BRITAIN’S DIFFICULTIES

Evening Star, Issue 20972, 10 December 1931, Page 11

BRITAIN’S DIFFICULTIES

THE GOVERNMENT'S POLICY STATEMENT BY PRIME MINISTER (British Official Wireless.) Pres* Association—By Telegraph—Copyright. RUGBY, December 9. (Received December 10, at noon.) A Labour vote of censure regretting the failure of the Government to deal with tho problems of currency and exchange, and the development of international trade, and to produce plans for unemployment and high rents, was moved in the House of Commons tonight by Sir Stafford Cripps, who said the return of the National Government to power had not restored confidence. There was continued uncertainty because apparently tho Government had no care other than to tinker with the problem, which was an international one. Ho advocated barter through import and export boards, pending exploration of tho currency situation, and accused the Government of failing to provide for distress in the coming winter duo to unemployment and tho economy cuts. The Prime Minister, replying, said a declaration of the Government’s intentions with legat’d to currency stabilisation while the present uncertain, conditions prevailed, would be far from serving the purpose of restoring confidence. He drew attention to the. international problems and difficulties with which Britain was faced. He said that British trade was suffering because of world 'poverty. The only enlightened policy was to seek to increase the volume of world trade, and that tho Government would continue to do It regretted the delay in bringing the nations into conference on these problems, but he was sure the experts now sitting at Basic were fully aware of the urgency of their task and would prepare a report with expedition. Immediately afterwards a conference of Governments should he held, and the British Government’s view was that this conference should approach its work in a spirit of realism, examining tho whole of tho facts and aiming at an agreement which would not merely tide over the difficulties temporarily, but would set the whole world on a sound economic, social, and political footing. This could be clone only by the consciousness on the part of all the nations that whatever their own circumstances, their own continuing pros perity depended on the prosperity and tranquillity of the whole world. It was in that spirit that the British Government would enter the conference. Mr MacDonald claimed that tho Government had been remarkably swift in action. It had made essential contributions to the country’s problems by balancing the Budget; also it had dealt with the abnormal importations which were imposing a heavy burden on the sterling exchange, and it bad pursued a policy of maintaining the domestic ‘value of sterling. Referring to rents, the Prime .Minister said they had some evidence of tho unfair raising of rents, and he forecast legislation which would give protection in these cases. The Government, he said, had been given a mandate to seek to revive world trade and to secure Britain’s just share in it, using every resource at its hand, and that mandate it was,, carrying out.