BRITAIN’S POLICY

Hokitika Guardian, 14 November 1931, Page 5

BRITAIN’S POLICY

LABOUR P4RTY VIEWS,

[United Ptgbs Association— By Electric

Telegraph.—Copyright.)

LONDON, November 12. la the House oi Commons, Mr Stafford Cripps, ’resuming the debate on the Address-in-Reply, submitted . for the Labour Party an amendment, expressing regret at the absence of proposals for planning any public ownership of "principal industries, including that of banking, and also at the absehce of British initiative in the international /action on the questions of war debts, reparations, currency and exchange, and further at the introduction of economies at the expense of the unemployed and of the social services.. - >' --O' The Labour Party, he' said, would willingly support Mr MacDonald in any efforts to carry out Labour’s international . policy of getting rid of the war debts payments. The Government should use every effort to secure' the reduction of armaments, a,s otherwise 'Germany a,nd other nations would he crushed, and then the utility of the Disarmament 'Conference would disappear. The Labour Party opposed the policy of the tariff protection in 'Britain, on the grounds that we would lose our most-favoured-jiafion treatment, on which our foreign trade is based. The Government had ai great opportunity of performing an international service in the direction of reducing, instead of increasing the trade barriers, Until the Government controlled the Bank of England, said Sir Stafford Cripps, it would not be able to’ rehabilitate the basic industries. There should be a reconstruction of agriculture and it must be based on the nationalisation of the land. Mr Thomas, agreed that neither free trade nor protection would solve the" nation’s problems, but the country’s > mandate was to use any means, including those of t tarifFs, to balance the country’s trade. Both Mr MacDonald's manifesto and the Kflng’s speech indicated' a .need for further development of the wealth of the Brih. ish Commonwealth. He was well aware that there 'were differences between the various colonies and . the Dominions, but with an all-round desire therefore, a settlement could be * effected. If the Government entered into a war debts , and disarmament conference with cut and dried schemes j, it would court failure, but the Government, backed by an / overwhelming roafloriiy of the nation, would enter international conferences without au- . thority. ,