BRITISH POLITICS.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXII, Issue 830, 23 April 1910, Page 3

BRITISH POLITICS.

London, April 21,

In the House of Commons, in the division on the Budget resolutions, the Redmoudite Nationalists voted for the resolutions, and the O'Brieuite Nationalists opposed them.

The resolutions were adopted by a majority ol 81. The Budget debate in the House of Commons was marked by a lively discussion on the subject of the laud taxes.

The Opposition declared that the Government’s new phraseology did not exempt agricultural land from the tax on the unearned increment.

Lord Helmsley (Unionist member lor Thirsk and Malton, Yorkshire) moved an amendment specially including all land used for agriculture.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr Eloyd-George. declared that the acceptance of the amendment would be equivalent to abandoning the tax, since land near towns would escape payment altogether. To call this agricultural land was a mockery and a sham.

The amendment was defeated, the voting being as under : Against the amendment 344 For the amendment 24S

Government majority 96

The financial resolutions were then automatically passed, and the Budget was read a first time. In the House of Lords, the Flarl of Crewe (Secretary of State for the Colonies) said that he would, on April 28, move the second reading of the Finance Bill (Budget). There would then be a three weeks’ recess, and discussion on the Lords’ veto resolutions would be commenced on May 24th, when the text of the Veto Bill would be published. Lord Rosebery’s resolutions dealing with the reform of the House of Lords might be discussed before the recess.

Subsequently, Lord Rosebery announced the postponement of his resolutions until the first day after the recess.