In the House of Commons on Tuesday the Government were
defeated on an amendment to the Financial Bill. The amend- ment proposed that the profits of co-operative societies derived from trading with their own members and not with the public should be exempted from the tax; 137 voted for the amendment and 135 against, so that there was a majority of two against
the Government. Sir Donald Maclean at once asked whether it was the intention of the Leader of the House to proceed with the rest of the business. " We propose to proceed with the remaining business," replied Mr. Chamberlain. If the Govern- ment had acted according to precedent they would have adjourned the House while they decided whether to accept formally the result of the division and remain in office or to take another division on the tax. The njthod of the Government may have seemed casual or cynical or arrogant—according to the point of view—but in any case it made but little difference, as nobody expected the Government to resign. Later in the debate Mr. Chamberlain took credit to the Government for allowing greater latitude to private members whose views in this case had been readily accepted. The loss to the revenue will be about £150,000.
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