COMMONS DEBATE

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 80, Issue 257, 29 October 1937, Page 7

COMMONS DEBATE

THE ADDRESS IN REPLY ANSWER TO CRITICS LIBERAL AMENDMENT L British Official Wirelees.] Received Oct. 28, 5.5 p.m. RUGBY, Oct. 27. The debate on the Address in Reply vvas opened in the House of Commons to-day by Mr. A. Greenwood for the Labour Opposition He complained of the omission from the King’s Speech of reference to the League ol Nations, unemployment, and distressed areas, and sought to interpret this as evidence of the Government's disinterest in these questions. The Ministe of Health (Sir Kingsley Wood) said it was perfectly evident that the Governments foreign policy was founded on the League of Nations, and it would be generally agreed that no Foreign Secretary had shown greater uevotion or given such unvarying service to the cause of the League as Mr. Eden. Turning to other questions, the Minister of Health recalled that Mr. Greenwood himself had recently said that no other country had done more since the war to deal with the housing problem than Britain. The latest figures showed that 3,350,000 new houses had been completed since the Armistice. House-building by local authorities Was still on the increase, and the 78,000 houses under construction by local authorities at the end of September was an all-time record. This had offset the decline in building by private enterprise of certain types of houses. The slum clearance programme was being energetically carried through, and already 650,00 u slum dwellers were in new and better homes.

Concerning the problem of nutrition, the Minister forecast that further encouragement would be given to local authorities to supply milk on favourable terms to expectant mothers, nursing mothers, and school children.

Replying to an interjection by Lady Astor while he was speaking on maternal mortality, Sir Kingsley Wood said he had appointed a committee to consider the problem of abortion. Sir Francis Acland, for the Liberals, said he thought the clue to the right policy in the Sin*”-Japanese conflict was to be sought in the werds of President Roosevelt—“ There must be a concerted effort.” That must be the keynote. Britain should go forward hand in hand with the United States.

He urged firm action against Japan. It had been said that if Britain tried to stop the war Japan would attack Hongkong, but he did not think there was any risk of that, as Japan had plenty on hand already. However, if Japan did attack Hongkong there would certainly be other nations on Britain’s side. If Japan was not stopped she would build batteries round Hongkong and attack when she pleased. The Liberal Party tabled an amendment to the Address motion regretting that the gracious Speech from the Throne contains no indication that the Government is taking adequate steps to provide against a possible diminution of employment occurring either on the completion of the process of re-armament or through a period of commercial depression, firstly by the prosecution of active measures in concert with the Dominions, the United States, and other countries to reduce economic barriers to world trade; (secondly, by promoting the fuller development of backward and inadequately populated regions of the Empire; thirdly, by the examination and preparation of definite plans for employing people on the construction of works of national importance and the utilisation of national resources at present neglected.