§ Considered in Committee.
§ (In the Committee.)
§ [Mr. J. W. LOWTHEK (Cumberland, Penrith) in the Chair.]
§ Clause 1:—
§
Amendment again proposed—
In page 1, line 16, to leave out the words 'In lieu of.'"—(Mr. J. H. Lewis.)
Question again proposed, "That the words proposed to be left out stand part of the clause."
§ MR. TOMKINSONsaid he had only a few remarks to add. There were a number of shareholders in various companies connected with the tea, industry who would not only suffer from this tax, but also from the rate of exchange between this country and India. He maintained that the consump- 580 tion of tea in this country ought to extend year by year; but what were the facts? The consumption showed a falling off of 2 per cent., and where 6.1 1bs. per head were formerly consumed, only 6.03 1bs. were now consumed. The people of this country spent £20,000,000 on tea, whereas they spent £170,000,000 on intoxicating liquor. When an additional tax on tobacco was suggested in 1902 as an alternative to the corn tax, the then Chancellor of the Exchequer stated that the limit of taxation on tobacco had been reached, and that further taxation would not be productive. But the result proved that that was an erroneous statement. The revenue from tobacco was still increasing; and he would suggest to the Chancellor of the Exchequer that he should put an extra, duty not only on stripped tobacco, but on tobacco all round. That would give him all the revenue he required. He would support the Amendment because the tea tax was taxation in the wrong, direction, and pressed very heavily on the very poorest.
§ MR. GEORGE WHITELEY (Yorkshire, W.R., Pudsey)said that the effect of the Amendment would be to continue the tax on tea at the figure at which it now stood; and he ventured to think that the object of his hon. friend in moving the Amendment was in every respect laudable and desirable. The Chancellor of the Exchequer suggested that there might be some other opportunity of referring to this subject: but, in his humble judgment, he ventured to think that the present time was the proper occasion to thrash this matter out. The right hon. Gentleman did not meet the Amendment of his hon. friend with any great display of sympathy. His words were sympathetic; but the action he suggested was very much the reverse. He thought, therefore, that they as Liberals should appeal to the House from the right hon. Gentleman. The questions which surrounded this important matter seemed to group themselves under three heads. The first was that the tax was onerous the second was that, having regard to the relative proportion of direct and indirect taxation, the Government were not justified in suggesting it; and the third was whether any substitute could be 581 found in order to recoup the Government for the money they would lose if the Committee accepted the Amendment. He ventured to suggest that this increase in the tea tax was cruelly onerous, and that it would fall with undoubted and exceptional severity, not only on the working classes, but especially on what; was sometimes called the submerged tenth. It had been suggested that the working classes might not have to pay for this increase; but the Chancellor of the Exchequer frankly acknowledged that an increase in the cost of tea would be the direct result of his proposal. It was unnecessary to argue that tea was not one of the necessaries of life. He would not, however, class it in the same category as corn, meat and dairy produce, which the right hon. Gentleman the Member for West Birmingham in his new fiscal policy proposed to increase in price. He did not think that the working classes would ever accept a reduction on the duty on tea as being equivalent to an increase in the price of meat, bread, and dairy produce. His hon. friend the Member for Barnstaple in his excellent speech described the habits and customs of the agricultural population as regarded the consumption of tea. He himself knew the habits of the industrial population of the North perhaps as well as any other hon. Gentleman. Every man, woman, and child in a cotton factory brought with him, or her, a can in which to make tea. It was open to hon. Members to argue, as the Chancellor of the Exchequer did, that tea was inimical to the physique of the people, and generally to their health. He objected to the use which the right hon. Gentleman had made of the word "saturated." Surely it was better that the working classes should drink tea than beer and spirits; and, surely it was better that they should be saturated with tea than soddened with gin, or oozing with whisky. Did the right hon. Gentleman suggest that there should be a kind of Plimsoll load line beyond which tea should not be taken. The right hon. Gentleman said the other day that there could be no reduction of taxation, and that it might have to be increased. Hon. Gentlemen opposite said that as the country would not consent to the rearrangement of its fiscal system, by which an extra amount of money would be obtained from taxation on corn, 582 and meat, and dairy produce, money had to be raised in this way.
To the many suggestions which had been offered to the Committee he would add another. Before doing that he wished to impress upon the Committee that the remissions of taxation during the last two years had been entirely unfair to the working classes. Of the £12,500,000 remitted last year £10,000,000 went to the rich in the reduction of the income-tax, and only £2,500,000 went to the poor in the abolition of the corn duty. During the war the income-tax was 1s. 3d., now it was to be 1s. That was a reduction of 20 per cent.: but the tea duty, which was chiefly paid by the poor, instead of being reduced 20 per cent, had been increased 33⅓ per cent. The Government argued that the expenditure of the country had been increased; but he argued that the expenditure had increased beyond all bounds as a direct result of the action of an extravagant Government. Members of the Opposition and many Members on the other side of the House agreed that the military expenditure of the country was extravagant, and that it was the urgent duty of the House of Commons and the Treasury authorities to take the matter into serious consideration with a view to large reductions. It was not so popular to make similar suggestions with regard to the Navy, but he did not hesitate to express his agreement with those who believed that even our naval expenditure would admit of serious reduction. We had outgrown the two-Power standard, and where these perpetual increases in naval and military expenditure were going to end he did not know. Under almost every head of expenditure the same policy of expansion was observable. Many suggestions had been made as to the manner in which the Government could find further revenue, and if he might add one to those already put forward he would suggest that the right hon. Gentleman should take into serious consideration the advisability of repealing the Agricultural Rating Act and the Tithe Rent Charge Act. Under those Acts the Government had dissipated revenue almost equivalent in amount to that which they would derive from the additional tea duty, but they had not 583 brought any real relief to the farming classes. Remissions of rent had practically ceased.
§ MR. GEORGE WHITELEYsaid he would not pursue the subject. Any of the alternatives which had been suggested, such as the increase of the tobacco, wine and spirit, and death duties, or a graduated income-tax, would be infinitely preferable to an increase of the duty on tea which pressed with such hardship upon the working classes. Recent by-elections had shown that the working classes were not in sympathy with the policy of the Government, and he suggested that the right hon. Gentleman should advise his Leader to consult the country and get a decisive answer on these matters.
§ MR. FLYNNsaid that the tea duty had been discussed on many previous occasions, but never under such peculiar circumstances as that afternoon. Previous to the year 1900 Irish Members protested against the duty as being unfair to Ireland, but it had now reached the climax of tyranny and oppression. The tea duty of 8d. per 1b., representing from 75 to 100 per cent, of the value of the article, possessed every vice that could possibly attach to a tax. It pressed with peculiar severity upon the poorest of the population. Four years ago the House was informed that the increase from 4d. to 6d. was solely for the purposes of the war, but the war was now over, and yet the Government were imposing another 2d. because they had not the courage to tax the rich. The greatest aggregation of people with slender means, many of them verging on starvation, was to be found in certain parts of Ireland,
§ and there the pressure was severe in the extreme. No attempt had been made to show why other sources of revenue should not have been tapped. The percentage of the tax paid by Ireland increased as the duty was raised, and if the Irish representatives were justified in describing the tax as unfair when it stood at 4d., how much more justified were they in opposing it now that it was 8d.! The increased duty would have the effect of driving people to drink inferior tea, or tea dust, in place of the fairly nutritious beverage they were now able to secure. What would be said of a foreign Government which imposed a tax of 100 per cent, on the value of an article of diet used by the poorest of the poor? To the rich the duty made no difference whatever, but to the poor it was a matter of enormous importance. The goal of a free breakfast table appeared to be receding year by year, and, if the present Government continued in office, probably some other article of food would be attacked in the next Budget. He could not conceive how English Members, representing working-class constituencies, could have the temerity and effrontery to face their constituents and attempt to justify a vote by which so onerous a tax was imposed upon the food of the people. The special case of Ireland would be dealt with on a subsequent Amendment; he would merely say now that the tax possessed the worst possible qualities in that the rich escaped scot-free, while the poor felt its full force.
§ Mr. AUSTEN CHAMBERLAINrose in his place, and claimed to move, "That the Question be now put."
§ Question put, "That the Question be now put."
§ The Committee divided:—Ayes, 212; Noes, 166. (Division List No. 158.)
