DEBATE IN HOUSE OF LORDS

New Zealand Times, Volume XLIV, Issue 10210, 21 February 1919, Page 5

DEBATE IN HOUSE OF LORDS

' INVESTIGATION INTO.. EXUJSBS WAR 'URGED. Eouter'6 Telegrams. LONDON, February .19. In the House of Lords, Lord Buckmaster drew attention to-the industrial unrest. He said that all chase* were uniting in wishing that Labour should enjoy a . bigger share of the naWal prosperity. Returns showed that 450 millions sterling of excess profits 'were 1 the war. The time liad_come for a critical investigation as" t,o" wb.6iher"they were legmtaately acquired and whether they could be controlled and used for a big scheme of national development. The war had led people, an unfathomable reservoir-of. . public, wealth. The Government had yielded to threats, which was wrong. Our present financial position and indebtedness were associated with the Labour troubles. The only way to pay the debt charges was to multiply the output of "the factories. Set there was growing evidence of industrial stagnation. The best,, way of combating Bolshevism was; to prove it economically a failure. Viscount^Grey said some of the present Labour demands urged recognition of the unions as part of the industrial machinery of the country. They should he statutorily incorporated so as to he capable of suing" and being sued, and able to" compel' everyone in any trade to be a member ot the union. The Lord Chancellor, Lord Birkenhead., in his maiden speech, said it was entirely wrong to suppose that the Government was doing nothing. He agreed that the situation was grave, in that the national debt was nearly £8,000,000,000, while a formidable factor was presented in the new demands made on the Treasury on every side. Everyone was demanding new conditions of life. The nation had been living on its capital and liking itThere was a universal desire to work less and receive more. The three great present menaces were the threats of miners', railwaymen's, and trans-; port workers' strikes. The Government's policy in relatiott'to these men-, aces had been varied. It had been a policy of inquiry with the fullest discussion and- the- most--complete candour. The Government hoped to persuade~"these~men that "they were now given the fullest fruit or. their toil, and the Government would use every effort v to afford them all - the due amenities of life. - -■' -> - ■■-,'■'■

A relatively Email section of the communityi was tainted with the revolutionary doctrine of the Bolshevik. There would" be ho want of firmness on the part of the Government in dealing with this-section. . If the Government failed to deal with the menace of those- who-attempted to destroy the industries by strikes, it would be necessary for some sterner instrument to Lord Birkenhead*admitted thd eiistensure the safety of the people, ence '"He describe* "the" report of" the.' Scottish Housing Oommissro'n'*''as''a'"horrible, tragic document...... The conditions it described were a disgrace and a shaihe to a Christian country. It was the intention of the Government to find a solution for this ,eyil.,_ ' The debate" was adjourned.