Mr. Lloyd George, in his reply, maintained that, if a
voluntary system were adopted, millions of the present contributors would drop out of the scheme. Mr. Boner Law, basing explained that advocates of a voluntary system had never suggested that the employers as a class would not pay and would not pay for all their workmen, whether insured or not. Mr. Lloyd George ridiculed the scheme as preposterous.. The new Unionist policy was "back to the workhouse." He declared that every promise to provide benefits bad been
realized, and protested that he never stated that the Government would guarantee minimum benefits, no matter how a society might be mismanaged. He admitted that a time might come, say a year hence, when there must be an inquiry into the working of this great social experiment. Mr. Boner Law retorted by. observing that the Opposition demanded an inquiry because the whale financial basis of the scheme was unsound, and Mr. Lloyd George knew it. The motion was rejected by 283 votes to 199.
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