587| AYES. | ||
| Agg-Gardner, James Tynte | Balfour, Rt.Hon. A.J.(Manch'r | Brodrick, Rt. Hon. St. John |
| Agnew, Sir Andrew Noel | Balfour, Capt. C. B. (Hornsey) | Burdett-Coutts, W. |
| Anson, Sir William Reynell | Balfour, Rt. Hon. G. W. (Leeds | Butcher, John George |
| Arkwright, John Stanhope | Balfour, Kenneth R. (Christch. | Carlile, William Walter |
| Arnold-Forster, Rt.Hn.Hugh O. | Banbury, Sir Frederick George | Carson, Rt. Hon. Sir Edw. H. |
| Atkinson, Rt. Hon. John | Bartley, Sir George C. T. | Cautley, Henry Strother |
| Aubrey-Fletcher, Rt. Hn.SirH. | Bignold, Arthur | Cavendish, V.C.W. (Derbyshire |
| Bagot, Capt. Josceline FitzRoy | Bigwood, James | Cayzer, Sir Charles William |
| Bailey, James (Walworth) | Bill, Charles | Chamberlain, Rt Hn.J.A(Worc. |
| Bain, Colonel James Robert | Blundell, Colonel Henry | Chapman, Edward |
| Balcarres, Lord | Brassey, Albert | Charrington, Spencer |
| Clive, Captain Percy A. | Houston, Robert Paterson | Rasch, Sir Frederic Carne |
| Coates, Edward Feetham | Howard, Jn. (Kent, Faversham | Renwick, George |
| Cochrane, Hon. Thos. H. A. E. | Hozier, Hn. James Henry Cecil | Ridley, Hon. M.W. (Slalybridge |
| Colomb, Rt. Hn. Sir John C. R. | Hudson, George Bickersteth | Ridley, S. Forde (Bethnal Green |
| Colston, Chas. Edw. H. Athole | Hunt, Rowland | Ritchie, Rt. Hn. Chas. Thomson |
| Cook, Sir Frederick Lucas | Jebb, Sir Richard Claverhouse | Robertson, Herbert (Hackney) |
| Corbett, T. L. (Down, North) | Jeffreys, Rt. Hon. Arthur Fred. | Rolleston, Sir John F. L. |
| Craig, Charles Curtis(Antrim, S.) | Jessel, Captain Herbert Merton | Ropner, Colonel Sir Robert |
| Crossley, Rt. Hon. Sir Savile | Johnstone, Heywood (Sussex) | Rothschild, Hon. Lionel Walter |
| Dalkeith, Earl of | Kennaway, Rt. Hn. Sir John H. | Round, Rt. Hon. James |
| Davenport, William Bromley | Kenyon-Slaney, Col. W. (Salop. | Royds, Clement Molyueux |
| Dickinson, Robert Edmond | Knowles, Sir Lees | Rutherford, John (Lancashire) |
| Dickson, Charles Scott | Lambton, Hon. Frederick Wm. | Sackville, Col. S. G. Stopford |
| Dickson-Poynder, Sir John P. | Law, Andrew Bonar (Glasgow) | Sandys, Lt.-Col. Thos. Myles |
| Digby, John K. D. Wingfield- | Lawrence, Wm. F. (Liverpool) | Sassoon, Sir Edward Albert |
| Doughty, George | Lawson, J. Grant (Yorks., N.R. | Saunderson, Rt. Hn. Col. Edw. J. |
| Douglas, Rt. Hon. A. Akers | Lee, A. H. (Hants., Fareham) | Scott, Sir S. (Marylebone, W.) |
| Doxford, Sir William Theodore | Lees, Sir Elliott (Birkenhead) | Sharpe, William Edward T. |
| Durning-Lawrence, Sir Edwin | Legge, Col. Hon. Heneage | Skewes-Cox, Thomas |
| Dyke, Rt. Hn. Sir William Hart | Leveson-Gower, Frederick N.S. | Sloan, Thomas Henry |
| Egerton, Hon. A. de Tatton | Lockwood, Lieut.-Col. A. R. | Smith, Abel H. (Hertford, East |
| Fardell, Sir T. George | Loder, Gerald Walter Erskine | Smith, Hon. W. F. D. (Strand) |
| Fergusson, Rt. Hn. Sir J. (Manc' | Long, Col. Charles W. (Evesham | Spear, John Ward |
| Fielden, Edward Brocklehurst | Long, Rt. Hn. Walter (Bristol, S. | Stanley, Edward Jas. (Somerset |
| Finch, Rt. Hon. George H. | Lowther, C. (Cumb., Eskdale) | Stanley, Rt. Hon. Lord (Lancs. |
| Finlay, Sir Robert Bannatyne | Loyd, Archie Kirkman | Stewart, Sir Marx J. M'Taggart |
| Fisher, William Hayes | Lucas, Col. Francis (Lowestoft) | Stirling-Maxwell, Sir John M |
| Fison, Frederick William | Lucas, Reginald J. (Portsmouth | Stock, James Henry |
| FitzGerald, Sir Robert Penrose- | Lyttelton, Rt. Hon. Alfred | Strutt, Hon. Charles Hedley |
| Fitzroy, Hn. Edward Algernon | Macdona John Gumming | Talbot, Lord E. (Chichester) |
| Flannery, Sir Fortescue | MacIver, David (Liverpool) | Talbot, Rt. Hn. J.G (Oxf'd Univ. |
| Forster, Henry William | Maconochie, A. W. | Taylor, Austin (East Toxteth) |
| Foster, P. S. (Warwick, S.W.) | M'Arthur, Charles (Liverpool) | Thorburn, Sir Walter |
| Galloway, William Johnson | M'Iver, SirLewis (Edinburgh, W) | Thornton, Percy M. |
| Gardner, Ernest | M'Killop, James (Stirlingshire) | Tollemache, Henry James |
| Gibbs, Hon. A. G. H. | Malcolm, Ian | Tomlinson, Sir Wm. Edw. M. |
| Gordon, Hn. J.E. (Elgin&Nairn) | Martin, Richard Biddulph | Tritton, Charles Ernest |
| Gordon, J. (Londonderry, S.) | Melville, Beresford Valentine | Tuff, Charles |
| Gore, Hn. G. R. C. Ormsby-(Salop | Middlemore, Jn. Throgmorton | Valentia, Viscount |
| Gore, Hon. S.F. Ormsby-(Linc.) | Milner, Rt. Hn. Sir Frederick G. | Vincent, Col. Sir C.E.H (Sheffield |
| Graham, Henry Robert | Montagu, G. (Huntingdon) | Vincent, Sir Edgar (Exeter) |
| Gray, Ernest (West Ham) | Moon, Edward Robert Pacy | Walker, Col. William Hall |
| Greene, Sir E.W (B'ryS Edm'nds | Morpeth, Viscount | Walrond, Rt. Hn. Sir William H. |
| Grenfell, William Henry | Morrison, James Archibald | Warde, Colonel C. E. |
| Greville, Hon. Ronald | Mount, William Arthur | Webb, Colonel William George |
| Hall, Edward Marshall | Murray, Rt. Hon. A. G. (Bute) | Welby, Lt.-Col. A. C. E (Taunton |
| Hardy, L. (Kent, Ashford) | Murray, Charles J. (Coventry) | Welby, Sir Charles G E. (Notts. |
| Hare, Thomas Leigh | Murray, Col. Wyndham (Bath) | Whiteley, H. (Ashton und. Lyne |
| Harris, Dr. Fredk. R. (Dulwich) | Nicholson, William Graham | Whitmore, Charles Algernon |
| Haslett, Sir James Horner | Pease, Herb. Pike (Darlington) | Williams, Colonel R. (Dorset) |
| Hay, Hon. Claude George | Peel, Hn. Wm. Robert Wellesley | Willoughby de Eresby, Lord |
| Heath, Arthur Howard(Hanley | Pemberton, John S. G. | Wilson, A. Stanley (York, E.R. |
| Heath, James (Staffords., N.W. | Percy, Earl | Wilson, John (Glasgow) |
| Heaton, John Henniker | Pilkington, Colonel Richard | Wodehouse, Rt. Hn. E.R. (Bath |
| Helder, Augustus | Platt-Higgins, Frederick | Wortley, Rt. Hon. C. B. Stuart |
| Henderson, Sir A. (Stafford, W.) | Plummer, Walter R. | Wyndham, Rt. Hon. George |
| Hermon-Hodge, Sir Robert T. | Powell, Sir Francis Sharp | Younger, William |
| Hickman, Sir Alfred | Pretyman, Ernest George | |
| Hobhouse, Rt Hn H (Somers't, E | Pryce-Jones, Lt.-Col. Edward | TELLERS FOR THE AYES—Sir |
| Hogg, Lindsay | Randles, John S. | Alexander Acland-Hood |
| Hope, J.F. (Sheffield, Brightside | Rankin, Sir James | and Mr. Ailwyn Fellowes. |
| NOES. | ||
| Abraham, William (Cork, N.E.) | Beaumont, Wentworth C. B. | Burke, E. Haviland |
| Abraham, William (Rhondda) | Black, Alexander William | Burt, Thomas |
| Ainsworth, John Stirling | Boland, John | Buxton, Sydney Charles |
| Allen, Charles P. | Brigg, John | Caldwell, James |
| Asher, Alexander | Brown, George M. (Edinburgh) | Causton, Richard Knight |
| Asquith, Rt. Hn. Herbert Henry | Brunner, Sir John Tomlinson | Cawley, Frederick |
| Barran, Rowland Hirst | Bryce, Rt. Hon. James | Churchill, Winston Spencer |
| Bayley, Thomas (Derbyshire) | Buchanan, Thomas Ryburn | Clancy, John Joseph |
