BRITISH POLITICS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 22, 19 February 1909, Page 2

BRITISH POLITICS.

PRESS CRITICISM. London, February 17. ..."'" Jlll "'» "»>'« the presence of tlie ki.i« redeemed the opening 01 I lie Se.s. »"»ii; otherwise the function wa , t,,,,,,., there being only one purple jmlcli. Til: HeWi l>i,estulilishiucnt |li|| (< llut to >«' piissed oc.vond the second reading Ib.'ii U is to he reserved as a missile to Jhng at tin- Lords in the succeeding session, lhe leal interest centres in the Budget. The spceilic recognition of a 1 increased expenditure 011 the Xnvv being necessary is very welcome. INUH.NAXT SUFFKAUETTES.

London, February )7. Suffragettes are indignant that there was no reference in tlie King's Speech to the franchise tjiiestion. Three of their number invaded tlie Higlu Hon. li-gin-aid McKenna's apartments at the House, line of them addressed guests from the chair. All Here ejected. The suirragettes had another balloon over London (villi a megaphone. On the balloon wan displayed a huge inscription.

THE IN'K.UiPLOYMEXT QUESTION. LIBOR .MEMBERS IX REVOLT. MINISTERS OX THEIR METAL Received 19, 11.5 p.m. London, February 18. Mr. 0. \V. Barnes (member for Glasgow I, dealing with the inadequate proposals in regard to unemployment, declared that twin causes of unemployment were private ownership of land andcnpitalism. He demanded land taxation, nationalisation of canalff and railways, and shorter hours for labor. Concluding h'is speech, he passionately de-. dined: ''l would rather be outside the House. The time wasted by thetabor Party would be better employed) in rousing the country," Mr. John, Burns, President oi' the Local tiovei'iiment Board, in an emphatic speech which aroused' much dissent, attributed unemployment to violent fluctuations in industry, among engineers, shipbuilders, boilerinakcrg and the building trade, and the difficulty of unorganised* and unskilled laborers. If a tithe of the money spent in drink were devoted do insuring against unemployment, he said, much misery would be saved. The Government was considering the afforestation report and wouldi deal with the Poor Law Commission's, recommendations. The new Irish Land Hill, by preventing the annual influx of forty or fifty thousand Irish laborers, to the (north of England, would do much, to improve work. The proposed amends inent to the Old Age Pension* Act would involve au expenditure of a further, three or four millions.

Mr. Will Crooks described the King's speech as all window-dressing. Labor, exchanges were a bogey and wouldi prove only useful to a. few clerks. Unless the Government dealt with unemployment; this session the Labor Party, would raise a campaign that tEe Government wouldj l>e sorry for its great betrayal of the starving people. Mr. Winston Churchill, President of the Board of Trade, said the exchange* were a gateway to industrial security. Unemployment insurance would follow, and later afforestation and sweated industries' boards* would be set up. Tariff 'reform' as a solution of the unemployment question was a mockery,, an Irrelevance and an impertinence. The amendment wn» defeated by 205 to 101.

GERMAN VIEWS. Received' 18, 11.5 p.m. Loudon, February 18. tordiaf references to the King's sp?ecli are. made by the Berlin Press. The Vossische Zcitung states "thati King Eward's visit is having better political effects than ant cipatcd in Germany. The ice was broken after a .per.odi of angry and suspicious discussions in Parliament.