. Philip Snowden did a disagreeable tiling, and loved it. '. . The controversy, however, was emerging from the party stage, and support was no longer confined to the Conservative benches. Amid Opposition cheers he demanded to know: "Would the Government dare face the consequence if the Dominions to-mor-row sent an ultimatum that every preference would be removed if there was no response?" ■ ■

■ The division followed,-and was greeted with cheers and counter-cheers. x Mr. Baldwin's, abandonment of the remaining resolutions evoked Labour cries of "Oh !" and an unanswered question from Captain Wedgwood Benn (Lib.): "Are we to understand that\all these resolutions are shams?" ,' ■ .

The House rose speedily.