| Cogan, Denis J. | Kitson, Sir James | Redmond, John E. (Waterford) |
| Condon, Thomas Joseph | Labouchere, Henry | Rigg, Richard |
| Cremer, William Randal | Lambert, George | Roberts, John Bryn (Eifion) |
| Cullinan, J. | Langley, Batty | Roberts, John H. (Denbighs.) |
| Dalziel, James Henry | Law, Hugh Alex. (Donegal, W. | Robson, William Snowdon |
| Davies, Alfred (Carmarthen) | Lawson, Sir Wilfrid (Cornwall) | Roche, John |
| Davies, M. Vaughan (Cardigan) | Layland-Barratt, Francis | Roe, Sir Thomas |
| Delany, William | Leamy, Edmund | Rose, Charles Day |
| Devlin, Chas. Ramsay (Galway | Leese, Sir Jos. F. (Accrington) | Runciman, Walter |
| Devlin, Joseph (Kilkenny, N.) | Leng, Sir John | Russell, T. W. |
| Dewar, John A. (Inverness-sh.) | Levy, Maurice | Samuel, Herbert L. (Cleveland) |
| Donelan, Captain A. | Lewis, John Herbert | Samuel, S. M. (Whitechapel) |
| Doogan, P. C. | Lough, Thomas | Schwann, Charles E. |
| Douglas, Charles M. (Lanark) | Lundon, W. | Seely, Maj. J.E.B. (Isle of Wight |
| Duncan, J. Hastings | Lyell, Charles Henry | Shackleton, David James |
| Edwards, Frank | Macnamara, Dr. Thomas J. | Shaw, Charles Edw. (Stafford) |
| Elibank, Master of | MacVeagh, Jeremiah | Shaw, Thomas (Hawick B.) |
| Ellice. Capt E.C (S Andrw's Bghs | M'Crae, George | Sheehan, Daniel Daniel |
| Emmott, Alfred | M'Kenna, Reginald | Sheehy, David |
| Evans, Sir F. H (Maidstone) | M'Killop, W. (Sligo, North) | Shipman, Dr. John G. |
| Farrell, James Patrick | M'Laren, Sir Charles Benjamin | Sinclair, John (Forfarshire) |
| Field, William | Markham, Arthur Basil | Slack, John Bamford |
| Fitzmaurice, Lord Edmond | Mooney, John J. | Smith, Samuel (Flint) |
| Flynn, James Christopher | Morgan, J. Lloyd (Carmarthen) | Soames, Arthur Wellesley |
| Foster, Sir Walter (Derby Co.) | Morley, Charles (Breconshire) | Soares, Ernest J. |
| Fowler, Rt. Hon. Sir Henry | Moulton, John Fletcher | Spencer, Rt. Hn. C.R (Northants |
| Freeman-Thomas, Captain F. | Murphy, John | Strachey, Sir Edward |
| Fuller, J. M. F. | Nannetti, Joseph P. | Sullivan, Donal |
| Goddard, Daniel Ford | Nolan, Col. John P. (Galway, N.) | Taylor, Theodore C. (Radcliffe) |
| Grey, Bt. Hon. Sir E. (Berwick | Nolan, Joseph (Louth, South) | Tennant, Harold John |
| Griffith, Ellis J. | Nussey, Thomas Willans | Thomas, Sir A. (Glamorgan, E.) |
| Gordon, Sir W. Brampton | O'Brien, James F. X. (Cork) | Thomas, D. Alfred (Merthyr) |
| Haldane, Bt. Hon. Richard B. | O'Brien, K. (Tipperary, Mid.) | Tomkinson, James |
| Hammond, John | O'Brien, Patrick (Kilkenny) | Toulmin, George |
| Harcourt, Lewis V. (Rossendale | O'Brien, P. J. (Tipperary, N.) | Trevelyan, Charles Philips |
| Hayden, John Patrick | O'Connor, James (Wicklow, W. | Wason, Eugene (Clackmannan) |
| Hayter, Rt. Hon. Sir Arthur D. | O'Connor, T. P. (Liverpool) | Wason, Jn. Cathcart (Orkney) |
| Helme, Norval Watson | O'Donnell, John (Mayo, S.) | White, George (Norfolk) |
| Hemphill, Bt. Hon. Charles H. | O'Donnell, T. (Kerry, W.) | White, Luke (York, E. R.) |
| Henderson, Arthur (Durham) | O'Kelly, Jas. (Boscommon, N.) | Whiteley, George (York, W.R.) |
| Horniman, Frederick John | O'Malley, William | Whitley, J. H. (Halifax) |
| Humphreys-Owen, Arthur C. | O'Shee, James John | Wilson, Henry J. (York, W.R.) |
| Hutchinson, Dr. Charles Fredk. | Partington, Oswald | Wilson, John (Durham, Mid.) |
| Hutton, Alfred E. (Morley) | Pease, J. A. (Saffron Walden) | Woodhouse, Sir J.T (Huddersf'd |
| Johnson, John (Gateshead) | Pirie, Duncan V. | |
| Joicey, Sir James | Power, Patrick Joseph | TELLERS FOE THE NOES—Mr. |
| Jones, William (Carnarvonshire | Price, Robert John | Herbert Gladstone and Mr. |
| Joyce, Michael | Priestley, Arthur | William M'Arthur. |
| Kennedy, Vincent P. (Cavan, W | Rea, Russell |
§ Question put accordingly, "That the words 'In lieu of' stand part of the clause."
588§ The Committee divided:—Ayes, 217; Noes, 165. (Division List No. 159.)
591| AYES. | ||
| Agg-Gardner, James Tynte | Banbury, Sir Frederick George | Chamberlain, Rt Hn. J.A (Worc. |
| Agnew, Sir Andrew Noel | Bartley, Sir George C. T. | Chaplin, Rt. Hon. Henry |
| Anson, Sir William Reynell | Bignold, Arthur | Chapman, Edward |
| Arkwright, John Stanhope | Bigwood, James | Charrington, Spencer |
| Arnold-Forster, Rt. Hn. Hugh O. | Bill, Charles | Clive, Captain Percy A. |
| Atkinson, Rt. Hon. John | Blundell, Colonel Henry | Coates, Edward Feetham |
| Aubrey-Fletcher, Rt. Hn. Sir H. | Brassey, Albert | Cochrane, Hon. Thos. H. A. E. |
| Bagot, Capt. Josceline FitzRoy | Brodrick, Rt. Hon. St. John | Colomb, Rt. Hn. Sir John C. R. |
| Bailey, James (Walworth) | Burdett-Coutts, W. | Colston, Chas. Edw. H. Athole |
| Bain, Colonel James Robert | Butcher, John George | Cook, Sir Frederick Lucas |
| Balcarres, Lord | Carlile, William Walter | Corbett, T. L. (Down, North) |
| Balfour, Rt. Hon. A.J. (Manch'r | Carson, Rt. Hon. Sir Edw. H. | Craig, Charles Curtis (Antrim, S.) |
| Balfour, Capt. C. B. (Hornsey) | Cautley, Henry Strother | Crossley, Rt. Hon. Sir Savile |
| Balfour, Rt. Hon. G. W. (Leeds | Cavendish, V.C.W. (Derbyshire | Dalkeith, Earl of |
| Balfour, Kenneth R. (Christch. | Cayzer, Sir Charles William | Davenport, William Bromley |
| Dickinson, Robert Edmond | Jessel, Captain Herbert Merton | Ridley, S. Forde(Bethnal Green |
| Dickson, Charles Scott | Johnstone, Heywood (Sussex) | Ritchie, Rt. Hn. Chas. Thomson |
| Dickson-Poynder, Sir John P. | Kennaway, Rt. Hn. Sir John H. | Robertson, Herbert (Hackney) |
| Digby, John K. D. Wingfield- | Kenyon-Slaney, Col. W. (Salop. | Rolleston, Sir John F. L. |
| Disraeli, Coningsby Ralph | Keswick, William | Ropner, Colonel Sir Robert |
| Doughty, George | Knowles, Sir Lees | Rothschild, Hon. Lionel Waller |
| Douglas, Rt. Hon. A. Akers | Lambton, Hn. Frederick Wm. | Round, Rt. Hon. James |
| Doxford, Sir William Theodore | Law, Andrew Bonar (Glasgow) | Royds, Clement Molyneux |
| Durning-Lawrence, Sir Edwin | Lawrence, Wm. F. (Liverpool) | Rutherford, John (Lancashire) |
| Dyke, Rt. Hn. Sir William Hart | Lawson, J. Grant (Yorks., N.R. | Sackville, Col. S. G. Stopford |
| Egerton, Hon. A. de Tatton | Lee, A. H. (Hants., Fareham) | Sandys, Lieut.-Col. Thos. Myles |
| Fardell, Sir T. George | Lees, Sir Elliott (Birkenhead) | Sassoon, Sir Edward Albert |
| Fergusson, Rt. Hn. Sir J. (Manc'r | Legge, Col. Hon. Heneage | Saunderson, Rt. Hn. Col. Edw. J. |
| Fielden, Edward Brocklehurst | Leveson-Gower, Frederick N.S. | Scott, Sir S. (Maryleboae, W.) |
| Finch, Rt. Hon. George H. | Lockwood, Lieut.-Col. A. R. | Seely, Charles Hilton (Lincoln) |
| Finlay, Sir Robert Bannatyne | Loder, Gerald Walter Erskine | Sharps, William Edward T. |
| Fisher, William Hayes | Long, Col. Charles W. (Evesham) | Skewes-Cox, Thomas |
