High Prices.

Part of Civil Services and Revenue Departments Estimates. 1920–21 [Vote on Account]. – in the House of Commons at on 15 March 1920.

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Photo of Captain William Benn Captain William Benn , Leith

I have not any desire to visit the bedside, I can assure the right hon. Gentleman. But the Chancellor of the Exchequer has constantly urged on the public the necessity also for private thrift, and, of course, it is obvious that that is a very important thing, because the individual savings would go either to reproductive enterprise or the production of commodities in some form or another. I am not speaking about to-day, when we have had a speech from the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food describing the general desolation of the world, but I am speaking of those old days immediately after the Armistice. Was the Government itself then setting an example of thrift to the nation? I must mention details and small things here, because, after all, the Government expenditure has been very lavish. I can remember question after question put from the Back Benches on the other side about fleets of motor-cars, about great cars visiting this House every day to carry about the Ministers. That was not an example to the public to economise. Then there was the Bill for doubling the salaries of Ministers and secretaries, and there was the speech made in this House of the most optimistic kind in the latter part of last year. And then we get the latest item, the cost of the Peace Conference in Paris, £503,000 in all, including the passenger and mail services. I assume this is for the Peace negotiations since the Armistice—half a million, including items which, I make bold to say, might very well have suffered reduction by any Government that was earnestly endeavouring to be thrifty and set a personal example of thrift and restraint to the nation.

Then we come to the question of what is conceived to be the remedy for this state of affairs. It is generally admitted, I believe, that in the case of a world scarcity, such as the Food Controller has told us to-night, some sort of Government control is required. I think we all admit that, but immediately you come to deal with the thing in the big, as he did in his most interesting speech, you see that the problem is not a national but an international problem; and so we see that the Government's pollicy should have been governed by a view of the whole world production, and not merely by a narrow national one. That, I think, really is the substance of all the proper criticism that can be levelled against the Government—that their policy has not been framed to put the world again on to a basis of flourishing reproductive work. On the contrary, everything they have done, instead of attempting to instil a spirit of international friendship, has all been based on a much narrower view of the needs of the Empire. There is the attitude to the Aliens Bill, and the Imperial Preference Scheme, and the failure of the Government to foster a friendship with the United States. [HON. MEMBERS: "No!"] Perhaps the Prime Minister does not remember the very offensive remark which was made by the Secretary of State for War in this House. I wish the Government would do more in this respect, because certainly no word of mine would make mischief in this regard. I think the matter is much too important. But I do contend that the Government's policy has failed altogether to attempt to set up the spirit of international goodwill, which, after all, has its trade aspects as well as its moral and ideal aspect.

Then we have the speech of the Food Controller to-night in which he spoke of under-production. He told us there was a fall in production all over the world. This is the Government which last year was placing embargoes upon imports. Without free circulation you cannot possibly get prices down. This is the Government which tells us now that there is nothing in Germany, and under-production in the States, and has actually a Dumping Bill ready to be produced in this House. I do not know what would be the fate of the Dumping Bill after the speech of the Food Controller to-day, but he told us that any man who looked back must realise that it was impossible to any set of statesmen to establish a staple peace in the world. Yet this is the Government who held over the head of Germany a big indemnity, than which nothing could be more discouraging to the spirit of production. The Food Controller told us that no set c£ men could possibly have restabilised the Governments of the world. Yet this Government continued the war with Russia, and there were Military Missions there. They tell us now that the world is short of commodities. Yet they forced the Russian Government to use transport, which is the backbone of any system of national distribution and affects prices, for war purposes! They are the people who refused to trade with Russia, although the Food Controller has told us that it is impossible to cut down the price of butter until the Siberian markets are re-opened! I have ventured to put before the House some reasons which have actuated us in the criticisms we have levelled at the Government. The question of prices is not a national or a narrow question. It is a world question. It is a question which could only be solved by the Governments, in this and all other countries, approaching it in a spirit of international goodwill.