There is certainly grave necessity for a Measure of this kind, particularly in certain parts of the country such as the district that I represent. If I thought that the Bill would be operated ruthlessly, I would be prepared to welcome it, but I cannot believe that the President of the Board of Trade is sincere in the various protestations that he has made in the last few weeks that there is no exploitation of food and other necessaries. Many of us know that there has been, and to bring in this Measure now is like locking the door after the horse has been stolen. If, however, it is a death-bed repentance, we should welcome it because the Measures which the Government have introduced in this so-called emergency will undoubtedly cause a great deal of suffering, which would be intensified if the exploitation of food and other necessaries were persisted in.

I am rather surprised at the machinery which has been set up. So far as I can understand the President's lucid explanation, the machinery of detection and for bringing the malefactor to justice will be so complicated that it is doubtful whether anybody will be detected, and if they are detected, ever brought to justice. There will be a difficulty in securing a conviction, and the Bill seems to me to resolve itself very largely into what has been described as a piece of window-dressing to cover up the misdeeds of previous legislation. However, I can only hope that the Bill may have the effect which the President pretends that it will have. I have serious doubts, and I am afraid that when the "doctor's mandate" becomes operative the prescription will still be starvation.