BALDWIN LEADERSHIP

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 145, 23 June 1930, Page 9

BALDWIN LEADERSHIP

PARTY MEETING CALLED

EMPIRE CEUSADEES

' British Official Wlroless. (Received 23rd June, 11 a.m.) RUGBY, 22nd June. A Conservative Party meeting has been convened for next Tuesday as the sequel to attacks made on Mr. BaldI win's leadership by the protagonists of the Empire Free Trade movement. There has not been a Conservative Party meeting of this kind for seven years, when, after his defeat at the 11923 General Election, Mr. Baldwin received an enthusiastic vote of confij dence. | ' The main question at issue is Mr. I Baldwin's attitudo towards the proi gramme of the Empire free traders, , particularly on the , question of' food I taxes. ' Mr. Baldwin, as a compromise, some,months ago accepted the proposal of Lord Beaverbrook. who leads the Empire free traders, to refer to the people the question of any agreement | involving food taxes reached at a specially summoned Imperial, Conference. IHe has ' repeatedly stated that food ■ taxes will not figure in his programme at tho next General Election. 1 His utterances have been regarded as hike-warm by the Empire free I traders, and Lord Beavcrbroolc in a 'letter to the "Daily Mail" on Tuesday ' said ■ that the Empire crusaders could I expect little assistance from tho Con- , servative front bench. He appealed to I all Conservatives for subscriptions to I enable them to place a candidate in [ each of .those constituencies in which Empire frco trade was not actively supported. ' ,