WRITING ON THE WAIL?

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 920, 13 March 1930, Page 11

WRITING ON THE WAIL?

LABOUR GOVERNMENT IN DELICATE POSITION DEFEAT ON COAL BiLL United F.A By Telegraph — ght LONDON, AYeunt -.lay. The defeat of the Government on the Conservative amendment to the Coalmine's Bill does not deprive the bill of any essential feature as the deleted paragraph was merely framed to give permissive power to the owners’ central council to impose a compulsorv levy. On the other hand the Government has always regarded the Quota as the heart of the bill and if that had been defeated the bill would have been abandoned. Earlier in the debate Mr. Walter Kunciman tLiberal) had urged thnthe utmost elasticity was essential if Britain was to win back her export trade. He said the Quota would strike a fatal blow to activity by anchoring the trade to long-dated forward contracts. Although the London newspapers ft ature the Government’s defeat none demands its resignation. The division generally is accepted in Mr. MacDonald’s words as relating to an optional provision which did not make an essential change in the clause. Nevertheless, there is some criticism of the Prime Minister’s offer to accept the decision of the House on any vote of censure moved in general terms. BEGINNING OF END The “Daily Telegraph” says that if that procedure were to continue it would inep.u that all the Ministry a measures would be removed from the category of matters on which is must stand or fall. It remarks that more will be heard of this remarkable gloss upon the custom of the Constitution. The same paper’s political writer says members of the House in the lobbies described the defeat as the beginning of the end of the present Government. The “Morning Post” describes the division as a salutary lesson. The “Daily Herald” editorially is silent, but its political correspondent admits that the Government’s authority cannot survive many repetitions of last evening’s defeat. He says he has high authority for saying that the Government regards the blow struck at its prestige as something quite apart from the merits or demerits of the question. The tactics of the Opposition, declares the writer, will lead straight to a general election in which the Government believes it can secure a clear majority in the House of Commons.