The Southland Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. Luceo Non Uro. SATURDAY, MAY 24, 1930. MR THOMAS’S TROUBLES

Southland Times, Issue 21091, 24 May 1930, Page 6

The Southland Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. Luceo Non Uro. SATURDAY, MAY 24, 1930. MR THOMAS’S TROUBLES

Sir Oswald Mosley’s defeat in the Labour Party was inevitable. The Government’s hold in the party is too strong to be challenged by the younger members, especially by the left wing section, but the real dangers arising' from the resignation of the Under-Secretary of Labour will have to be faced in the House of Commons,- where the Government’s failure to solve the Unemployment Problem will be debated under circumstances which cannot do other than cause the Government anxiety. Sir Oswald Mosley’s scheme must have made'Mr Lloyd George smile because it bore a striking resemblance to the Liberal Party’s magnificent borrowing stunt, but that likeness must have contributed to the factors turning the sub-committee of the Cabinet' against it because Mr Lloyd George, in spite of his offer to borrow £250,000,000 to-spend on the relief, of unemployment (perhaps, we should say, -because of it) was repudiated by the electors with an emphasis that left no doubt about the public view of this glittering piece of gimcrackery. Voters in New Zealand were not so wide awake. Be fore they took office members of the Labour Party were confident of their ability to solve the Unemployment Problem and their promises under this head were as alluring as those given by the United Party candidates in this country, but in neither country has anything been done to suggest that a solution is in sight. Mr Thomas, it is forecasted, will be made the scapegoat in the Old Country. Certainly it is difficult to see how any other victim could be chosen. He was emphatic in his assurances during the election campaign and when Mr MacDonald framed his. Cabinet he gave to Mr Thomas the task of dealing with ’the unem ployment business. Since then criticism has centred'on Mr Thomas, and latterly it has become clear, as the unemployment figures have mounted, that the Labour Govern-

ment is unable to find a way out of the difficulty. Sir Oswald Mosley, who could depend on the support of the left wing members in this matters, stood for action on magnificent lines, but Mr Snowden at the Treasury has been adamant in his refusal to load the Exchequer with expensive works which will greatly enlarge the Budget. He has realized that money spent in relief works does not touch the root of the evil, and the outlay impedes that reduction in taxation which is necessary to assist industry to recover, and to popularize the Government. In New Zealand a similar charge may be laid at the door of the Government which is ready to spend money on railways that will not give an adequate return because the work will provide em ployment. The attack on Mr Thomas will be directed against his failure to achieve anything substantial, and the Government’s risk is that, if a few disgruntled supporters refrain from voting and the Liberals throw in their lot with the Conservatives it will not be able to stave off defeat. Of course, the Liberals are angling for some form of electoral change to improve their chances in the three-cornered fight before doing so, and their diffidence will be used by the Government if a test is made on the unemployment question, but the recent news is clearly pointing to troublous times, and in these the Government’s excellent record in politics will not be enough to balance the prestige it has lost among its own followers on this' major issue.