BRITISH POLITICS.

Hokitika Guardian, 3 October 1931, Page 5

BRITISH POLITICS.

ELECTION ISSUE.

(British Official Wireless.)

RUGBY, October 1

Political conversations to decide whether or not a general election will he held in ; the near future are still continuing, and it seems unlike y that a decision showing the final alignment of parties can he announced yoL awhile.

Broadly stated, the position at the momeint is that the Prime Minister is greatly impressed by the desirability of treating national issues on a national as distinct from a party basis, and to see that the Government, so far as pos sib'e, is representative t.f all paitcs, with a mandate from the country to employ any remedy which the trend oi economic events may require. The Conservatives believe tariffs to be the remedy required, and are generally strongly in favour of an early election.

Following a meeting of the Privy Council at the Palace, Mr Baldwin remained behind and had an audience with the King. This evening, Sir Austin Chamberlain had nr. audience.

If is considered probable that n formal announcement regarding developments in the political field will be deferred uiijtil next week The Prime Minister is due to leave London to-morrow fol* Senllatti. Interest at the moment centres upon the extent and nature of the Liberal support which will be available for the Prime Minister in the event of a decision to hold an election in the near future.

The Prime Minister, to-morrow, will speak at a Labour delegate meeting at Seahnm Harbour, thus facing a body of bis one-time supporters, who a lew weeks ago expressed, by <lO votes to 39, disapproval of bis action in leading the National Government. BIG ‘WAR LOAN CONVERSION TWO THOUSAND MILLIONS. RUGBY, October 1. In the. House of Commons to-night the committee stage of the Finance Bill, by which additional taxation to balance the Budget is imposed, was completed.

Speaking on £he clause giving stock holders the right to continue their holdings in 5 per cent war loan, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr Snowden, said that the purpose of the clause would he used at a favourab.e opportunity to convert this huge block of 5 per cent war loan, amounting to over two thousand million. To a very great extent, the terms of the conversion offer, when issued, would follow the conditions attached to the present stock. It was proposed to give three months’ notice to the holders of stuck, and during those three months they would have the option of transferring Into, new stock, or asking that at the end of three months they be repaid, in cash. The power which was asked ■Km not now iu operation of that kind. It provided that if a holder of existing stock did nothing, he was taken as accepting the offer. If he accepted, he retained his old stock, but the rights attaching to that stock Would be different. In an ordinary conversion operation, the holder surrendered his o’d stock and received pew stock. Under this continuous operation, he.would retain his old security but with changed conditions. It would he obvious that, if there were a large number of holders of present stock who asked to be paid off in cash, the Government could not raise that huge sum in the course of a few days, and therefore time was taken in order to eee what the results of the conversion operation would be, and then to make provision for finding cash fo-r chose who wanted to be paid out. Dealing with the sub-sections of the cl iuse, Mr Snowden said that one of them gave power to the Treasury, to approve of i very small bonus for early application for conversion.