MAD SPENDING BY THE NATIONS.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1874, 7 October 1913, Page 3

MAD SPENDING BY THE NATIONS.

MR. LLOYD GEORGE'S FEARS. WILL END IN DISASTER. A striking speech by Mr. Lloyd Georgo on the impossibility of reducing tlie expenditure on armaments was the feature of a sliort but interesting debate in the House of Commons somo weeks ago on the trade and revenue of the country. "I ani genuinely alarmed about the expenditure upon armaments," saidtho Chancellor. "But there is not the slightest prospect of a-reduction. The prospect is all the other way, and thero ia no use .concealing the fact." "Why?" protested Sir William Byles, the pacificist, from the benches behind Mr. Lloyd George. The Chancellor turned at the sound of the still small voice. "It is because every country in the world is, for tho moment, somehow or other, being lured on to expenditure," ho answered. "It is no uso apportioning tho blame. "Wo arc just scaring each other-on to great expenditure. There is no great body of publio opinion in any country which lias tho courage to stand up to the people who are responsible for tho expenditure and say it has got to stop. I feel confident that it will end in a great disaster—l won't say to this country, though it is just possible that it may end in a disaster here. Revolutionary Protest. "If the protest comes it will not be about the expenditure, but about the conscquences of tho expenditure. I don't believe we shall ever get in any country in Europe a great revolution bccauso tho Government is spending' money on armaments. But we live under the consequences of that expenditure, and it may bo that tho inevitable consequence of such a state of thingswill be something in the nature of a revolutionary protest." After commending to the House a study of the German tax law to see what "real property and increment taxation meant," Mr. Lloyd George proceeded: "Until, there is complete understanding, with co-operation, to arrest expenditure on armaments you cannot stop it. I cannot seo how it is going to be stopped. One country dare not stop it. It is much too perilous a thing to do. One country can stop up to the point of danger, but once you pass the point of danger and something happened disaster would come, and of that wo cannot nm the risk! "I am not sure that international co-operatio.i cannot somehow be arranged, especially after the events of this year, when it is fresh in the minds of people what a horrible thing war is and how very ruinous it is to the commercial, industrial, and social life of the countries which are subjected to its ravages. ■ ■ \j "But until this is done there is nothing in front of us but increased expenditure, and increased expenditure means increased taxation.

"It is 110 good coming to the Government and say: 'Here, .you are destroying capital.' It is npt the Government. It is this sort of mad tumult that is creating an atmosphere in which people' cannot judge the situation rationally. Their temperature is never normal. People who are under the excitement of this disease which is coursing through their blood cannot judge the national situation as calm, levelheaded, sensiblo periplo should do. This spirit of suspicion which exists may eventually end in a terrible disaster. Few. people realise how near wo wero to it even in the last twelve months. When the minds of the people are concentrated on armaments and weapons of destruction it is an unhealthy frame of mind." "Chilled Heart of Trade." Expenditure on armaments was not merely wasteful, ho submitted; it paralysed the very forces that created wealth. The war in the East and the feverish increase of armaments in Franco, Germany, and Russia had "chilled tho heart of trade." In this gloomy prediction of unabated taxation Mr. Lloyd George was answering criticisms of Mr. Austen Chamberlain on our heavy expenditure. Tho Chancellor's general defence was that v.'hilo .everybody "cursed taxes," everybody was advocating scliemes which involved the expenditure of money. The Press hounded them on to expenditure in nearly every article it wrote. "The fault is," he exclaimed, "that public oninion is for the moment all in the direction of spending money on every conceivable object, and it has not been sufficiently alarmed to idevote its thoughts towards economy and reduction of expenditure." As far as social reform was concerned, no matter what Government was in power they would have to spend money. "You cannot educate people and expect them to cQntinue to live under the old conditions," oxclaimed the Chancellor.