The Socialist amendment to the Address in -the House was
moved -on Thursday, February 4th. Mr. Snowden, who moved it, deplored the Government's treatment of unemployment and was rash enough to use the boomerang argument that the test of a modern Govern- ment was the extent to which it helped to improve trade. He advocated public ownership and democratic control of the "essential services." He argued that the pro- posals of Labour • were immediately practicable. After all, he said, the advance towards State Socialism was already so noticeable that its final triumph was in- evitable. What was the difference between the State owning land and the State taking out a mortgage on the land, which was the Government's scheme ? He seemed most of the time to be making overtures to the Liberals. It was also noticeable that he never varied his formula about nationalizing only the " essential " services. He seemed to imply that the Liberals and Socialists might travel a fairly long road together before the nationalizing of all services became a practical policy.
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