LONDON PRESS VIEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20235, 20 April 1929, Page 13

LONDON PRESS VIEWS.

CRITICS NOT IMPRESSED.

STOCK EXCHANGE REACTION. labour more favoured. AuatniMaH and N.Z. Press Association. (Received April 19, 5.5 p.m.) LONDON. April IS. With 0110 or two exceptions Mr. Baldwin's programme, as stated in his speech ;it Diary Lane The.atro, finds no responsive echo in the press. Although it can scarcely be accepted as a reliable guide, it is interesting to note the reaction of the Stock Exchange, before and after Mr. Baldwin's speech. In anticipation of his speech on the Stock Exchange the Conservatives advanced 3 points and the Labour Party fell 4 points. After the speech the Conservatives relapsed 3 points and Labour gained 2 points. Mr Baldwin in course of his policy speech forecasted the return to power of the Conservatives by a majority of 50. The Daily Herald, the Labour Party's organ, describes Mr. Baldwin's appearance on the stage of Drury Lane as the tragic spectacle of a commonplace performer grinding out dreary nothings for an anxious people who are looking for aid.

It says: " Mr, Baldwin starts with the thesis that the main duty of the Conservative statesman is to do nothing. The masses in the country are sick and tired of his sentimental rhapsodisings." The Daily Express, which has long insisted that unemployment is the paramount issue, says Mr. Baldwin's reference to the responsibilities of Empire and the need for consistent Empire development was excellent, but his references to unemployment were casual and superficial. He showed that he had not genuinely applied his mind to the problem. Mr. Baldwin seemed to be unconscious that this was the supremo issue, not only of the election but of Britain's social and industrial state. The Daily Chronicle says Mr. Baldwin lived up to his reputation of being an honest man when he told his party that he could not promise them a policy, because he had not got one.