EDEN’S COMMENT ON DALTON’S “DIRGE”

Greymouth Evening Star, 14 November 1947, Page 6

EDEN’S COMMENT ON DALTON’S “DIRGE”

LONDON, November 12. The Chancellor of the Exchequer r(Dr Dalton), in a-broadcast on the autumn Budget, said that the great national emergency which Britain was facing was no less serious than, the emergency the country had faced' during the war. J j “I do not expect this tb be a popu-! lar Budget, but I hope you will agree ’ that it is a necessary Budget,” he said., “Our opponents must be thanking their lucky stars every day that they' lost the last election. We shall go on doing our .duty, even though for themoment it may lose us votes; and if the British people respond to this emergency we shall come through to victory in peace as we did in war.” “What was a song in Dr Dalton’s

-heart has become a dirge in his diaIphragm,” said Mr R. A. Eden (ConIservative) discussing the Budget 'speech in the House of Commons. i“The Chancellor has far too long 'failed to make the true, trend of events plain. I cannot think that he has even made it plain this afternoon. “At long last new taxation has been given, but it is very far from clear 'how we are going to meet the essential problem.of inflation. The Chancellor in all his speeches has been inclined to separate internal financial problems from our external balance of payments, whereas they cannot really be separated at. all. The Government is preening itself over an imaginary Budget surplus.”