Mr. Ronald McNeill said that the bonus had been increased
by the Treasury without the sanction of the House. The House ought to "make a stand against this practice." We heartily agree. The only consolation in connexion with this thoroughly unjustifiable extravagance and this very bad example is that for the first time in many months the Index Figure has fallen. At December 1st the average level of retail prices, including food, rent, clothing, fuel, and miscellaneous articles, was 169 per cent. above that of July, 1914, as compared with 170 per cent. at November 1st. The decrease during the month was mainly due to the reduction of the price of sugar by 4d. per lb. It true there were also reductions in the prices of clothes, but these were cancelled by increases in the prices of milk, eggs, and fish. We still want to know how the Index Figure is arrived at, and we trust that members of Parliament will press for enlightenment. It was said by Colonel Guinness in the debate of last Saturday that tobacco—a luxury—was taken into account in preparing the statistics
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