The Week in Parliament Our Political Correspondent writes: The Budget
resolution authorising the increase of the tea duty was passed in the House of Commons on Monday with surpris- ingly little difficulty after only one and a half hours' debate. The attempt of the Labour Members to lash themselves into a fury over it was a feeble affair. They said that the Chancellor " was pinching a portion of tea from the old widow's cup," that it was the meanest tax there ever was," that it was " the widow's mite for arma- ments." But as at no time were there more than a score of Labour Members sufficiently indignant to be present in the House, these attacks had no real sting in them. Mr. Chamberlain in reply insisted that the tax was meant to be felt, so that every class in the community should be made to realise the price of rearmament. This brought Mr. Alexander to his feet with a fierce speech of denuncia- tion, which seemed rather illogical. For if the Labour Party is really opposed to rearmament they ought to be glad that it is to be paid for by taxes, which will thus open the eyes of electors to the price of ships and aeroplanes.
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