In the House of Lords on Tuesday the question whether
the Land Valuation could not be postponed till the conclusion of the war came under discussion. In the course of the debate Lord Cromer pointed out that the Government were urging individuals to practise economy, "but what were they doing themselves "—
" They appointed a Retrenchment Committee, and the first order that Committee received was that they were not to deal with war expenditure. That order was a great mistake. It was based upon the ides that because we were at war we ought to be extravagant, whereas economy and efficiency in war wont hand in hand. The Re- trunahment Committee were also told that to enter upon an investigation of the Land Valuation Department involved the discussion of class interests. That simply meant that in order to stop the, mouths of a. small and violent section of the House of Commons, a sop must be given to them."
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