“INDIGNANT AND WORRIED”

Southland Times, Issue 25836, 22 November 1945, Page 5

“INDIGNANT AND WORRIED”

Conservatives And Nationalization

(Special Correspondent, N.Z.P.A.) (Rec. 7 p.m.) LONDON, Nov. 20. The Conservative Party showed distinct animation in the House of Commons for the first time since they lost power when the deputy Prime Minister, Mr Herbert Morrison, declared the Government’s programme for the public control of essential services. While the Socialists were sitting back regarding the announcement with complacent satisfaction at this further stride towards the implementation of their programme, the Conservatives are described as. being indignant, angry and worried. Their chief argument against nationalization, at the moment, is that there are many more important things to be done before Britain is again on the road to recovery; that the Government’s first task is to produce jobs, houses and goods, which it was not doing; and that any way only half of he people of the country voted for the Government, and almost an equal number against Socialism. With both Mr Churchill and Mr Eden absent from the House when Mr Morrison made his statement, the Conservatives presented nothing like a united front and it was admitted later in the lobbies that the exchanges had not gone in their favour. However, it was the liveliest verbal affray since the beginning of the session, and, henceforth there is little reason to doubt that the Conservatives are likely to become much more active as an Opposition than they have been hitherto. It is remarked that they are learning their role in the House of Commons “the hard way.” The Times, commenting on Mr Morrison’s announcement, said: “The policy of the Government is so far a picture without a frame. The frame required is a policy for full employment and productivity, in which both these proposals for nationalization and the various alternative issues raised by the protracted financial and commercial talks in Washington would fall into their proper place. Until such a policy is made apparent, all attempts to give certainty to the economic outlook and confidence to national enterprise will be largely illusory.”

STATE CONTROL OF BANK "Only 10 letters opposing nationalization were received from 17,000 stockholders,” said Lord Catto, financial adviser to the Treasury, giving evidence before the Select Committee which is considering the Bill for nationalizing the Bank of England. Lord Catto added that he considered the purchase proposals absolutely fair. He declared that the bank’s hidden reserves were not excessive, but must remain secret because a disclosure would be against the national interests, and perhaps detrimental to the bank. If the reserves were disclosed many people would think they were very high; others that they were not quite so high as they had thought, because there had been some wild suggestions as to what the reserves were. They were no higher than necessary for maintaining the bank’s position and authority as the head of Britain’s monetary service.

Lord Catto, questioned about the power to obtain general information from other banks, said that a great deal of information from the great commercial banks was necessary in order that the Bank of England and the Treasury might have the country’s financial picture as a whole. He had never been refused information by the banks, but sometimes had to use a good deal of persuasion. The committee reported the Bill back to the House of Commons unaltered. MOTION OF CENSURE Mr Churchill presided at a Conservative Shadow Cabinet meeting yesterday, which decided to table a motion of censure against the Government, says the Press Association’s political correspondent. He adds that the motion will draw attention to. the Government’s preoccupation with longterm plans for the nationalization of

certain industries, thus neglecting the primary duty of dealing with the pressing essential problems of reconversion on the home front from a war to a peace economy. The Opposition will complain, particularly, of the Government’s total failure to reduce expenditure and. concentrate on housing and demobilization. , The motion is not likely to be tabled before next week, so it may not be debated until the following week.