BLUM DEFIANT

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 50, 1 March 1937, Page 9

BLUM DEFIANT

NO CHANGE OF POLICY

ONLY ASSURED LEGISLATION

REPLY TO CRITICS

United Press Association—By Electric Tele-

graph—Copyright. PARIS, February 27.

The Prime Minister, M. Leon Blum, defied critics and refused to change the policy or the form of the National Government. The Chamber of Deputies passed a vote of confidence in him by 361 votes to 209. The debate was one of the tensest since M. Blum came into power.

M. Pierre Flandin exhausted the resources of invective in an' attempt to leaving nothing damaging to the Government unsaid. "The Republic regime will perish," he declared, "if the Government persists in its present policy. It will have to face simultaneously a Treasury and currency crisis and inflation. The inevitable, end will be political dictatorship."

| Pointing an accusing finger at M. Blum, he added: "Although the City of London has a soft spot for you, two British banks refused to subscribe to your last loan for France."

M. Blum retorted: "I am loyal to my convictions. If betrayed, the masses might forsake the Republic. How would you stop the explosion if the Popular Front parties failed to pull together? This is not a threat but a prophecy of ill omen. lam taking the national standpoint."

"We are not a Popular Front or a mere party Government," M. Blum continued. "We have always acted correctly towards the capitalists in the national interests. We have always spoken for the whole of France in foreign affairs. Everything would be useless if national economy received fresh shocks. Nothing will be submitted to the Chamber unless all the Popular Front parties have agreed on it. If necessary, tariffs will be lowered and quotas enlarged to meet the demands of expanding industry." \