CRISIS FOR LABOUR.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18722, 30 May 1924, Page 7

CRISIS FOR LABOUR.

UNEMPLOYMENT BILL. §1 guiiiiii iiiiii OPPOSITION IN COMMONS. IraiTUDE' OP LIBERALS. . i —V LEADERS' VIEWS DIFFER. . EVE OF THE ffIVISION. By Telegraph—P/eas Association.Copyright. (Received ; 8.55 p.m.). ■ A. and N.Z. / i LONDON, May 29. The Daily Express states that it understands that Mr. H. H. Asquith proposes • to advise the Liberals to save the Labour < Government in to-day's critical division on the Unemployment Insurance Bill. He takes the ground that a general election -at the present time would be most un , popular. The Liberals, he; says, are not prepared for that. ; Mr. "Lloyd George, on the contrary, favours defeating the Government. The Daily Chronicift states that a number of Liberals will vote with' the; Conservative? if they are left to take whav • ever line they choose. More will abstain from voting at all. The paper says that the Liberals feel they cannot continue indefinitely defending the Government's inaptitudes.' " r -' • There is no doubt that the Prime Minister, Mr. Ramsay Mac Donald, will try to save the situation by intervening with promises, but the position is highly , critical. • The official Labour organ, the Daily , Herald, admits that the division will be critical. It says: It remains to be seen which of 'their leaders the Liberals will follow.-'^. The Financial Times and the Financial News characterise Mr. Asquith's voluntary capital levy proposal as impracticable. They affirm that this is also the opinion of the city and the bankers

Mir. "Vivian Phillipps, Chief Liberal Whip in the House of Commons, addressing his. constituents in West Edinburgh , recently, said:—There is a great deal of ' speculation in the press just now on the subject of the present and future relations of the Liberal ; and Labour Parties. The Liberal and Labour Parties in Parliament to-day represent in practically equal shares some 9,000,000 of the 14,000,000 people who voted at the last election, They have two great objectives in com—namely, the provision \of decent homes for our workers and the removal of the insecurity which at present overshadows -their working life* We in the Liberal Party are prepared to help the Labour, Government to secure this. We have proved/it over and over again during the past two months by rescuing them from defeat in the House of Commons. The Prime Minister's only;-response is to mobilise his machine in the constituencies against jthe very men who are sacrificing their , time and 'health in the House of „ Commons in order to keep him in office. We are entitled to ask him, "Does . he mean business ?" Here is a great and splendid opportunity which has fallen to him of rendering service to his fellowmen. Does he mean' to use it generously and wisely, or ; is he going • for mere riar- . "row and partisan ends to throw it away? The- Liberal Party is preptired to behave greatly in this matter "and to put its duty 'to the State above any transient party advantage. Is the Labour Party prepared to behave greatly also? If it : elects to be'have meanly, .then on it will - rest the grave responsibility of imperilling greatcauses and the possibility of placing the lives and fortunes of millions of our workera for. years. to come at the mercy of the reactionary forces in, this land. .A- .