SECOND READING CARRIED

Manawatu Standard, Volume LXVI, Issue 15, 15 December 1945, Page 7

SECOND READING CARRIED

VOTE IN COMMONS BRETTON WOODS BUT. (N.Z. Press Association—Copyright.) (Bee. 9.30 a.m.) LONDON, Dec. 14. In the House of Commons today, the Chancellor of-the Exchequer (Dr Dalton) moving the second reading of the Bill to enable Britain to become a foundation member of the Bretton Woods organisation, said it was a machinery measure giving effect to a decision already reached by an emphatic vote.

The House, after the Speaker had refused a request by Mr Boothby (Con.) for more time to discuss the agreement, divided, and the second readin g was carried by 314 votes to 50.

The most astonishing. feature of the loan debate was that 100 members came out into the open and opposed the loan, says the Press Association’s political correspondent. The hundred included Mr Boothby, Squadron-Leader Hollis, and Mr Tellers, who opposed it in the debate. It was the more surprising because about'7o C onservatives disregarded Mr ChurchilPs appeal to abstain f rom voting. A number of Conservatives with famous names marched in unfamiliar company into the Government lobby. About 90 Conservatives ostentatiously refrained from voting, remaining in their seats during the division.

In the course of the debate GroupCaptain M. Aitken (a son of Lord Bea-verbrook) suggested that trouble was coming if Britain defaulted on the loan, as many eminent economists thought she would. He added: “The Americans would say ‘Twice in 20 years. Never again.’ They would retire into the shell of isolationism.” Group-Captain Aitken stated that during the war he had fought alongside airmen from the Dominions who declared that they were not fighting for Canada, Australia or New Zealand; they were fighting for the Empire. He Believed that if the Empire asked them to rally round Britain, the United Kingdom would be able to tide .over a desperate period and not have to {take a disastrous loan. ' .MR BEVIN’S ARGUMENT. A great roar of laughter greeted the opening sally of the f oreign Secretary (Mr Bevin), when he followed Mr Churchill to wind up the debate for the Government.

“I never thought I should ever meet Mr Churchill in the capacity of an abstainer, but I never heard a more pleading speech for every drunkard to be. sober than his tonight.” The task of facing the loan discomforted many people but Mr Bevin declared: “I do not know of anyone who came away from a moneylender’s office and calculated the repayments who felt comfortable. This discomfort increases when catastrophe falls on you after you have been a moneylender yourself foi so long.” . Mr Bevin thumped his dispatch box as, referring to Mr Lyttelton’s speech, he demanded: Is that a claim they would have got better terms? There was uproar when Mr Churchill replied: lam certainly of the opinion we could have got better terms. Mr Bevin retorted : That is a libel on the Administration of the United States. AVe have not been dealing with New York bankers, but the elected re-: presentatives of America. Suggesting that it was only fair to try to look at the matter from the point of view of the United States, Mr Bevin argued that Americans‘would say that the total of Lend-Lease to the United Kingdom amounted to 20,000,000,000 dollars and return Le»d Lease from the United Kingdom ,to the United States equalled about 1 5,000,000,000 dollars. United States representatives claimed that this left a balance of> 15,000,000.000 dollars, for about thrice the amount borrowed from the United States during the 1914-1 S - war. The present agreement, viewed from the American angle, constitute'! a cancellation of a substantial part of the 15,000,000,000 dollars balance. He asked his predecessor, Mr Eden: “Was it not a. great gain internationally clear up the great debt on Lend-Lease for 650.000,000 dollars?”. Mr Bevin argued that if they could have cleared up the great debt after the 1914-18 war for the same cost the effect of the clearance in subsequent foreign policy would-have made, a tremendous difference. “If economic war is added to the troubles arising from the World War I dread the consequences. I, in tbs end and with my colleagues, accepted the agreement because I believed we were doing the right thing for the world, taking all factors into account.” AN IMMEDIATE CHALLENGE. The Times in a leading article on the acceptance of the loan plan said there was an immediate and inescapable challenge in the winter of 1945, as in the summer of 1940, to the British power to produce. _ The British standard of living and world influence would be decided by " the factories’ output per man-hour. ♦Success was possible only through a combination of public planning and private responsibility. There must be toil at least as unremitting as during the war and continued abstinence. Britain would have to work with other countries for the progressive development of economic and social opportunities. No project could endure which did not provide a chance of prosperous emplovment for all peoples. The United States alone could give real hope that the Bretton W oods system would work On the first reading 68 Conservatives and 20 Labour members, also 10 Liberals and Independents, voted against acceptance of the loan, while seven Conservatives voted with the Government.

AMENDMENT IN LORDS

battle all oyer again. (Rec. 10.45 a.m.) LONDON, Dec 14. ( The battle over the American Loan —Bretton Woods—will be fought -all over again in the House of Lords on December 17, says the tion Lord Beaverbrook tabled an amendment opposing the Governmeilt s motions on the grounds that the measures involve a returmto the gold standard, the abolition of the steri ina area and the destruction of Imnorial nfeference, all of which would endanger tjm economic well-being and full employment of our people, the unity “f the Empire and conditions ot stable expanding commerce essena close thing as there are 26 Labour peers If Lord Beaverbrook persuaded 26 Conservatives to vote with him i«on agreement would be on the loan tk® Government’s only Sur'™ then would be the mass creation of. Labour Peers to ensure jts ratification before the _e howber The Conservative Peers, ii ever, .are expected to accept their leader, Viscount Cranborne s advice to abstain from a division.