BRITISH PARLIAMENT.

Otago Witness, Issue 3495, 1 March 1921, Page 17

BRITISH PARLIAMENT.

LONDON, February 21. The Supplementary Estimates for the year ending March 31 include the following additional items : —Overseas settlement, £185,000; stamp duty payable to United Kingdom on indenture and conveyance of the property of the Pacific Phosphate Company in Nauru and Ocean Islands, £15,000 ; oil exploration in Papua, £50,000; the Government’s contribution to fighting the typhus scourge in Poland, £262,000; Post Office, £570,000, for the purchase of the trans-Atlantic cable. Tire Colonial Office Estimates include £105,000 for overseas settlement and £55,000 for assistance to settlers. February 22. The House of Commons granted the Government the whole time of the House until the end of the financial year, Mr Bonar Law promising adequate time to discuss the Estimates. In addition, he added, tljere would be a committee upon national expenditure. In the House of Commons Mr F. G. Kelleway (Secretary to the Department of Overseas Trade) said that owing to the reduction in the export of British coal the British Board of Trade had met with formidable competition in foreign markets oy America and Japan. Although there was no evidence that European goods had displaced British goods in the Empire markets at present, the indications were that it would be faced with serious competi tion. Mr Bonar Law, in the House of Commons, replying to Sir Harry Brittain, said the Government was considering altering the name of the Colonial Office to make it more in consonance with the wishes of the self-governing sister nations. February 25. Replying to a question *by Mr L. M. Kenworthy in the House of Commons whether an Administrator for Nauru Island had been appointed, the Minister (Mr Winston Giurchill) stated that underthe agreement Australia would appoint the first Administrator, bait so far the Government had not been notified that any action had been taken. The British revenue authorities have remitted stamp duties on the Nauru Agree ment amounting to several thousands of pounds. Feburary 24. Mr Austen Chamberlain (Chancellor of the Exchequer) announced that, after providing £10,000,000 for refunds and approximately £1,000,000 for interest as repayment, the net amount of excess profits duty paid to the Exchequer from April 1, 1920, to Februarv 19, 1921, was £191,000,000. INDEMNITIES AND WAR CRIMINALS. LONDON, 1' ebruary 19. In the House of Commons, replying to Mr Bottomley’s amendment to the Address in-Reply, expressing disappointment that no opportunity had been afforded for discussing the peace treaties and Cabinet’s policy on indemnities and war criminals, Mr Lloyd George said he had looked for enlightenment on matters difficult and dark from the speeches on Mr Bottomley’s amendment, but he had never heard such inadequate speeches on so great a prob lem. He still adhered to his pledge that Germany must pay to the limit of her capacity; but the whole point was Germany’s capacity to pay. If Mr Bottomley went to Germany he might perhaps bring home a shipload of paper marks, but of what use would they be? The Prime Minister declared that Mr Bottomley had paid no attention to the practical difficulties of extracting indemnities. The very best experts found that if we pressed for impossibilities we should get nothing. In regard to the war criminals, France felt as strongly as we did that it was not worth risking war with Holland to get possession of the ex-Kaiser. The trial of the other criminals would be pressed to the end, and the German delegates would be so informed. He had a strong suspicion that the Germans were coming to the conference in ragged clothes in an en deavour to secure a reduction of the payments. The amendment was negatived by 581 votes to 4.