The Week in Parliament
BY far the most important " Supply " debate has been that which took place on the Board of Trade vote last Monday. Sir Philip Cunliffe-Lister opened with a discursive, gloomy, and able survey of the general con- dition of British trade. At moments he confused the Committee with bursts of highly intricate statistics, but he was listened to throughout with rapt attention by a small and intelligent audience. Mr. Alexander, who followed, made a good speech, and (a notable admission from one of the most ardent Free. Traders in the House) expressed anxiety as to the amount of goods produced under sweated conditions which are annually dumped in this country. He suggested complete prohibition of import of these goods, and was warmly praised by Sir Robert Horne for doing so. Sir Robert delivered a frankly Protectionist speech, the most significant passage of which was an appeal for wholesale amalgamations in the steel industry. Mr. Lloyd George declined to commit himself to any specific " remedies," but his treatment of the fiscal issue was even milder than usual. This is hardly surprising if there is any truth in the rumour that he- was returning from America in 1923 with a full-blown Protectionist policy in his pocket, only to find himself forestalled by Mr. Baldwin.
Captain Waterhouse, who speaks too little, impressed the Committee with a thoughtful contribution to the debate, and a refreshing day concluded with the striking but accurate announcement by Sir Henry Page Croft that he found himself, not for the first time, in substantial agreement with Mr. Tom Johnston.
This debate provides ample food for reflection, and was in some respects the most important of the Session. The necessity as well as the desirability of large combina- tions in industry was brought out by all parties, and accorded official recognition by the President of the Board of Trade. And the old Protectionist leanings common to the Conservative and Labour Parties were strikingly revealed. Finally, the disparity between the waterlogged heavy industries of the North and the lighter technical industries of the South was increasingly empha- sized as the debate proceeded. Before long the Conserva- tives will be in search of a " constructive " policy to place before the electorate, and Sir Robert Home seemed to be feeling his way towards one. All but an extreme " die-hard " section of the Party have now abandoned the ideal of " laissez-faire."
And there can be little doubt that a programme which included the reconstruction and reorganization of the .heavy industries by means of amalgamation (compulsory .in certain cases) : Protection for these industries in some form or another ; the relief of industrial and agricultural rates ; and, last but not least, Imperial development through reciprocal preferences, would contain much that would commend itself to a large proportion of the Con- servative Party.
Sir Robert Horne and Sir Alfred Mond, who may perhaps claim to be the two leading " industrialists " in the House, have for some time been advocating a " pro- ducers' " policy, and their ideas have been converging with remarkable rapidity. On the other hand certain members of the " left-wing " of the party, such as Mr. Macmillan, Mr. Hudson, Mr. Skelton, and Mr. Boothby, have been advancing similar views, and are known to have strong Protectionist leanings. An alliance between some of the industrialists and some of the " Y.M.C.A." would be quite a formidable affair, and is by no means an im- possibility of the future.
These and other alluring speculations were conjured up by a debate of outstanding interest, which caused sub- sequent discussions upon the Education and Labour votes to seem very tame. I found they were being canvassed to a considerable extent in the Lobby. In the meantime members will depart for a well-earned holiday to ponder over the events of the past and the possibilities of the future, fortified by the knowledge that although the passage has been incredibly stormy and remains rough, at any rate we still survive : and that no new developments arc likely to occur before the autumn. WATCHMAN.
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