On the motion of Sir J. Remnant, the House of
Commons on Wednesday decided that the pensions of all policemen who retired before April last should be increased to correspond with the higher cost of living. The Home Secretary vainly pointed out that, if retired policemen had their pensions increased, all other retired servants of the public would have an unanswerable claim to a similar boon, and that the capital coat thus involved would be at least fifty millions. But the House, by 123 votes to 57, disagreed with the Government. We sympathize with the pensioners, many of whom, though not all, have been hard hit, just as we sympathize with the large numbers of elderly men and women who are starving on small fixed incomes that used to be, but are no longer, sufficient for their support. But the debate illustrated Mr. Chamberlain's recent complaint that, while Members talk at large about economy and abuse the thriftless Government, their own proposals usually involve fresh and heavy expenditure.
Previous page
