Baldwin Ministry Accused

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 508, 10 November 1928, Page 9

Baldwin Ministry Accused

RESPONSIBILITY FOR UNEMPLOYMENT Lloyd George Advocates Reproductive Works (United P.A.—By Telegraph — Copyright) (Australian and N.Z. Press Association) v (United Service) Received 12.10 a.m. LONDON, Friday. THE present acuteness of unemployment is not the result of the 1920 upheaval, the responsibility for which rested with the Ministry as aiders and abettors of the coal-owners," said Mr. Phillip Snowden in the House of Commons to-day. replying to the assertion to that effect made by Mr. Winston Churchill yesterday.

“Much road-making reliet might have been carried out if Mr. Churchill had not robbed the Road Fund of £26,000,000. The previous day Mr. Churchill stood with a white sheet and recanted his free-trade principles. He was evidently determined to remain in the Ministry whatever its policy." The chief problem, said Sir Arthur Steel-Maitland, Minister of Labour, is that there is a 250,000 surplus of mine-workers, 30,000 of whom he hoped soon to see transferred to other areas, while migration to Canada would help to decrease the total. 6,000 MEN FOR CANADA According to a British wireless message new proposals for the emigration of workers to Canada were outlined by Sir Arthur Steel-Maitland. He said that under a scheme of training centres for agricultural workers it was hoped, within the next six months, that 5,000 or 6,000 men would be ready to go to Canada. The British Government was also in negotiation with the Canadian Government for sending out town workers for work in Canadian towns with no stipulation about agricultural work. It was hoped that a minimum of 3,000 or 4,000 of these might go out in the next six months, and the number might be considerably greater. “The precipitate blunder of a return to the gold standard greatly injured the export trade,” said Mr. Lloyd George. “The Treasury was restricting credit to industry by subordinating everything else to the conversion of the loan.”

He would not say there were no blue patches in the sky, but the prospect was gloomy. Pending the derating of industry, purchasers were refraining from buying, consequently unemployment would be temporarily aggravated. Where would Mr. Winston Churchill find £40,000,000 to finance the derating? he asked. There was work clamouring to be done on roads, docks and housing. It was folly and a crime not to spend money on reproductive works. There should be a national effort to revive agriculture. He warned Mr. Baldwin that he could not deal with the evil unless he had a Cabinet capable of handling big problems. The debate was then adjourned.