Clause 9. — (Power of Board of Trade to require information.)

Part of Orders of the Day — Import Duties Bill. – in the House of Commons at on 22 February 1932.

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Photo of Mr Rhys Davies Mr Rhys Davies , Westhoughton

That shows that the hon. Gentleman does not know as much about business as we do. We want these items inserted for another reason. We are not satisfied with paragraph (d), "the number of persons employed." I noticed that the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade understands what he is talking about, although some of his supporters do not. He has got down here "the number of persons employed." What indication is there in the number of persons employed as to whether the industry is doing well or not? A statement was made the other day from this bench to the effect that one shipbuilder produced, a few years ago, two and half tons of shipbuilding, and that five years later he produced six and a-half tons of shipbuilding. It seems to me to be quite clear from that that to-day 100,000 men can produce as much shipbuilding as 300,000 could five or ten years ago. What indication, therefore, does the mere number of persons employed give as to whether an industry is doing well or otherwise? If we are to be criticised because our Amendments are not in good form, what about the proposals of the Bill itself?

I have seen it actually happen in industry that, where 50 persons were employed on a process 10 years ago, there are to-day only five employed, on exactly the same process, and producing very nearly as much as the 50 did 10 years ago; and the time may come, say some of the economists, when one man will be employed and 99 other men will be watching him producing all that is required for the community. There seems, therefore, to be much more sense in some of our proposals than there is in this particular item of the number of persons employed.

Whatever may be said about any of the other Amendments that we have on the Paper, the point with regard to overhead charges is a very important one, because of the facts that I have mentioned. Firms will be coming to the Government to ask for additional protection, and I am afraid that, unless these words are included, they will not show proper returns. I am not so sanguine as some hon. Members that manufacturers will come with clean hands to the Government. The House of Commons is embarking on a, very bad principle in politics, and we shall live long enough, I am afraid, to see that this Bill, in spite of all the nice things that are said about it, will have been found to have turned politics into a system of "graft" such as exists in America at the present time. I support these Amendments, and I trust that the Minister will have been convinced that there is substance in some of the points which I have made.