HIGH PRICES
DANGER OF CAPITALISING ON BASIS OF INFLATED PROFITS DEBATE IN HOUSE OF COMMONS By Telegraph—Press Association— CopyrighJ (Rcc. March 17, 5.5 p.m.) London, March 16. During a debate in t'he House of Commons on high prices, Sir Donald Maclean moved lor a reduction of the Civil Service Estimates by .£100,000,000. .He urged that the proceeds of the sale of surplus war sto"es should go to the reduction of the floating debt. Mr. Austen Chamberlain (Chancellor of fho Exchequer) agreed as to the importance of the reduction of the floating debt. (He pointed out that the Government had begun to reduce the national debt, and had ceased to borrow, in order to balance the current expenditure. He expressed concern with .regard to the extraordinary expansion of business in proportion to companies, whie'h _ tended to result i'n increased competition for limited supplies of materials and labour. He expressed the opinion' that those capitalising o.r dccapitaiisini* businesses on the basis of the present inflated profits were taking a dangerous course, and he emphasised that the Government alone could not carry out the deflation of credit. Financiers must co-operate and severely scrutinise demands for CTedit. Mr. Chamberlain pointed out that the ,£557,000,000 sterling of Civil Seraco Estimates were mode up as follow:— ,£•13,000,000 for the purely accounting charge, not expenditure at all; .£15,000,000 for bread subsidy, which he agreed should be ended as quickly ns possible; £23,000,000 owed to the railways for maintenance and' renewal during Ihe war; <£15,000,000 for coal, of which.£l2,000,000 was repayable with interest; £30.000,000 for loans to Hie Allies, :n- ---' eluding ,£10,000,000 for the maximum relief loans to Central Europe; and <£3,000.000 for the relief and recbnstruction of Belgium. ■, Despite his warning that the new expenditure must involve a provision for new revenue, the House of Commons had sanctioned £10,000,000 additional for old age nensiops; £11.500,000 for housing subsidy: £3.000.000 for the war bonus I to the Civil Service; £15.000.000' additional for education; £22,000,000 for unemployment donations and resettlement of ex-service men; and £123,000.000 for wa.'; pensions. This made a total of £315,000,000 out of £557,000.000, of wliich it was believed not one penny would be challenged—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn. brita¥slebt . APPRECIABLE PORTION PAID OFF THIS QUARTER. (Rec. March 18, 0.15 a.m.) \ London, March IG. Sir Robert Home, in winding ud the debate on high prices, said that, during tho first quarter of 1920 we had paid off an appreciable portion of the debt and reduced the number of notes in circulation. He believed tlie financial position .was improving daily. Tli?re was no cause for apprehension or despair. Sir Ro'bert Home concluded with an optimistic reference to the. outlook for the export trade. Sir Donald Mncle.m's motion was rejected by 25S votes tp 80.—Imperial News Service.
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Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 148, 18 March 1920, Page 7
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457HIGH PRICES Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 148, 18 March 1920, Page 7
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