BRITISH FINANCES

Evening Star, Issue 17192, 6 November 1919, Page 3

BRITISH FINANCES

LLOYD GEORGE'S SPEECH

REASONS FOR SLOW DEMOBILISATION.

DEBT EXTINCTION PRO-

POSALS

Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright, Australian and N.Z. Cable Association.

(Delayed in Transmission.)

LONDON, October 30,

The Prime Minister, speaking in ths debate on the Supplementary Budget, expressed the opinion that the Chancellor of the Exchequer had "' knocked the bottom out :! of tho case of nis critics. Ho emphasised their disagreements in regard to where to retrench. The greatest expenditure had been tho Army and and he pointed out that tie Navy would presently be only the pro-war Navy, and it would be leas at the end oi the financial year. Dealing with details in regard to the reduction of the personnel of the Army, Navy, and Air Forces, Mr Lloyd George said that the February forecast for March 31 was for 825,000 men. Actually there would be onlv 300,000. Next year ther3 would be a substantial surplus for the reduction of the war debt. Provision for the liquidation of ths debt in 50 years was one of tho most magnificent propositions concerning international liability ever advanced, and it was a testimony to British courage and foresight. The Government had established pensions amounting to £120,000,000 annually. There had been exceptional charges in the current year, owing'to abnormal difficulties.

j Trio British -Army had been more scatJ tered over the world than any other army. j They had evacuated Armenia to econojmisa. They were unable to police the '- world, and he honestly thought other ] Powers ought to share the responsibility. | Then tho Government were criticised for not demobilising more quickly, on tho ! grounds _ that they knew that Germany | would sign the treaty. ".On the contrary/' he said, " the "Conference did not know till the last minute that Germany would sign, and then .she only signed because she knew that Britain maintained a number_ of reserve divisions in France ! ready for this eventuality, with which force Marshal Foch was prepared to march to Berlin. Without this undemobilised force we should have substituted defeat j for deficit, and thrown away all the ter- ' rible sacrifices to make accounts balance jin 1919. Any Government doing this j would have deserved impeachment, and I undoubtedly would have had it." I Owing to the way in which we j were dealing with financial difficulties, j Britain -need not fcr.r comparison j with any country in the world. | Conscription in Germany had gone, 1 "'r,d her nary was at the bottom of , the sea. This significant fact gave ' grounds for confidence in the financial staj bililv- of the future. Britain could j weather thus storm as she had weathered' j every other; nevertheless he hoped that ] the economises would not deny the ex- | penditure of moneys on objects" essential Ito national life. The war had fully de- • monstrated the. value of technical edaca- | tion._ He urged that tho truest economy '■ was increased production. The deprecia*- ,' tion of the sovereign was at present tho heaviest tax. Tho only remedv was production, which could be got only by tho co-operation of contented people." It was the greatest folly to urge the cessation of ! expenditure on health, comforts, and the training of people who had been prepared to sacrifice their lives on the battlefields for the country they loved. j LABOR AND TAXATION.

Mr J. R.Clynes, speaking on the financial debate, moved an amendment declaring that tho present national war expenditure was unjustifiable, that drastic economy was necessary, and advocating a levy on capital and a reversion to the State of war fortunes for the purpose of reducing the National Debt. He said that the Labor Party contended that the financial situation was so extraordinary as to call for extraordinary measures. "He urged that an inquiry be made into the question of a capital levy. DOUBTFUL DEBTS.

Mr Bonar Law, winding up the debate, to the amount due from Germany for the upkeep of the Army of Occupation. This iirst instalment of Oermany's debt would, he said, im . doitbtedlv lie obtained. As resard's our i-8.0C0.C00.000 debt, certain items should be onset against it. a.= the Allies owed us over £1,7Gl XOOXCO. Then the Dominion* .-.•wed us £2oo.ooo,ooo—indeed £221.000 TOO --'l>:\n fe -ir.£ down tho debt to £7.000.000.000 .•urtherniorc, Mr Bon?r Law *aid he did not think Russia's would alwava be a bad debt. As regards the German* indemnity, he wa.-j confident that we would get a considerable sum to reduce our debt, '["'HE INDEPENDENT LIBERALS.

Sir Donald Maclean, a.?kcd for permisM'jii to move an amendment on tho Labor amendment., but the .Speaker ruled it out ot order.

‘^* r Conoid Maclean regretted (hat lie nnd his colleagues were, "unablo to vole against, the Government, because thov i fiuld not enter the lobby with the Labor- ! lies unless inquiry was held before the, jcapital levy was decided.’ | THE VOTE*. | The Rouse rejected Ilia Labor amendment* by 40.) votes to 50, the minority beina: almost exclusively Laborites. The Covernment resolution 'was then adopted nnanimonslv. M 0 C.\PiT.\L LEVY I.VQUTRY. t LOXHOX. Xoveniber 4. Jo the Rouse of Commons Mr Bonar Law declined so to frame the reference of the M ar Fortunes Inquiry Committee that , it would permit the investigation of the j question of a capital levy.