Amid these storms the Government has launched its new Housing
policy in two Bills, the first of which stops the decontrol of small houses for five years, continues the gradual decontrol of medium priced houses, and de- controls all the more expensive houses ; and the second of which abolishes all subsidies except for slum clearance and the reconditioning of rural cottages, while sub- stituting a guarantee of part of the cost of small houses erected by private enterprise. The frigid but knowledge- able manner of Sir E. Hilton Young was at its best in the exposition of what is a gamble upon the power of private enterprise to meet the demand for houses of all types within a few years. His understudy, Mr. Shakespeare, has a warmth and a wit which arc an admirable foil to his chief, and he quite captivated the House with an unpretentious but sensible statement of the relation of the Government's proposals to an ideal housing policy. Mr. Greenwood was also better than usual in dealing with subjects of which he has had practical experience. Nothing can really reconcile the Socialist view that public enter- prise is the proper agency for housing with the opposing view that private enterprise is the cheapest and best agency ; nor the Socialist .view that all rents should be controlled with the opposing view that the landlord has rights as well as the tenant. There are, however, points of agreement in both Bills, notably that rent control should be adjusted to the supply of houses and that national effort should be concentrated on slum clearance.
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