Will Cost £10,000,000

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 985, 30 May 1930, Page 11

Will Cost £10,000,000

UNEMPLOYMENT PROBLEM

Sir Oswald Mosley’s Scheme GOVERNMENT SURVIVES HOSTILE VOTE

A SCHEME for the relief of unemployment involving the provision of work for 800,000 men at an annual cost of £-10,000,000 has been expounded by Sir Oswald Mosley, who recently resigned from the British Ministry. The scheme was rejected by Cabinet. The Government’s survival of the Conservatives’ hostile motion on unemployment was quite expected.

British Official Wireless Reed. 12.20 p.m. RUGBY, Thursday. During the later stages of the unemployment debate in the House of Commons, Sir Oswald Mosley, who recently resigned from the Government because Cabinet had objected to the proposals he had made for the drastic handling of the unemployment problem, gave details of his scheme. They included measures which he claimed would employ 800,000 men at an annual cost of £10,000,000, and which involved an emergency retirement pension to persons over 60 years of age, the raising of the school leaving age, and interest on a big loan for special relief works. The Lord Privy Seal, Mr. J. H. Thomas, the Minister responsible for employment, analysed and criticised Sir Oswald Mosley’s proposals in detail, and said they had been carefully examined by Cabinet Ministers and rejected even by those prejudiced in their favour. TARIFFS AND DUMPING In moving the amendment, which was subsequently defeated by 270 votes to 241, Mr. Baldwin said anything Less drastic than safeguarding c? industries duties would not meet the case. He agreed that high tariffs constituted a bar to business, but said they could not get those tariffs reduced while the British market was a dumping ground to which all cheap goods could be sent. The safeguarding of the home markets was the essential basis for the development of markets within the Empire. A reduction in foreign tariffs had resulted from bargaining between one protected country and another.

The Prime Minister, Mr. MacDonald, in appealing for the co-opera-tion of the parties to expedite unemployment relief schemes, stated that the Government could not join in safeguarding. In countries under protection, said Mr. MacDonald, the unemployment figures had mounted more rapidly than was the case in Britain. Twelve months ago the problem -was one of home conditions in relation to normal foreign markets, but that was not the problem today. Let them take any industrial country and it would be found that world causes had knocked the bottom out of prices and that every country dependent on export trade had suffered. IN OTHER COUNTRIES The Prime Minister instanced Germany where, he said, the unemployment figures had risen from 1,700,000 to 2,700,000, and the United States, which a year ago had practically no unemployed and where there were now between 5,000,000 and 6,000,000. Today they were facing a totally new problem and the Minister in Charge of Unemployment, Mr. J. H. Thomas, had done an enormous amount of work to relieve the situation. Mr. MacDonald detailed some of the schemes which had been put in hand and asked if, in the face of the special growth of unemployment, they could not undertake emergency

EMPIRE TRADE

COMMERCE CONGRESS URGES COHESION NEW ZEALAND MOTION United P.A. —By Telegraph—Copyright Reed. 12.30 p.m. LONDON, Thursday. On the motion of Mr. William Machin (New Zealand) the Chambers of Commerce Conference reiterated its conviction that a wide and well-con-sidered extension of Imperial preference would realise greater interimperial economic cohesion, and it urged the importance of voluntary co-operation in inter-imperial mergers, trade arrangements, the promotion of scientific research and interchange of business ideas.

measures to tide over a period which every authority consulted agreed was temporary. As soon as confidence was re-estab iished orders now withheld would be placed and they were just as likely to have a period of immediate boom. In the provision of large schemes municipalities were held up sometimes by technical difficulties and he asked if the parties in the House could not join in measures to expedite such works. CONFERENCE TO BE CALLED The municipalities also might be encouraged to do more than at present and the Government proposed to summon a conference of representatives of the municipal authorities. The question of unemployment might well become a subject for co-operative action. Sir Oswald Mosley said that in order to grapple with unemployment it was necessary to have a revolution in the machinery of government. He asserted that the Government had bound itself largely to nationalisation, but that would not be a cure, nor would an expansion of exports. The money which the Government was now providing to meet unemployment was scarcely more than that provided under the programme of the late Conservative Government.. The Leader of the Liberals, Mr. Lloyd George, congrtulated Sir Oswald on what he described as a powerful speech. He said the Chancellor of the Exchequer need not be afraid about his conversion loan. If the country were engaged in military operations it could raise thousands of millions of pounds. Indeed, the country was now spending £100,000.000 a year on unemployment. NOT PARTY QUESTION Mr. George agreed that the problem should not be treated as a party matter. Mr. Winston Churchill said he favoured a wisely extended policy of safeguarding or tariff for revenue, particularly on more highly finished forms of manufacture. The real permanent hope of industry lay in reconstruction, re-equipment and rationalisation, which would make the factories more efficient and give a fair chance to the export markets.' It would be sheer madness to raise £200,000,000 for unemployment without first formulating definite schemes. When the division was taken five Labour members —Messrs. J. Maxton, D. Kirkwood, A. F. Brockway, G. Buchanan and C. Stephen—remained seated. Most of the Liberals also abstained from voting. The Government’s majority of 29 was just about what had been expected. Never in any sense was the Government in danger during the debate. There is general x agreement that Sir Oswald Mosley's speech was a personal triumph.

PARTY CHAIRMAN RESIGNS CONSERVATIVE DISSATISFACTION Reed. Noon. LONDON, Thursday. As a result of criticisms since the General Election, Mr. J. C. C. Davidson, chairman of the Conservative Party, has placed his resignation in the hands of the party leader, Mr. Baldwin. Mr. Baldwin has accepted the resignation, but has asked Mr. Davidson to retain the post until a decision is reached regarding the proposed review of the chairman’s position and responsibilities. Mr. Davidson has been chairman of the Conservative and Unionist Party organisation since 1926.