| Fison, Frederick William | Long, Rt. Hn. Walter (Bristol, S. | Smith, Abel H. (Hertford, East) |
| FitzGerald, Sir Robert Penrose | Lowther, C. (Cumb., Eskdale) | Smith, Hon. W. F. D. (Strand) |
| Fitzroy, Hn. Edward Algernon | Loyd, Archie Kirkman | Spear, John Ward |
| Flannery, Sir Fortescue | Lucas, Col. Francis (Lowestoft) | Stanley, Hn. Arthur (Ormskirk |
| Forster, Henry William | Lucas, Reginald J. (Portsmouth | Stanley, Edward Jas. (Somerset |
| Foster, P. S. (Warwick, S.W.) | Lyttelton, Rt. Hon. Alfred | Stanley, Rt. Hon. Lord (Lancs. |
| Galloway, William Johnson | Macdona, John dimming | Stewart, Sir Mark J. M'Taggart |
| Gardner, Ernest | MacIver, David (Liverpool) | Stirling-Maxwell Sir John M. |
| Gibbs, Hon. A. G. H. | Maconochie, A. W. | Stock, James Henry |
| Gordon, Hn. J. E. (Elgin&Nairn) | M'Arthur, Charles (Liverpool) | Strutt, Hon. Charles Hedley |
| Gordon, J. (Londonderry, S.) | M'Iver, Sir Lewis(Edinburgh, W | Talbot, Lord E. (Chichester) |
| Gore, Hn G.R.C. Ormsby-(Salop | M'Killop, James (Stirlingshire) | Talbot, Rt. Hn. J.G (Oxf'd Univ. |
| Gore, Hon. S.F Ormsby-(Linc.) | Malcolm, Ian | Taylor, Austin (East Toxteth) |
| Graham, Henry Robert | Martin, Richard Biddulph | Thorburn, Sir Walter |
| Gray, Ernest (West Ham) | Melville, Beresford Valentine | Thornton, Percy M. |
| Greene, Sir E.W (B'ryS EdD'nds | Middlemore, Jn. Throgmorton | Tollemache, Henry James |
| Grenfell, William Henry | Milner, Rt. Hn. Sir Frederick G. | Tomlinson, Sir Wm. Edw. M. |
| Gretton, John | Montagu, G. (Huntingdon) | Tritton, Charles Ernest |
| Greville, Hon. Ronald | Montagu, Hn. J. Scott (Hants.) | Tuff, Charles |
| Hall, Edward Marshall | Moon, Edward Robert Pacy | Valentia, Viscount |
| Hardy, L. (Kent, Ashford) | Morpeth, Viscount | Vincent, Col. Sir C.E.H (Sheffield |
| Hare, Thomas Leigh | Morrison, James Archibald | Vincent, Sir Edgar (Exeter) |
| Harris, Dr. Fredk. R. (Dulwich) | Mount, William Arthur | Walker, Col. William Hall |
| Haslett, Sir James Horner | Murray, Rt. Hon. A. G. (Bute) | Walrond, Rt. Hn. Sir William H. |
| Hay, Hon. (Maude George | Murray, Charles J. (Coventry) | Warde, Colonel C. E. |
| Heath, Arthur Howard(Hanley | Murray, Col. Wyndham (Bath) | Webb, Colonel William George |
| Heath, James (Staffords., N.W. | Nicholson, William Graham | Welby, Lt.-Col. A.C.E (Taunton |
| Heaton, John Henniker | Pease, Herb. Pike (Darlington) | Welby, Sir Charles G.E. (Notts. |
| Helder, Augustus | Peol, Hn. Wm. Robert Wellesley | Whiteley, H. (Ashton und. Lyno |
| Henderson, Sir A. (Stafford, W | Pemberton, John S. G. | Whitmore, Charles Algernon |
| Hermon-Hodge, Sir Robert T. | Percy, Earl | Williams, Colonel R. (Dorset) |
| Hickman Sir Alfred | Pilkington, Colonel Richard | Willoughby de Eresby, Lord |
| Hobhouse, Rt Hn H (Somers't, E | Platt-Higgins, Frederick | Wilson, A. Stanley (Yorks, E.R. |
| Hogg, Lindsay | Plummer, Walter R. | Wilson, John (Glasgow) |
| Hope, J.F. (Shefield, Brightside | Powell, Sir Francis Sharp | Wodehouse, Rt. Hn. E.R. (Bath |
| Houston, Robert Paterson | Pretyman, Ernest George | Wortley, Rt. Hon. C. B. Stuart |
| Howard, Jn. (Kent, Faversham | Pryce-Jones, Lt.-Col. Edward | Wyndham, Rt. Hon. George |
| Hozier, Hn. James Henry Cecil | Randles, John S. | |
| Hudson, George Bickersteth | Rankin, Sir James | TELLERS FOR THE AYES—Sir |
| Hunt, Rowland | Rasch, Sir Frederic Carne | Alexander Acland-Hood |
| Jebb, Sir Richard Claverhouse | Renwick, George | and Mr. Ailwyn Fellowes. |
| Jeffreys, Rt. Hon. Arthur Fred. | Ridley, Hon. M.W. (Stalybridge | |
| NOES. | ||
| Abraham, William (Cork, N.E.) | Boland, John | Causton, Richard Knight |
| Abraham, William (Rhondda) | Brigg, John | Cawley, Frederick |
| Ainsworth, John Stirling | Brown, George M. (Edinburgh) | Churchill, Winston Spencer |
| Allen, Charles P. | Brunner, Sir John Tomlinson | Clancy, John Joseph |
| Asher, Alexander | Bryce, Rt. Hon. James | Cogan, Denis J. |
| Asquith, Rt. Hn. Herb. Henry | Buchanan, Thomas Ryburn | Condon, Thomas Joseph |
| Barran, Rowland Hirst | Burke, R. Haviland | Cremer, William Randal |
| Bayley, Thomas (Derbyshire) | Burt, Thomas | Cullinan, J. |
| Beaumont, Wentworth C. B. | Buxton, Sydney Charles | Dalziel, James Henry |
| Black, Alexander William | Cadwell, James | Davies, Alfred (Carmarthen) |
| Davies, M. Vaughan (Cardigan) | Law, Hugh Alex. (Donegal, W.) | Roberts, John Bryn (Eifion) |
| Delany, William | Lawson, Sir Wilfrid (Cornwall) | Roberts, John H. (Denbighs.) |
| Devlin, Chas. Ramsay (Galway | Layland-Barratt, Francis | Roche, John |
| Devlin, Joseph (Kilkenny, N.) | Leamy, Edmund | Roe, Sir Thomas |
| Dewar, John A. (Inverness-sh.) | Leese, Sir Jos. F. (Accrington) | Rose, Charles Day |
| Donelan, Captain A. | Leng, Sir John | Runciman, Walter |
| Doogan, P. C. | Levy, Maurice | Russell, T. W. |
| Douglas, Charles M. (Lanark) | Lewis, John Herbert | Samuel, Herbert L. (Cleveland) |
| Duncan, J. Hastings | Lough, Thomas | Samuel, S. M. (Whitechapel) |
| Edwards, Frank | Lundon, W. | Schwann, Charles E. |
| Elibank, Master of | Lyell, Charles Henry | Shackleton, David James |
| Ellice, Capt E.C (S Andrw's Bghs | Macnamara, Dr. Thomas J. | Shaw, Charles Edw. (Stafford) |
| Emmott, Alfred | MacVeagh, Jeremiah | Shaw, Thomas (Hawick B.) |
| Evans, Sir F. H. (Maidstone) | M'Crae, George | Sheehan, Daniel Daniel |
| Farreli, James Patrick | M'Kenna, Reginald | Sheehy, David |
| Pield, William | M'Killop, W. (Sligo, North) | Shipman, Dr. John G. |
| Fitzmaurice, Lord Edmond | M'Laren, Sir Charles Benjamin | Sinclair, John (Forfarshire) |
| Flynn, James Christopher | Markham, Arthur Basil | Slack, John Bamford |
| Poster, Sir Walter (Derby Co.) | Mooney, John J. | Sloan, Thomas Henry |
| Fowler, Rt. Hon. Sir Henry | Morgan, J. Lloyd (Carmarthen) | Smith, Samuel (Flint) |
| Freeman-Thomas, Captain F. | Morley, Charles (Breconshire) | Soames, Arthur Wellesley |
| Fuller, J. M. F. | Moulton, John Fletcher | Soares, Ernest J. |
| Goddard, Daniel Ford | Murphy, John | Spencer, Rt. Hn. C.R (Northants |
| Grey, Rt. Hon. Sir E. (Berwick) | Nannetti, Joseph P. | Strachey, Sir Edward |
| Griffith, Ellis J. | Nolan, Col. John P. (Galway, N.) | Sullivan, Donal |
| Gurdon, Sir W. Brampton | Nolan, Joseph (Louth, South) | Taylor, Theodore C. (Radcliffe) |
| Haldane, Rt. Hon. Richard B. | Nussey, Thomas Willans | Tennant, Harold John |
| Hammond, John | O'Brien, James F. X. (Cork) | Thomas, Sir A. (Glamorgan, E.) |
| Harcourt, Lewis V. (Rossendale | O'Brien, K. (Tipperary, Mid.) | Thomas, D. Alfred (Merthyr) |
| Hayden, John Patrick | O'Brien, Patrick (Kilkenny) | Tomkinson, James |
| Hayter, Rt. Hon. Sir Arthur D. | O'Brien, P. J. (Tipperary, N.) | Toulmin, George |
| Helme, Norval Watson | O'Connor, James (Wicklow, W. | Trevelyan, Charles Philips |
