BRITAIN TO FREEZE ALL PRICES

Chronicle (Levin), 14 February 1948, Page 5

BRITAIN TO FREEZE ALL PRICES

- (N.Z.P.A.-

—Reuter,

-■ - ^ , 0 WAGE INCREASES CANNQT BE PASSED ON

Copyright)

Received Friday, 7.0 p mi. LONDON, February 13. The Government, at the end of February, wi-ll issue the necessafy ordors freezing* price levels, aecording to Renter's politieal coi-respondent. This bieans. that the priees of all less essential goods will be as strietly controlled as tlie pricos oi' essential goocls already are. Most L'oods and utility elo.thing have already eonie under priee control. Such things as newspapers, books and jewellery will come under the luass freezing plan.. The (iovernment, from now on, will not reeognise wag'e inereases in priees charged unless thev are in aecord with White Paper principles. %

ftpeaking for the Opposition,| 3\I i*. Kden said the White Paper } and Sir Slafford Fripps's speeehes liad . prol'oundly shocked certain seetions of the population. Oontinning inflation had greatly eontributed to the balance of payments diffieulty and had throttled baek industrial roeovery. Ile hoped the (iovernment would not diseourage the plotighing baek oi' protits into industry. This was indispensable to Pritain's longterrn survival as an industrial nation. " 1 1' the (iovernment feels unequal to the task oi' goverhmenL tliere ave others who 1'eel they can diseharge the task with better lieart and the sineere eonvietion that, under their leadership the i nation eould l'ide the gathering | s1 orui, ' ' Mr. kden eone.luded. j Winding up the debate, Mr. :

Attlee said that the people should not g"o about with long faces saying there was no hope. ''This 'eountry has great assets and a great future," he said. "Nobody does any good by going -around the eountry and still more abroad. erying stinking fish because 1 am (|uite eertain we shall get th rough all our dif'ficulties."* Iveplying to Opposition critieism that the (iovernment had "only just woken up" to the grave eeonomie. situation, Mr. Attlee pointed out that Mr. Dalton gave the eountry many warnings when he was Chancellor but they were not always heeded. For months past Ministers had been drumming' in the need 1'or inereased production. The (iovernment 's Miject in these difficult tirnes was to get the whole eommunity to hold fast and he believed they would get the response.