FRAYED TEMPERS

Evening Post, Volume CXXII, Issue 21, 24 July 1936, Page 9

FRAYED TEMPERS

■ ♦ ■— ALL-NIGHT SITTING UNEMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE COMMONS DEBATE (British oniclal VYlreless.l (Received July 24, noou.) i RUGBY, July 23. : The House of Commons, was still in session at 3 o'clock this afternoon after an all-night sitting during which the debate on the unemployment assistance regulations was continued. There were no answers to questions today, as under the rules of the House yesterday's business goes on. If the debate closes at 11 o'clock tonight the House of Commons will have been continuously in session for over 32 hours. "A WOOLWORTH INCREASE." Opening the second of the three days of debate Mr. Neil McLean (Labour) said that the unemployed were expected to become enthusiastic because 200,000 among them were likely to receive an increase of an average of 6d weekly. Amid laughter he referred to the payments as a Woolworth increase froro a Woolworth Government t The Secretary for Scotland, Sir Godfrey Collins, said that the Government confidently looked to an unbiased public opinion sympathetically moved towards the needs of the unemployed to approve regulations intended to give even-handed justice to all applicants. Great Britain was treating her unemployed better than any other nation in the world. . Mr. Dingle Foot (Liberal) criticised the regulations, although he regarded them as an improvement on the 1934 draft. . . .■;■.• Sir John Simon, replying for the Government, said that the criticism of the Opposition had beeu concentrated on "•.the household means test, but to two out' of' every three persons who would be affected the means test was quite irrelevant, since they had no resources. . With regard to the. scales themselves, the changes made in the new regulations numbered seven altogether. Every change was in the direction of improving the position of the applicant The scales had attracted very little attention in the debate, and the reason, he suggested, was that the Opposition realised that reasonable and sensible people would not be prepared to oppose-them. '-.... HUMOUR AND DISORDER. The usual good-natured chaff provided a number of humorous incidents to lighten the^night's proceedings, though tempers became frayed at times—Labour members in particular reseating1 the refusal of the Government spokes"men to accept their version of the hardship which they alleged the regulations would inflict. Parliamentary correspondents describe the speeches as being of an unusually high standard for an all-night debate. '. The Labour Minister, '.Mr. Ernest Brown, never deserted his post, and the Dominions Secretary, Mr. Malcolm Mac Donald, supported him throughout. . As the afternoon wore on the effects of the tiredness of members became apparent, and during Sir John Simon's speech the Speaker was compelled to suspend the session for a short time to restore order. At the resumption of business three members were suspended and withdrew from the House. •