BRITISH POLITICS

Greymouth Evening Star, 15 March 1930, Page 7

BRITISH POLITICS

CENSURE MOTION DEBATE TARIFFS AND UNEMPLOYMENT (Wireless). RUGBY, March 13. Mr Stanley Baldwin, in moving the vote of censure, said that he regarded the situation as one of extreme gravity. He said: “I hope the Chancellor of the Exchequer will make it quite clear whether or not he intends, at any'time, in combating the evils ot unemployment, 'to have recourse either to any single duty or genetal duty as a. remedy for unemployment. The ■whole tendency of the world was towards high tariffs. High tariffs, he thought, were bad, but we should not cure them by pulling down our own barriers. He believed that was the whole tendency of the economic life of Europe, and we were left outside it. . Referring briefly to the Dominions question, Mr Baldwin said that it was his view, and a view that was shared by thoughtful men of all parties in ail of the Dominions, that, unless something could be constructed, with a view to the economic unity of the Empire, there was a real fear that, in time, the threads that bound the Empire, which were already gossamer, might break, and with the breaking of those threads -would go the hope of the world for peace and progress. He had been unable to see any way in which economic unity could be approached, except by utilising duties. Mr Philip Snowden denounced what he described as “the deliberate conspiracy of certain interests to discredit the Government.” Stories of the closing-dowm of factories had been appearing daily in the Press, and the whole of the increase of unemployment had been attributed to the policy of the Government, particularly in regard to his own personal responsibilities in respect of certain industries. “If the latter has any influence at all,” he said, “it could only be infinitesimal.” He questioned if only 30 per cent, of the workers were employed in the safeguarding of industries. In regard to a complaint that he had refused to declare the Government’s intentions regarding the safeguarding and the McKenna duties, Mr Snowden pointed out that on the first day that the Government met Parliament, the Prime Minister had stated that no further applications for safeguarding duties would be considered, that the existing duties -would expire at their appointed date, and that the future policy would be declared at the right time.

In regard to the demand made in the motion for an extension of the safeguarding duties, Mr -Snowden said that there were two questions which had been put to the protectionists tens of thousands of times, and to which no answer had ever been given. The first question was: If protection would cure unemployment, here, why had it not cured unemployment in ' the highly-protected countries The second question was:. If protection was a good thing for the workers, why were the wages in these highly-protected'countries only half of the wages here? . When the Conservatives had answered these questions, he would continue to discuss the subject, but not till .then. The main purpose of Mr Baldwin’s motion, said the Chancellor of the Exchequer, was to condemn him because of his reticence regarding those duties. He would make no statement beyond what he had already said. Sir Herbert Samuel said that his party unhesitatingly supported the, Government in resisting the motion. It was somewhat surprising that the Opposition’s front bench should have introduced a motion inviting the Chancellor of the Exchequer to take the almost unprecedented course of declaring in advance what duties he. intended to propose. The uncertainty was affecting business, but that was the natural sequel to bringing this question of tariffs on to the floor of the House of Commons. The Liberal Party were free traders, becquse they were convinced that policy was the best for the country In the present circumstances of the world. Mr Churchill said that this censure was specially focussed upon Mr Snowden. The latter had said that he was the victim of an organised conspiracy and that there was a deliberate policy on the part of certain interests to create unemployment, in order to discredit the Government; but did anyone believe it? There was nothing more common than this persecution delusion, but these were early days for the Chancellor to show signs of that mania. “If he is in this condition three weeks before the Budget,” said Mr Churchill, “what will he be reduced to by the end of July? He ought to be fair to the protected trades, instead of talking mockingly about Jews’ harps and popguns.” Captain Wedgewood Benn summed up the debate for the Government, and the division taken amidst noisy demonstrations by both parties. The Hon. T. M. Wilford. Mr Stanley Bruce, and Mr Tewater were among the interested listeners to the debate.