| Hemphill, Rt. Hon. Charles H. | O'Connor, T. P. (Liverpool) | Wason, Eugone (Clackmannan) |
| Henderson, Arthur (Durham) | O'Donnell, John (Mayo, S.) | Wason, Jn. Cathcart (Orkney) |
| Horniman, Frederick John | O'Donnell, T. (Kerry, W.) | White, George (Norfolk) |
| Humphreys-Owen, Arthur C. | O'Kelly, Jas. (Roscommon, N.) | White, Luke (York, E. R.) |
| Hutchinson, Dr. Charles Fredk. | O'Malley, William | Whiteley, George (York, W.R.) |
| Hutton, Alfred E. (Morley) | O'Shee, James John | Whitley, J. H. (Halifax) |
| Johnson, John (Gateshead) | Partington, Oswald | Wilson, Henry J. (York, W.R.) |
| Joicey, Sir James | Pease, J. A. (Saffron Walden) | Wilson, John (Durham, Mid.) |
| Jones, William (Carnarvonshire | Pirie, Duncan V. | Woodhouse. Sir J.T (Huddersf'd |
| Joyce, Michael | Power, Patrick Joseph | |
| Kennedy, Vincent P. (Cavan, W. | Price, Robert John | TELLERS FOR THE NOES—Mr. |
| Kitson, Sir James | Priestley, Arthur | Herbert Gladstone and Mr. |
| Labouchere, Henry | Rea, Russell | William M'Arthur. |
| Lambert, George | Redmond, John E. (Waterford) | |
| Langley, Batty | Rigg, Richard |
THE CHAIRMANThe next Amendment on the Paper standing in the name of the hon. Member for Dundee is not in order.
§ MR. SYDNEY BUXTONpointed out that his hon. friend's Amendment did not involve new taxation, and therefore he respectfully submitted that it was in order.
THE CHAIRMANIt is not in order for two reasons. In the first place this clause deals with tea and not the licensing of public-houses. The second reason why it is out of order is that the proposal of the hon. Member would place an additional charge upon the public, and he could not do that without having previously obtained a Resolution in Committee.
§ MR. WINSTON CHURCHILL (Oldham)who spoke from the Opposition side of the House, said the Amendment which he wished to move raised a delicate issue, and he therefore asked leave to move to report Progress. He could compress the remarks which he had to make to something under an hour, but the subject would raise so many bitter feelings on the other side of the House, and so much interest on his side, that if he embarked upon it there was no hope of their reaching any satisfactory or useful conclusion that night. Since dinner they had discussed quite a new subject with which most hon. Members were quite unfamiliar—namely, the question of the Zionist settlement in Uganda, and hon. Members had been compelled to distract their 593 minds from the Finance Bill to quite another quarter of the globe. He appealed to the First Lord of the Treasury not to compel them at that hour to embark on an elaborate discussion of the question of preference, particularly as the nerves of tariff reformers must be in a highly sensitive condition in consequence of the recent news that had reached them from the West of England. Under those circumstances he respectfully moved that Progress be now reported.
§ Motion made, and Question proposed, "That the Chairman do report Progress; and ask leave to sit again."—(Mr. Winston Churchill.)
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURThe hon. Member well knows that there is no limitation under the Twelve O'clock Rule, and there is no reason why we should not go on to a much later hour. I understand that the particular Amendment which he desires to bring before the Committee would advocate the introduction of the principle of preference into the Budget of the present year. I am quite sure that the hon. Gentleman has so often argued on the other side that he would be perfectly competent to deal with that question, but as the Committee knows, the view of the present Government is that the question is not one to be dealt with by the present Parliament. Gladly as we welcome this new and unexpected recruit, gladly as those of us who are in favour of preference welcome this new recruit [OPPOSITION cries of "Which of you;" and cheers.] I think the mere fact that some hon. Gentleman desires to speak formally and deliberately against his convictions [Mr. WINSTON CHURCHILL dissented]—perhaps I have misread the Amendment; it was shown to me—is not an adequate reason for the Committee's adjourning at this untimely hour. I hope that the hon. Member will give us his speech within the fifty minutes that he has promised; but, if that cannot be done, we shall endure with what patience we may the longer period which he requires fully to develop his views upon this important point.
§ MR. ASQUITH (Fifeshire, E.)said the Motion which his hon. friend had made to report Progress was well justified, if 594 for no other reason, by the important declaration which it had elicited from the Prime Minister. They now knew that the Prime Minister was one of the supporters of the policy of colonial preference. Here they had a new, though he confessed, for his part, not an unexpected recruit. In view of that important declaration—
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURI suppose the right hon. Gentleman is serious?
§ MR. ASQUITHasked if he was to suppose that the Prime Minister was not serious. In view of this very important declaration, which threw a new light on the whole fiscal question, and in view of the fact that they had been engaged in discussing the Budget ever since three o'clock, except for a fruitful interval, [MINISTERIAL cries of "Oh!"] he thought a more reasonable proposal than that of his hon. friend could hardly have been made. He ventured to submit to the Prime Minister and to hon. Gentlemen opposite that they would gain no advantage whatever from starting a new and important discussion at that hour which could not possibly be concluded that night.
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURWhy not?
§ MR. ASQUITHsaid the fact that they would enter upon the discussion in the absence of the right hon. Gentleman the Member for West Birmingham was an additional reason, if an additional reason were needed, for reporting Progress. He was satisfied that the House would waste its time by having a discussion which could not possibly be brought to a satisfactory conclusion, and he should certainly support the Motion to report Progress.
§ MR. LOUGHsaid be hoped the Chancellor of the Exchequer would suggest to the Prime Minister that some effort ought to be made to meet them in this matter. Up to the present they had got on very well. [MINISTERIAL cries of "Oh!"] One of the most difficult and contentious matters in the Bill had been disposed of, and a good start had been made. He suggested to the Chancellor of the Exchequer that more progress 595 would be secured in the long run by accepting this Motion. At this hour of the night their discussions were not reported in the Press.
§ Question put.
§ The Committee divided:—Ayes, 151 Noes, 196. (Division List No. 160).
