ADVERSE MOTIONS

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVII, Issue 153, 31 May 1937, Page 7

ADVERSE MOTIONS

FINANCE BILL REJECTION. ATTITUDES TO PROFITS TAX. CONSERVATIVE CRITICISM. (United Press Association —By Electric Telegraph—Copyright.) (British Official Wireless.) , Received May 31, 11.38 a.m. RUGBY, May 29.

That the . principle. of a National Government remains inviolable is one, and that a smoothness of transition almost without precedent in the country’s political history is another of two pieces which are of common currency in tjie Press comment oil the new Government. One or two 'commentators express disappointment at the absence ot Mr * Wins ton Churchill trom the new Government, and Mr L. S. Amery’s is another name which is missed by them.

'the News-Chronicle finds that the newcomers to the Cabinet have one collective merit—their average age is 24 years less than that of the three retiring members! When Mr Neville Chamberlain’s Government meets in tlie House ol Commons on Monday business will be the second reading of the Finance Bill, which will be moved by Sir Joint Simon (Chancellor of the Exchequer). Two motions for the rejection of the whole Bill have been tabled. The conventional Opposition motion is in the following terms: “This House cannot assent lo the second reading of a Bill which in a time of peace and rising prices entbodies an unbalanced Budget, thereby promoting further increases in prices and depressing the already low standard of life of pensioners, unemployed, wage-earners and other person's of small means, and which fails to deal adequately with profiteering in armaments or to raise an equitable share of their cost from those most able to bear the burden.” The other motion, however, lias been tabled by eight back-bench Conservatives, and reads: “This House cannot agree'to the second reading of the Bill until arrangements have been made for further investigation into the effect on part 3 of the national defence contribution upon trade recovery and expansion and upon employment and until the views of those engaged in the trades and businesses affectec have been fully ascertained and reported.” ' , ' The tabling of the motion followed a meeting of Conservative members oi the Finance Committee, at ... which strong criticism of Mr Chamberlain’s amended proposals for the defence contribution were voiced.