CENSURE AND CHEERS

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 852, 21 December 1929, Page 11

CENSURE AND CHEERS

BRITISH COALMINES BILL READ AGAIN LABOUR SCRAPES THROUGH Lllited P.A. —By Telegraph Copyright LONDON, Friday. A beggarly majority of eight in support of the Coalmines Bill—the principal measure of the session —demonstrated clearly that Parliament distrusts the Governments handling of the coalmine problem, says the political correspondent of the “Daily Telegraph.” Although the Government scraped through the division on the second reading of the Mill in the House of Commons, it was the opinion in the lobby that the proposals suffered a moral defeat. In the course of the debate, Mr Lloyd George said the Bill contained the worst features of Socialism and individualism, without the redeeming features of either.

Two provisions of the Bill of which he approved were those relating to the reduction of hours and the establishment. of a national wages board. Nine-tenths of the Bill concerned fixation of prices and limitation of output.

.. Mr - Lloyd George contended that there were two ways of meeting the deficit on the working of coalmines. One was the crude method of putting up prices. The other was the method of reorganising the industry, so as to save in production .and distribution. The second was tl e method that would benefit miners 'and mineowners and the country on 1 fie whole. The Government lad chosen the crude and burdenso je method, easy but pernicious, of n erely putting up prices. An alternat ve to putting up prices was to group 1 le mines in such a way as to save th( costs of production and distribution LIKE BLOOD TRANSFUSION The Liberal leader also pressed, for compulsory grouping of the mines, a- a declared that the Bill was an owneis’ measure pure and simple, with the object of raising prices and limiting output. He estimated that the Bill would increase the cost of coal by 3s 6d a ton, which would disastrously affect all the exporting industries. Even an advance of 2s Gd would add 600,000 to the costs of the cotton trade, which already was in a bad way. It was tryi ig to vitalise coalmining by a transfusion of blood from other industries which were already anaemic, while for the people it would be the equivalent of a hearth tax. “COMPULSORY PROFITEERING" Mr. Winston Churchill said the measure was most aptly desciibed as “the Dear Coal Bill." It was a deliberate attempt to levy a new and Indirect tax on the public for the benefit of sectional interests. It would have been fairer and more honest if Mr. Snowden had imposed this tax in his Budget. The money could then have been distributed in accordance with the conditions the Government imposed. Instead, they were handing over the power to extract £30,000,000 or £40,000,000 a year from the people to the mineowners. It was a Bill for compulsory profiteering. CHEERS FOR PRIME MINISTER The Prime Minister, Mr. Ramsay MacDonald, who was greeted with cheers, rose to conclude the debate. He said he observed that Mr. Churchill had not lost his romantic imagination, but he personally was convinced that the situation which the Opposition had tried to create was more political than related to the merits of the coalmining problem. Mr. MacDonald recalled that there had been failure after failure to extricate the coal industry from its difficulties. The House had to remember that before the trade could be reorganised there must be some new resources at its command. The late Secretary of the Mines Department, Mr. H. D. King, had taken the position that as long as the miner got 48s 6d a week he had no business to increase wages, if that were likely to increase the price of coal to the consumer by a penny. That was absurd. Until the House faced the question of the price of coal there could be no solution of the problem. It was essential, concluded the Prime Minister, that a properly safeguarded body should be allowed to strike the real economic price of coal. If the scheme of rationalisation were pushed ahead without delay the problem of distribution to the individual consumer would be soluble. The effect of the Bill would be to hasten that day. Any amendments in committee designed to strengthen the Bill would be considered by the Government

DIVISION ANALYSED FIVE LIBERALS REFRAINED FROM VOTING BIG CONSERVATIVE MUSTER LONDON, Friday. When the division was‘being taken in the House of Commons on the second reading of the Coal Mines Bill great excitement prevailed, because Mr. Lloyd George’s attack had shown that an accommodation between the Government and the Liberals was impossible, and the majority therefore must be narrow. The Government’s vote included 275 Labour members, two Liberals, Mr. G. Mander and Sir William Edge, and four Independents, Messrs. Neil MacLean. J. Devlin. T. J. S. Harbison, and E. Scrymgeour. The Labour Party's strength is 259. The remaining 14 votes were accounted for as follows: - Absent, paired in favour of the Bill, 10 members: tellers. 2; occupying official positions and not entitled to vote, 2.

The majority of 273 consisted of about 230 Conservatives, more than 40 Liberals, and one Independent. Dr. Graham Little. This is the highest vote the Conservatives have given in the present Parliament. The previous best was 222. Only 14 Conservatives were absent unaccounted for. Ten were paired against the Bill. Five Liberals abstained from voting, Mr. W. Runciman, Sir Donald MacLean, Mr. Leif Jones, Mr. Percy Harris, and Mr. Duncan Millar. The announcement of the result was greeted with loud Conservative shouts of "Design!"