597| AYES. | ||
| Abraham, William (Cork, N.E.) | Hayter, Rt. Hon. Sir Arthur D. | Pease, J. A. (Saffron Walden) |
| Abraham, William (Rhondda) | Helme, Norval Watson | Pirie, Duncan V. |
| Ainsworth, John Stirling | Hemphill, Rt. Hon. Charles H. | Power, Patrick Joseph |
| Allen, Charles P. | Henderson, Arthur (Durham) | Price, Robert John |
| Asher, Alexander | Horniman, Frederick John | Priestley, Arthur |
| Asquith, Rt. Hn. Herb. Henry | Hutchinon, Dr. Charles Fredk. | Rea, Russell |
| Barran, Rowland Hirst | Johnson, John (Gateshead) | Redmond, John E. (Waterford) |
| Bayley, Thomas (Derbyshire) | Joicey, Sir James | Rigg, Richard |
| Beaumont, Wentworth C. B. | Jones, William(Carnarvonshire | Roberts, John Bryn (Eifion) |
| Black, Alexander William | Joyce, Michael | Roberts, John H. (Denbighs.) |
| Boland, John | Kennedy, Vincent P. (Cavan, W. | Roche, John |
| Brigg, John | Kitson, Sir James | Roe, Sir Thomas |
| Brown, George M. (Edinburgh) | Labouchere, Henry | Rose, Charles Day |
| Bryce, Rt. Hon. James | Lambert, George | Runciman, Walter |
| Burke, E. Haviland | Langley, Batty | Russell, T. W. |
| Buxton, Sydney Charles | Law, Hugh Alex. (Donegal, W | Samuel, Herbert L. (Cleveland) |
| Caldwell, James | Lawson, Sir Wilfrid (Cornwall) | Samuel, S. M. (Whitechapel) |
| Causton, Richard Knight | Layland-Barratt, Francis | Schwann, Charles E. |
| Churchill, Winston Spencer | Leamy, Edmund | Seely, Maj. J.E.B. (Isle of Wight |
| Clancy, John Joseph | Leese, Sir Jos. F. (Accrington) | Shackleton, David James |
| Cogan, Denis J. | Leng Sir John | Shaw, Charles Edw. (Stafford) |
| Condon, Thomas Joseph | Levy, Maurice | Shaw, Thomas (Hawick B.) |
| Cremer, William Randal | Lewis, John Herbert | Sheehan, Daniel Daniel |
| Cullinan, J. | Lough, Thomas | Sheehy, David |
| Dalziel, James Henry | Lundon, W. | Shipman, Dr. John G. |
| Davies, Alfred (Carmarthen) | Lyell, Charles Henry | Slack, John Bamford |
| Davies, M. Vaughan (Cardigan) | Macnamara, Dr. Thomas J. | Soames, Arthur Wellesley |
| Delany, William | MacVeagh, Jeremiah | Soares, Ernest J. |
| Devlin, Chas. Ramsay (Galway | M'Crae, George | Spencer, Rt. Hn. C.R (Northants |
| Devlin, Joseph (Kilkenny, N.) | M'Kenna, Reginald | Strachey, Sir Edward |
| Dewar, John A. (Inverness-sh.) | M'Killop, W. (Sligo, North) | Sullivan, Donal |
| Donelan, Captain A. | M'Laren, Sir Charles Benjamin | Taylor, Theodore C. (Radcliffe) |
| Doogan, P. C. | Markham, Arthur Basil | Tennant, Harold John |
| Douglas, Charles M. (Lanark) | Mooney, John J. | Thomas, Sir A. (Glamorgan, E.) |
| Duncan, J. Hastings | Morgan, J. Lloyd (Carmarthen) | Thomas, D. Alfred (Merthyr) |
| Edwards, Frank | Murphy, John | Tomkinson, James |
| Elibank, Master of | Nannetti, Joseph P. | Toulmin, George |
| Ellice, Capt E.C (S Andrw's Bghs | Nolan, Col. John P. (Galway, N.) | Trevelyan, Charles Philips |
| Emmott, Alfred | Nolan, Joseph (Louth, South) | Wason, Eugene (Clackmannan) |
| Evans, Sir Fran. H. (Maidstone | Nussoy, Thomas Willans | Wason, John Cathcart (Orkney) |
| Farrell, James Patrick | O'Brien, James F. X. (Cork) | White, George (Norfolk) |
| Field, William | O'Brien, K. (Tipperary, Mid.) | White, Luke (York, E. R.) |
| Flynn, James Christopher | O'Brien, Patrick (Kilkenny) | Whiteley, George (York, W.R.) |
| Foster, Sir Walter (Derby Co.) | O'Brien, P. J. (Tipperary, N.) | Whitley, J. H. (Halifax) |
| Freeman-Thomas, Captain F. | O'Connor, James (Wicklow, W. | Wilson, Henry J. (York, W.R.) |
| Goddard, Daniel Ford | O'Connor, T. P. (Liverpool) | Wilson, John (Durham, Mich) |
| Grey, Rt. Hon. Sir E. (Berwick) | O'Donnell, John (Mayo, S.) | Woodhouse, Sir J.T (Huddersf'd |
| Griffith, Ellis J. | O'Donnel, T. (Kerry, W.) | |
| Gurdon, Sir W. Brampton | O'Kelly, Jas. (Roscommon, N.) | TELLERS FOR THE AYES—Mr. |
| Hammond, John | O'Malley, William | Herbert Gladstone and Mr. |
| Harcourt, Lewis V. (Rossendale | O'Shee, James John | William M'Arthur. |
| Hayden, John Patrick | Partington, Oswald | |
| NOES. | ||
| Agg-Gardner, James Tynte | Balcarres, Lord | Blundell, Colonel Henry |
| Agnew, Sir Andrew Noel | Balfour, Rt. Hon. A.J. (Manch'r | Brassey, Albert |
| Anson, Sir William Reynell | Balfour, Capt. C. B. (Hornsey) | Brodrick, Rt. Hon. St. John |
| Arkwright, John Stanhope | Balfour, Rt. Hon. G. W. (Leeds | Burdett-Coutts, W. |
| Arnold-Forster, Rt. Hn. Hugh O | Balfour, Kenneth R. (Christch. | Butcher, John George |
| Atkinson, Rt. Hon. John | Banbury, Sir Frederick George | Carson, Rt. Hon. Sir Edw. H. |
| Aubrey-Fletcher, Rt. Hn. Sir H. | Bartley, Sir George C. T. | Cautley, Henry Strother |
| Bagot, Capt. Josceline FitzRoy | Bignold, Arthur | Cavendish, V.C.W. (Derbyshire) |
| Bailey, James (Walworth) | Bigwood, James | Chamberlain, Rt. Hn. J.A (Worc. |
| Bain, Colonel James Robert | Bill, Charles | Chaplin, Rt. Hon. Henry |
| Chapman, Edward | Hobhouse, Rt Hn H (Somers't, E | Ridley, Hon. M.W. (Stalybridge |
| Clive, Captain Percy A. | Hogg, Lindsay | Ridley, S. Forde (Bethnal Green |
| Coates, Edward Feetham | Hope, J.F. (Sheffield, Brightside | Ritchie, Rt. Hn. Chas. Thomson |
| Cochrane, Hon. Thos. H. A. E. | Houston, Robert Paterson | Robertson, Herbert (Hackney) |
| Colomb, Rt. Hn. Sir John C. R. | Howard, Jn. (Kent, Faveraham | Rolleston, Sir John F. L. |
| Colston, Chas. Edw. H. Athole | Hozier, Hn. James Henry Cecil | Ropner, Colonel Sir Robert |
| Cook, Sir Frederick Lucas | Hudson, George Bickersteth | Rothschild, Hon. Lionel Walter |
| Corbett, T. L. (Down, North) | Hunt, Rowland | Round, Rt. Hon. James |
| Craig, Charles Curtis (Antrim S.) | Jeffreys, Rt. Hon. Arthur Fred. | Royds, Clement Molyneux |
| Crossley, Rt. Hon. Sir Savile | Kenyon-Slaney, Col. W. (Salop.) | Rutherford, John (Lancashire) |
| Dalkeith, Earl of | Keswick, William | Sackville, Col. S. G. Stopford |
| Davenport, William Bromley | Knowles, Sir Lees | Sandys, Lt.-Col Thos. Myles |
| Dickinson, Robert Edmond | Lambton, Hon. Frederick Wm. | Sassoon, Sir Edward Albert |
| Dickson, Charles Scott | Law, Andrew Bonar (Glasgow) | Saunderson, Rt. Hn. Col. Edw. J. |
| Digby, John K. D. Wingfield- | Lawrence, Wm. F. (Liverpool) | Scott, Sir S. (Marylebone, W.) |
| Disraeli, Coningsby Ralph | Lawson, J. Grant (Yorks., N.R. | Seely, Charles Hilton (Lincoln) |
| Doughty, George | Lee, A. H. (Hants., Fareham) | Sharpe, William Edward T. |
| Douglas, Rt. Hon. A. Akers | Lees, Sir Elliott (Birkenhead) | Skewes-Cox, Thomas |
| Doxford, Sir William Theodore | Legge, Col. Hon. Heneage | Sloan, Thomas Henry |
| Durning-Lawrence, Sir Edwin | Leveson-Gower, Frederick N.S. | Smith, Abel H. (Hertford, East) |
| Dyke, Rt. Hn. Sir William Hart | Lockwood, Lieut.-Col. A. R. | Smith, Hon. W. F. D. (Strand) |
| Egerton, Hon. A. de Tatton | Loder, Gerald Walter Erskine | Spear, John Ward |
| Fardell, Sir T. George | Lowther, C. (Cumb., Eskdale) | Stanley, Hn. Arthur (Ormskirk |
| Fergusson, Rt. Hn. Sir J. (Manc'r | Loyd, Archie Kirkman | Stanley, Edward Jas. (Somerset |
| Fielden, Edward Brocklehurst | Lucas, Col. Francis (Lowestoft) | Stanley, Rt. Hon. Lord (Lancs. |
| Finch, Rt. Hon. George H. | Lucas, Reginald J. (Portsmouth | Stewart, Sir Mark J. M'Taggart |
| Finlay, Sir Robert Bannatyne | Lyttelton, Rt. Hon. Alfred | Stirling-Maxwell, Sir John M. |
| Fison, Frederick William | Macdona, John Cumming | Stock, James Henry |
| Fitzroy, Hn. Edward Algernon | MacIver, David (Liverpool) | Strutt, Hon. Charles Hedley |
| Forster, Henry William | Maconochie, A. W. | Talbot, Lord E. (Chichester) |
| Foster, P. S. (Warwick, S.W.) | M'Arthur, Charles (Liverpool) | Talbot, Rt. Hn. J.G (Oxf'd Univ. |
| Galloway, William Johnson | M'Iver, Sir Lewis (Edinburgh, W | Taylor, Austin (East Toxteth) |
| Gardner, Ernest | M'Killop, James (Stirlingshire) | Thornton, Percy M. |
| Gibbs, Hon. A. G. H. | Malcolm, Ian | Tollemache, Henry James |
| Gordon, Hn. J.E. (Elgin & Nairn | Melville, Beresford Valentine | Tomlinson, Sir Wm. Edw. M. |
| Gordon, J. (Londonderry, S.) | Milner, Rt. Hn. Sir Frederick G. | Tuff, Charles |
| Gore. Hn G.R.C. Ormsby- (Salop | Montagu, G. (Huntingdon) | Valentia, Viscount |
| Gore, Hon. S.F. Ormsby- (Linc) | Montagu, Hn. J. Scott (Hants.) | Walker, Col. William Hall |
| Graham, Henry Robert | Morpeth, Viscount | Walrond, Rt. Hn. Sir William H. |
| Gray, Ernest (West Ham) | Morrison, James Archibald | Warde, Colonel C. E. |
| Greene, Sir E. W (B'ryS Edm'nds | Mount, William Arthur | Webb, Colonel William George |
| Grenfell, William Henry | Murray, Rt. Hon. A. G. (Bute) | Welby, Lt.-Col. A.C.E (Taunton |
