THE FATEFUL DAY

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 9 October 1924, Page 5

THE FATEFUL DAY

CRITICAL DEBATE IMMINENT. LABOUR’S FIRM STAND. BY CABLE —PRESS ASSOCIATION—COPYRIGHT. _ . . LONDON, Oct. 8. The critical debate in the House of Commons to-night is expected to proceed on the following lines: Sir Robert Horne, on behalf of the Conservatives, will move: “That the conduct of the Government in relation to the institution and withdrawal of criminal proceedings against the editor of .the Workers’ Weekly is deserving of the censure of this House.” Sir John Simon, on behalf of the Liberals, will move an amendment: “That a Select Committee be appointed, consisting of ten members of the House of Commons, to investigate and report upon the circumstances leading up to the • withdrawal of the proceedings against Mr. Campbell.” What will happen subsequently will depend upon the form in which the Speaker puts the motion. The Government-. has already intimated that the firmest opposition will be offered to both the motion and the amendment, and, if either be carried, Mr. MacDonald will advise a dissolution. The official Conservatives are most emphatic that their followers will support the motion, and the Lloyd Georgian Liberals maintain that the amendment will be carried; but the Asquithians, while arguing that an inquiry is vitally necessary, think the Government in, the course of the debate may suggest a compromise that the Liberals may possibly be able to accept. Even strictly party newspapers hesitate this morning to prophesy the result of the debate, everything 1 apparently depending upon the Government’s statements concerning its case, which, as yet, has only partly been heard, and party tactics have been consequent thereon. The lobby correspondent of the Daily Herald says there is complete confidence in Labour circles that Sir Patrick Hastings will be able to make a sound defence, adding: “I am able to state that it will contain more than one surprise, and will be likely to disconcert critics.” The division is expected to take place at eleven o’clock. LABOUR. CONFERENCE. BAN ON COMMUNISTS. LONDON, Oct, 7. The liveliest phase of the Labour (Conference was when a series of votes iplaced the Communists outside the pale. Following the lead of Mr. Ramsay MacDonald, who declared that Com. munism was a product of Tsarism and war brutality, and as such they would have nothing to do with it, Mr. Jack Jones, M.P., said they were opposed to any form of,.dictatorship. He raised roars of laughter by referring to “the whole half-dozen-forming the Communist Party in Britain, who can only come in if they abide by the party’s decisions, but we will not concede the right to Muscovites with unpronouncable names to come and tyrannise over us.”

The Conference' finallv decided, by 1,804,000 votes to 1,540,000, that no member of the Communist Party should be eligible for membership of the Labour Party.