THE BUDGET BATTLE

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXXIV, Issue 12935, 27 November 1909, Page 5

THE BUDGET BATTLE

REMARKABLE SPEECH. it . ? By Lord Balfour of Burloigh. t- — — _ I "Rhetorical Rotten Eggs." i- _ 1, Press Association.— Telegraph.— Copyright l. Received November 27, 8.5 a.m. a LONDON, No\ ember 26. s In the absence of Lord Curzon, the de 0 bate opened tamely. Some oi the bencha were half vacant, and there were fewe] spectators. King Maaiiel of Portugal wa< 7 present. L " Lord Ashbourne, in opening the debate '" said that for the first time in history, th< c Budget went far beyond the provisions oi c a year's revenue. The Lords had a right • to be sure that the people knew tlu c character of the Bill. ? Lord Balfour, of Burleigh, made a remarkable speech characterised by manl-y ir sincerity and frequent Liberal applause. - He objected to the Bill because the various taxes were unnecessary to the service ot 3 a year. It was no answer to say that the State should be in possession ot funds for . future expenses. That aggravated the change, because it tended to make the " Executive more independent of Parliament. In many respects, the Budget was 5 unjust and unfair as between men. For the 1 first time, finance was founded on class ] hatred and jealousy. If he objected to the ' contents of the Budget, he objected still : more strongly to the tone and temper of 1 some of the speeches by which it had been ■ recommended. There had been an increase in the output of rhetorical rotten eggs. ; Party organisation had been raised to such , perfection that it was crushing out the ( independence of the Commoners. There , never was a time ii< the history of the country when, a Second Chamber — strong, I trusted and, in the nature of things, somewhat Conservative — was more necessary. He questioned whether the Lords were wise in making the new claim at this juncture. Long usage had made the House ot Commons supreme with the Government of the day, and in the control of finance matters. The two things went together and were in essence and truth, admitted by every constitutional lawyer. I "If a system is established whereby the House of Lords have the right to force a referendum you will destroy the control oi the House of Commons over the Govern. ; ment and make a momentous chango in the constitution. If you win the victory, ii can be, a.t the most, temporary. The passage of Lord Lansdowne's resolution would | only lead to a renewal of th econflict by 1 which the House of Commons attained 1U j present position. If defeated, the result j would be to prejudice the power, prestige j and usefulness of the House of Lord*. 1 ; object to tactics which combine the defence j of the Second Chamber with the taxation I of the people's food. I do not believe that Tariff Reform will provide the needed revenue. Those who vote with Lord Lansdowne j will be walking into a trap. They will offend the deepest Conservative instincts of the country ami that feeling may be reflected at the polls." i Lord Lucas said the House of Lords had killed 18 Bills during the four la^t Li beral Parliaments, and not one Conservative measure had been rejected by the Lords. They had now stepped into the political arena, competing with the House of Commons on Party lines. t Lord Ridley ridiculed the contents of "this poor man's Budget" since it taxed Jus great necessity — employment. The Bishop of Hereford supported the Bill because of the social welfare contained in the Budget and that it was based on sound finance. "It is impossible to expect an educated democracy to remain content with the survivals, which represent the present con- , stitution of our society." He protested J against the bloated estimates of military I armaments all over Kurope. The country j was waiting for the time when arbitration , would supersede competitive armaments. I Lord Lamington did not share "Lord Balfour of Burleigh's alarm. If Mr Glad- . «tone, with his prestige aud authority, tailed in Ins attack, it was unlikely that , the present Government would bring the I walls of the House about their ears. Dealing with the socialistic remedies for rural depopulation he said that settlement set up by Australian Governments in country districts had been unsucceeiaiul, though the conditions weie favourable. The land was given free in those instances.