| Gretton, John | Murray, Charles J. (Coventry) | Welby, Sir Charles G.E. (Notts. |
| Greville, Hon. Ronald | Murray, Col. Wyndham (Bath) | Whiteley, H. (Ashton und. Lyne |
| Hall, Edward Marshall | Nicholson, William Graham | Whitmore, Charles Algernon |
| Hardy, L. (Kent, Ashford) | Pease, Herb. Pike (Darlington) | Williams, Colonel R. (Dorset) |
| Hare, Thomas Leigh | Peel, Hn. W D. Robert Wellesley | Willoughby do Eresby, Lord |
| Harris, Dr. Fredk. R. (Dulwich | Percy, Earl | Wilson, A. Stanley (York, E.R. |
| Haslett, Sir James Horner | Platt-Higgins, Frederick | Wilson, John (Glasgow) |
| Hay, Hon. Claude George | Plummer, Walter R. | Wodehouse, Rt. Hn. E.R. (Bath |
| Heath, Arthur Howard (Hanley | Powell, Sir Francis Sharp | Wyndham, Rt. Hon. George |
| Heath, James (Staffords., N.W. | Pretyman, Ernest George | Younger, William |
| Heaton, John Henniker | Pryce-Jones, Lt.-Col. Edward | |
| Helder, Augustus | Randles, John S. | TELLERS FOR THE NOES—Sir |
| Henderson, Sir A. (Stafford, W.) | Rankin, Sir James | Alexander Acland-Hood |
| Hermon-Hodge, Sir Robert T. | Rasch, Sir Frederic Carne | and Mr. Ailwyn Fellowes. |
| Hickman, Sir Alfred | Renwick, George |
§ MR. WINSTON CHURCHILLmoved an Amendment providing that the duty should be levied not in lieu of the duty of Customs payable on tea imported into Great Britain or Ireland, but imported from foreign countries into Great Britain or Ireland. He said that his object in proposing the insertion of these words was to draw a distinction between two classes of tea which came into this country—first the tea which was the produce of British Colonies and was sent by our 598 children across the seas, not for mere sordid gain, but to strengthen the ties of Imperial sentiment, and next the tea which was sent here as the result of an evil conspiracy between foreign countries and the Cobden Club with the intention of sapping the constitution of Englishmen and driving a wedge between the mother country and her Colonies. This Amendment afforded a convenient, and, he thought, a necessary opportunity, of discriminating and distinguishing between 599 these two classes of tea. He could assure the Committee that he did not move the Amendment at that late hour in any spirit of levity. [MINISTERIAL cries of "Oh, oh!"] He fully expected to be charged with having moved it in a spirit of levity, but hon. Gentlemen opposite would do him the honour to say that it was in a spirit of earnestness that he particularly resented and repudiated the charge which the Prime Minister had so lightheartedly flung across the House a few minutes ago. The Prime Minister flung his charges across the House, but he did not wait for any reply. Now, he would make the reply in the right hon. Gentleman's absence to the charge that he was moving this Amendment against his convictions. No one would accuse the Prime Minister of moving an Amendment on fiscal policy against his convictions. Nobody had ever yet been able to find out what those convictions were; and they had had that evening, a few moments before, another exhibition of those equivocations which left them in doubt as to what were the views of the right hon. Gentleman ["MINISTERIAL cries of Oh, oh!"] on the gravest question now before the country. Neither was it true or correct to suppose that he moved the Amendment because he had been converted by the eloquence of the arguments of the tariff reformers. He moved the Amendment because he was against the tax on tea, because he thought it a bad tax, and a blot on the otherwise excellent Budget of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. He would much rather have seen the Chancellor of the Exchequer raise the extra money by putting 2d. or 3d. more on the income-tax. That would have been a much wiser proposal, for, after all, it was the wealthier classes of the country who benefited most from the expenditure on armaments, and let them pay for it. He was against the tax as a whole, or a part of the tax. The effect of this Amendment, if it were successful, would be to destroy at a moderate calculation four-fifths or nine-tenths of the actual value of the tax. At one blow it would sweep away nine-tenths of the area of the Budget discussion. Of course it would be open to the House to move a comple- 600 mentary Amendment finishing up the tax altogether.
The reason he had for limiting the tax and minimising its evil effect as much as possible was, that he might avail himself of the favourable grounds of having a large measure of support from hon. Gentlemen opposite who were pledged to grant Imperial preference. He did not know how much support he would get from those hon. Gentlemen on the other side of the House, from the fact that hon. Gentlemen who were in favour of preferences on tea and other commodities, were very bold to talk in the country, but in the House of Commons they were as meek as mice. They did not know how many there were, but they did know that 150 were going to dine with the right hon. Member for West Birmingham. [MINISTERIAL cries of "Order, order!"] However, whether that in all cases implied an adhesion to Imperial preference he could not decide; and he was almost at a loss, in the absence of the Prime Minister from the House—an absence in which he was following now an almost invariable practice—[MINISTERIAL cries of "Oh, oh!"]—to know whether he by conviction and by inclination would support this Amendment or not. That was his first reason, and it was a perfectly serious one, which could be appreciated by anyone. His second reason was that he moved the Amendment in response to a deliberate invitation and challenge which was thrown out by the right hon. Member for West Birmingham on the first night of the Budget debate. He would take the liberty of reading to the Committee the challenge which the right hon. Member for West Birmingham threw across the House in reply to the hon. Member for Islington. This was what the right hon. Gentlemen said—
But surely in these circumstances the minimum which the hon. Gentleman should have moved should have been a preference Amendment.MR. LOUGH: I leave that to you.MR. J. CHAMBERLAIN: That shows a lack of courage on the part of my hon. friend. My hon. friend is perfectly well aware that so far as I am concerned, I have put forward certain views which have b6en contemptuously rejected on the other side [Several HON. MEMBERS: And on your own side] for discussion and consideration, and not altogether 601 without some success. But I have distinctly declared from the very beginning that I have no intention whatever of bringing them forward as practical subjects for the consideration of the present Parliament. But, although I should be guilty of almost a breach of faith if I were to introduce a subject of that kind into the House at the present time, no such limitation applies to my hon. friend, and I say, according to the theory which he has so admirably developed to the House, ho, as the saviour of the two Colonies of India and Ceylon, ought to have proposed an Amendment not to reduce the taxation of tea, but to give a preference to those Colonies upon the tea which they supply.That was a perfectly plain challenge. He had been reminded of it by the right hon. Gentleman the late Colonial Secretary who said that at the last election he went down and made a speech on his behalf. He was frequently reminded of that fact by the partisan supporters of the new fiscal policy. He deeply regretted that, owing to circumstances over which he had no control, he had not been able to reciprocate the kindness of the right hon. Gentleman, but he was anxious to make any small return in his power after the language, almost of appeal, used by the right hon. Gentleman that someone should bring this question before the House, and he was very glad in a small way to be of service to the right hon. Gentleman. He was sorry that the right hon. Gentleman was not present. He thought that the right hon. Gentleman ought to have been there, not, of course, to listen to any particular Member. Everyone knew why it was convenient; by any method of abstention, or that sort of practice, to put a discourtesy on an individual, but other means could be employed by the partisans of the right hon. Gentleman opposite. That, however, was not the reason why the right hon. Gentleman was not present that night. He thought the right hon. Gentleman's absence deliberately implied a contempt for the existence of the present Parliament.
