LIBERAL PARTY

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 64, 17 March 1933, Page 7

LIBERAL PARTY

POLICY TO BE ADOPTED

SIR H. SAMUEL'S ADVICE

ZREEDO3I OF ACTION

Sir Herbert Samuel stated his views fan the policy to be pursued by the i Liberal members ■of Parliament' who follow his leadership at a luncheon given by the Liberal Whips in his honour recently, states the London *'Tirues." • "The-Liberal Party," Sir Herbert Bamuel said, "is free and independent.! 'At the conference at Buckingham Palace on August 24, 1931, those who then spoke for the three parties in the State did not contemplate an amalgamation, not even a coalition, but cooperation for a particular purpose. That was publicly stated by the Prime Minister at the time. The position remained the same at the* General Election. .. "The Liberal Party is under no obligation to support the Government as cow constituted and their policy as How declared. Its only obligation is to act as we consider necessary in the best interests of the country. At the time of the crisis almost the whole aiation welcomed the co-operation of parties as the best hope for the reestarblishment of financial confidence. "We did co-operate, and we saved the ' situation. "In my opinion the nation cares very little today about the fortunes of any political party, whether Conservative, Liberal, or Socialist; still less does it c-aro about -trumpery questions regarding the position of this leader or that. The nation is thinking only how it can escape from the appalling economic condition that now prevails; how. it can end the nightmare of unemployment. ' "A-NATIONAL DUTY." "I have been, and still am, reluctant to declare that; Parliamentary cooperation is no longer possible. But it -must become impossible when it becomes clear that the Government has no effective policy, that it is drifting upon the stream of events. Then it will become a national duty to say so, and' to take the course that would follow. "Special responsibility rests upon the Liberals in the House of Commons to give expression to the deep disquiet which pervades the nation. The Labour Party opposes for the sake of opposition. Its financial policy cannot command confidence. It is tied to a scheme of Socialism which would involve the collapse of the present industrial system without having thought out a better one. Private members of the Conservative Party and the group which follows Sir John Simon are absolutely acquiescent, and have joined to make this what I have termed 'The Rubber Stamp Parliament.' "We are few in the House' of Commons, but we are assured that we represent a vast body of public opinion which is neither Tory nor Socialist, and which does demand that a Government should declare a clear-cut national and international policy, and that it should show signs of some vigour in making that policy effective. "I will venture to offer a few words of respectful advice to members of the Liberal Party throughout the country. I have a right to advise. It is just 40 £ears since I was first adopted as a Liberal candidate for Parliament. Duting that time I have never wavered in ray course, and, except for .five years when I was engaged in a task of Imperial administration overseas, I have never rested in my service. I have always had in mind the maxim, 'It is Mot incumbent upon theo to complete the work, but neither art thou free to desist from it.' "This is my advice: Eemcmber that the British are a very practical people. They, are moved by great ideals. They are ready to respond to a lofty appeal, but in matters of trade and business they wish to put their affairs in the hands of men of sound and sober judgment. Political enthusiasm is essential. It is vital. Ko great cause can prosper without it. But.it is not enough unless it is allied with plain common sense. "I want to see at by ; elections a,nd General Elections Liberal candidates at the top of the poll—real Liberals, independent, without pacts or promises. I want to see them at the top of the poll and not, however heroically, at the bottom. To achieve that we must command the confidence of the great mass of thoughtful, progressive-minded men and women among the working?lass and in all classes. "As to the course of political policy and Parliamentary action be^t fitted to "win that confidence, I must ask leave to iorm my own judgment, guided by my experience and training and animated by my-vision of .the ideals we seek together. To -' form that independent judgment is the duty I owe to the Liberal Party and to the country. When endorsed by my Parliamentary colleagues it is my duty to declare it and to act upon it. "In the difficult conditions of the last two years that is the course 1 have followed, and that is the course I mean to pursue.- I know clearly :where we wish to go." ESSENTIAL POLICY. Sir Herbert Samuel added that two months ago his colleagues- and he decided that it would be desirable to rjnake a statement at the time of the resumption of Parliament as to the policy they considered essential. Since then he had been in consultation with Liberal ex-Ministers, with members of the Parliamentary Party, and with committees of the chief national organisations. What he.had to say represented, he believed, the general consensus of Liberal opinion throughout the country as to the policy which the times required. First, they viewed the situation as one of extreme urgency. "They talked about imports, exports, monetary policy, and rates of exchange, while there continued the simple fact that 100,000,000 people were in extreme need and hundreds of millions more were steadily growing poorer. What was statesmanship going to do about it? It must hurry or there would be a crash. The- Government seemed to have no adequate sense of the urgency of the matter.. At the end of the Lausanne Conference it was recognised universally that there was need of another Economic Conference. That was last July. Now they were told that the Conference could not even meet until next summer. The whole year would have gone and nothing effected. ' "Meantime," he continued, "the Government scorns t5 be'more concerned to persuade the nation that prosperity is returning of itself than to vigorous measures to promote it. There might be orders for half a dozen new ships when half a hundred Were needed;. 9000 might be found work in new foreign factories out of 3,000,000 unemployed.

