Labour’s Quandary

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1026, 17 July 1930, Page 11

Labour’s Quandary

CHALLENGED ON FOOD TAXES

Snowden Fights Protection

LORDS FORCE CRISIS ON COAL BILL

ALTHOUGH the Labour Government is assured of safety on a vote of censure moved in the House of Commons by Mr. Stanley Baldwin upon trade policy, it is embarrassed by tlie decisive opposition in the House of Lords to the Coal Mines Bill, which is forcing a political crisis. Mr. Philip Snowden says the Government will never become a party to taxes on foodstuffs or raw materials.

United P.A.—By Telegraph Copyright Reed. 11.55 a.m. RUGBY, Wednesday.

Mr. Stanley Baldwin, Conservative Leader, moved a vote ot' censure on tlie Government in the House of Com mons this evening. The motion declared that the House, believing that a return to prosperity could only be promoted by safeguarding of the home markets against unfair competition and by expanding export markets by feciprocal trade agree ments with the Empire overseas, regretted that the Government had reversed the policy of safeguarding instead of extending it, and had arbitrarily excluded from consideration the imposition of duties on foreign foodstuffs devised to obtain equivalent advantages for British manufactures and agriculture in British markets and elsewhere. Mr. Baldwin invited Mr. Philip Snowden, Chancellor of the Exchequer, to state the policy the Government intended to follow at the Imper ial Conference. Mr. Snowden, replying, said the Government would be no party to food taxes or taxes on raw material, or protective duties.

It would enter the Imperial Conference barring no question from discussion, blit it would be made abundantly clear that it would approve no final conclusion which involved this coun-

try in a food taxation policy or a general protectionist policy.

Outside that there were plenty of questions of great importance which the Imperial Conference could discuss.

Regarding safeguarding, Mr. Snowden declared the Opposition could not point in any of the safeguarded industries to any marked effect which the duties had had in improving the position for trade. Mr. Lloyd George supported the attitude taken by the Government.

CRISIS ON COAL BILL GOVERNMENT CHALLENGED BY HOUSE OF LORDS LONDON, Tuesday. The House of Lords today by 168 votes to 36 carried the Marquess of Salisbury’s “spread-over” amendment to the Coal Mines Bill, which the Government had refused to accept The Lords also defeated without division a motion for a conference of both Houses.

Lord Sankey, the Lord Chancellor, said the Government could lot accept tlie mendment and leclared that insistence upon It would cause widespread provocation and resentment.

Lord Salisbury said the amendment mainly concerned tlie preference bv the Lords for a spread-over of 90

hours a fortnight instead of a rigid seven aud a-half hours’ day. The spread-over was optional and the miners were by no means unanimously opposed to it. The Lord Chancellor replied that the proposal in auy case could operate only for eight months, and, there fore, it was not worth the trouble it would cause. The decision had placed the Government in the position of having to choose between acceptance of the Lord’s proposal or abandonment of the Bill. The Ministry probably will be driven to adopt the method of “amending the amendment” if it can induce the miners to agree. The general opinion is that a way will be found to save the Bill, but the “Daily Herald” describes the action of the Lords as the most serious challenge to the supremacy of the popular will since the Lords rejected the Bud get in 1909.

fhe decisive manner in which the House of Lords has insisted upon its principal amendments to the Coal Bill created a crisis in the chequered for-

tunes of this measure. There was still thought to be a possibility of negotiation between the two Houses if the Government cared to undertake it. but many Labour members expressed the opinion that it would be better for tlie Government to lose the Bill, as that would be likely to create indignation against the peers at the general election.