HOUSE OF COMMONS.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 4 May 1928, Page 8

HOUSE OF COMMONS.

BUDGET MATTERS DISCUSSED. GOAD AND SUGAR; INDUSTRIES. (UNITED PRESS ASSOCIATION—BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH—COPYRIGHT. - ) (AUSTRALIAN PRESS ASSOCIATION.) (UNITED SERVICE.) LONDON, May 2. In the House of Commons, the. Rt Hon. Stanley Baldwin, in answer to Lord Cavendish Bentinck, said that no useful purpose would be served by calling a conference of coal owners to discuss steps t-c- reorganise tile industry, when they would receive rate relief. This was extraordinarily important to the coal industry, but the Budget was designed to improve all industries. • The lit. Hon. L. C. M. S.-Amery, in answer to a question, said that correspondence with Canada in reference to the Anglo-Egyptian treaty had not reached a stage when it was possible to make a statement. A Bill transferring currency note issue assets for redemption thereon to the Bank of England was read a first time. |Mr. A. Alexander (Labour) moved to amend the Budget resolution by removing the proviso limiting the reduction of the sugar duty to sugar not exceeding polarisation of 98 degrees. Mr. A. S. Samuel said the Budget aimed at assisting the refining industry in. which employment had declined by ’2 5 per cent, since 1924. It was hoped that as a result of the reduction in duty an additional six hundred thousand tons of sugar would be refined in Britain yearly. Two big refineries had undertaken to maintain the reduced price for at least three months. Mr Philip Snowden said that if all the British refineries worked at full pressure they could not increase the output more than three hundred thousand tons. The refineries undertaking lower prices was humbug; it would take three months to work off stocks bought at unprecedentedly low prices. Mr. Snowden added that as soon as Mr. Churchill consulted the refiners their shares jumped up 15 per cent., and millions were made on the Stock Exchange. The amendment was defeated by 2do to 115.