"When general tariffs were introduced Mr. Chamberlain told the House of Commons that now we had cleared the road for prosperity. There is little progress along that road so far. The depreciation in tho pound has made importing dearer and exporting cheaper, yet one Minister after another has attributed the improvement in the balance of trade only to tariffs, while they know quite well that it is mainly due to our being off the-gold standard. , fepeeches • are vmfair to the

people, who expect on these matters complete and honest statements from ■ Ministers. These speeches have been neither the one nor the other. Tariffs have been an utter failure." It was gradually becoming recognised throughout the world that tariffs and quotas on imports were not merely a failure as a means of restoring prosperity, but were, the principal barrier to its restoi-ation. Sir Herbert Samuel quoted from Mr. Chamberlain's speech to American journalists, in which lie declared that nations were dependent upon each other and on the exchange of products, jHe also quoted Mr. Runeiman—"one of the men principally responsible for the establishment of protection in j Great Britain in Mis appeal to Germany . and Prance to stop the quota system, which is becoming the curse of European trade." "Yet quota restrictions upon imports , which are insane and a curse when established elsewhere are adopted here by his own colleague, the President of the Board of Agriculture, with his cordial approval and support," commented Sir Herbert Samuel. The nation could not stand: where it was, ho said. The British popple could not bo satisfied with' assurances month after month, year after year, that a revival of prosperity was close at hand if only we would be patient a little longer. Meanwhile the strength of the nation was being sapped and the morale of millions of people undermined. THE ECONOMIC CONFERENCE. The World Economic Conference would be a decisive moment. It was a question of sink or swim. Would the British Government at the forthcoming conference press for a general and substantial reduction of all tariffs .hero and elsewhere? On the other hand,'was one to. expect that on account of the Ottawa commitments and through the influence of protectionist manufacturers seeking their own profits, who were very powerful with the Conservative Party, the Government would only make a perfunctory effort, and'that the conference would end after months of discussion with only trivial results? The Liberal Party aimed at the reestablishment of complete freedom of trade, but they recognised that iv the present state of the world, with the \ stranglehqld of restriction so severe, j the British Government should use all its' influence to.secure simultaneous economic disarmament. If universal'and substantial reduction of tariffs did not prove to be attainable the conference, in their view, ought not to be blocked by that. "Those who recognise that," ho said, "should unite to effect it as among themselves. .' Tuat is the policy we would urge. It cannot be done so long as the most-favourcd-natiori clause remains as it is. It would involve not its abandonment, but its modification .... '■ ' "What we propose is not in'the- nature of a Customs union. It does not involve raising present tariffs against anyone. It would not. prevent our giving free admission to the goods of Empire countries or, if w6 wished, of other countries. It would involve those States that participated, who pledged 'themselves to allow within a short period the admission of each others' goods, either free of duty or with not more than duties of, say, 10 per cent, on their value. "At the World Economic Conference it. may bo that many countries would be willing to join in such a plaji. Our strong view is that Britain should not only lend active encouragement, but should take a-lead-in pressing such a proposal." In monetary matters it was desirable that the pound sterling should be stabilised, and other currencies as well.' But that could not be done unless War Debts and, Separations were abolished or reduced to small proportions, and unless freedom was established for international trade. " •' Speaking of the need for maintaining the authority of the League of Nations, he said that the"" representatives at Geneva -were engaged in tremendous tasks, and it was the duty of public opinion to support them. Nothing was more obnoxious than the recurring attacks'of the Beaverbrook Press on the work of the League of Nations. It had been made, clear that if Germany was not to rearm, the other nations must disarm. The choice between the two courses was really the choico between a war and stable peace. Ho had been driven to the conclusion, which he stated as his own personal view, that it was necessary for the British Government to make more extensive proposals on the naval side of disarmament than they had-yet done. On the question of the Kenya Goldfields Ordinance, Sir Herbert Samuel said that there must be scrupulous fulfilment of pledges formally given to the native peoples. The Colonial Office defence on this matter was unconvincing. The Liberal Party in the House of Commons would ask for an early discussion, and would press strongly for a modification of policy. ° On the problem of ■unemployment the Government had said little and had done less. The- matter could not be left there. It was partly because constructive work had ■ been brought to such a low ebb that unemployment was so rifp, State expenditure was so high, and taxation so heavy.