HC Deb 19 December 1893 vol 19 cc1769-70
MR. KEIR-HARDIE

I beg to ask the First Lord of the Treasury whether the Government will now consent to the appointment of a small Select Committee of the House to consider and report without delay what action could be taken by the various Departments of the Government, under the powers they now possess, to provide remunerative and profitable employment for men out of work through no fault of their own?

MR. W. E. GLADSTONE

I observe that this is a question not with regard to finding employment for the enemployed in general, but for their employment through the exercise of powers of the Public Departments for that purpose. It is obvious that the Government would not be justified in asking the House to appoint a Select Committee for a purpose of that kind unless we were of opinion that there were funds in the hands of these Departments to some considerable extent which would be available for the purpose. So far as we are generally aware, there is no such information and no such belief, the duty and practice of the House of Commons being to vote money to Public Departments with strict regard to the number of persons whom they employ, and not with the view of creating any margin of unemployed money which may be diverted to another purpose. If there be any particular case in which it is known that there might be a possibility of useful action in this direction, I think the best course will be that that case should be brought under the notice of the Departments, where, I have no doubt, it will meet with due attention.

MR. KEIR-HARDIE

I should like to ask whether the Government, before preparing the Estimates for next year, would appoint a small Select Committee to consider this point, so that the Government in voting money to the different Departments might, if deemed advisable, make provision for the purpose named in the question?

MR. W. E. GLADSTONE

Without seeing the suggestion in a more developed form, I cannot give a final opinion. But the appointment of a small Committee to consider whether there should be a modification of the principles on which Departments make application to this House for public money with the view of employing it for the purposes of labour appears to me open to great difficulty, and I doubt whether any such Committee would have any authority to recommend such an important change in the usages of this House.