THE CHAIRMANI must invite the hon. Member to address himself to the Amendment before the House. He has not yet approached it.
§ MR. WINSTON CHURCHILLsaid, of course, he bowed to the ruling of the Chairman. He was only deploring the absence of the right hon. Gentleman to 602 whom he was alluding. [MINISTERIAL cries of "Order."] In the campaign which the right hon. Gentleman conducted in the autumn he established very many facts, of only one of which he was convinced. He meant the importance of tea. The right hon. Gentleman had convinced him that tea was an essential article of consumption, and that it came very high up in the budget of the working classes. They had the admission of all hon. Members that tea was very highly taxed. That alone should be a reason for limiting the tax. Who would pay the tax? As a free-trader he, of course, believed that it would be mainly paid by the home consumer. He could conceive the foreign and colonial importer suffering by the restrictions on the commodity and by the dislocation of his trade; but his view was that the tax was mainly paid by the home consumer. That was also the view of the Chancellor of the Exchequer as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Yet, as a follower of the right hon. Gentleman the Member for West Birmingham, the right hon. Gentleman was of opinion that this tax would be paid by the foreign and colonial importer. That made the right, hon. Gentleman's case very much worse. Where did the bulk of the imported tea come from. The bulk of it came from India and Ceylon. The colonists had made great sacrifices in the South African War. Their little ponies were a most peculiar and interesting feature in all columns of march in South Africa. He understood that the purchase price of their services was to be something in the nature of preference; but they did not get preference. The position of the Chancellor of the Exchequer was a very anomalous one. He himself did not think that any right hon. Gentlemen on the Treasury Bench should throw taunts across the floor of the House at hon. Members for speaking according to their convictions. It would be impossible to imagine any Members of the House less qualified for that.
In deference to the appeal of the Prime Minister, he did not intend to embark on any elaborate examination of the previous duties on tea, though the subject was one of great interest. No doubt other hon. Gentlemen would examine at greater length, and in closer detail, the amount 603 which the Exchequer would lose by the operation of this Amendment, and exactly the proportion of tea which was imported from the Colonies and from foreign countries. Roughly speaking, nine-tenths of the tea imported came from British subjects. The Chancellor of the Exchequer allowed free trade and protection to move in and out of his mind on something like the principle of "Box and Cox." As a free trader, the right hon. Gentleman might agree that the effect of the Amendment would be that, while the burden on the consumer would be diminished, a great loss to revenue would ensue, and that what was left would hardly justify the imposition of the tax. The right hon. Gentleman might also point out as a free trader that the colonial producer would make a profit. But the right hon. Gentleman had always declared himself in favour of colonial preference; and he could not be in favour of it one day and not on another. Either it was right and proper, or it was a humbug and a delusion. The arguments which he had ventured to advance to a free-trade Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to a preference on tea applied with equal force to all other preferential tariffs. They applied to corn with even greater force. Nine-tenths of the tea imported into this country came from India and Ceylon, and if the right hon. Gentleman believed that colonial preference was a good thing, and not mere humbug, he must agree that tea was a much better subject to which to apply the principle than corn, of which only one-third of our imports came from the Colonies. His real reason for moving this Amendment was to give hon. Gentlemen opposite who belonged to the Party of tariff reform—a Party which he believed was intimately associated with the Conservative Party—an opportunity for a debate on Imperial preference which they had repeatedly avoided.
The other day, the noble Lord the Member for Greenwich charged the late Colonial Secretary with being afraid to face a debate in this House. He did not think the right hon. Gentleman was afraid to face a debate; but he thought the right hon. Gentleman was very wise in not being anxious to bring these matters forward. Hon. Gentlemen opposite professed strong views on the subject. 604 They were never tired of calling their opponents unpatriotic and Little Englanders. Now was their chance of making good their case on the floor of the House of Commons. Were they going to accept the opportunity or were they going to run away as they had done over and over again? This Amendment might succeed or it might fail, or possibly it might be laughed out of the House. On the first occasion when preference was brought forward in the House it might be kicked with contumely out of doors. He had brought the matter forward to oblige the right hon. Gentleman the Member for West Birmingham. He was very anxious that it should be freely and fairly discussed. He said in all seriousness that if hon. Gentlemen opposite who were tariff reformers—whether they would be tariff reformers when they went to face their constituencies was another question—tried to laugh the matter off as a joke, the responsibility would not rest with him. His position with reference to Imperial preference was perfectly plain. But what should be said of those who believed that this was a vital matter to the Empire—like the Chancellor of the Exchequer—and tried to laugh it off? What should be said of those who supported Imperial preferences on partisan platforms in the country, but refrained from doing so when it involved the smallest personal risk or Party inconvenience?
§
Amendment proposed—
In page 1, line 16, after the word 'imported' to insert the words 'from foreign countries.'"—(Mr. Winston Churchill.)
§ Question proposed, "That those words be there inserted."
§ MR. AUSTEN CHAMBERLAINsaid he thought the speech made by the hon. Member dispensed him from the necessity of making any lengthy reply. The hon. Member did not profess to believe in his own Amendment. He had chosen as a means of justifying it the journey which he had lately tardily made across the floor of the House. He had used the Amendment as a medium for sneering at those whom a little time ago he was glad to claim as his political friends. The answer to the question, what was the attitude of the Government was very simple. They would keep the pledges. 605 they had given to the House and the country and would not attempt to deal in this Parliament with a question which they had excluded from their policy for this Parliament. The Government had proposed a Budget raising no new fiscal issue. It was framed on the old lines and carried out the old traditions, which might or might not be the best traditions for this country; but they were the traditions which for this Parliament the Government had undertaken to observe and from which they would not depart. The Amendment which the hon. Member had moved would not have the result which he desired to follow from it. If the hon. Gentleman did understand the result he failed to convey it in his speech It would leave them with a nominal duty of 8d. on foreign imported tea and without the present duty on British tea. It would destroy the whole basis of the Budget and necessitate an entire recasting of the Bill. The present Government would not undertake that task, and would therefore resist the Amendment.
§ SIR EDWARD GREY (Northumberland, Berwick)said the Chancellor of the Exchequer had dismissed this Amendment very curtly. He understood him to do so, not on the ground that the matter was not one of importance, but on the ground that it was not opportune for the Government. The result of the right hon. Gentleman's speech, combined with that of the Prime Minister, had been to increase confusion which was already very great as to what was in the mind of the Government. The right hon. Gentleman had reproached his hon. friend the Member for Oldham with having been tardy in crossing the floor of the House, but the Prime Minister had just welcomed his hon. friend as a new and unexpected recruit to "us who are in favour of preference." So it seemed that, as the Prime Minister had made an advance towards preference, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in order to keep the balance as it was before—a somewhat delicate matter—had receded a little on the question of preference. He assumed that the hon. Gentleman the Member for Oldham had in his mind when he moved his Amendment that the Chancellor of the Exchequer, being a member of the Government, had an open mind on the subject of preference; and 606 it was quite legitimate to attempt to educate persons with an open mind. Nothing was more educating in these matters than practical illustration. It was constantly said that those who were not in favour of preference were doctrinaires. He believed that was absolutely untrue. This Amendment would give a practical application to the doctrine of preference, and directly it was brought to the test of practical application in the House of Commons it was dismissed as inopportune and inconvenient by the Government. So he believed it would be in every succeeding Government. The Chancellor of the Exchequer meant that the question was only inopportune for the present Parliament; but what made it inopportune now would make it inopportune always.
§ MR. AUSTEN CHAMBERLAINsaid that his argument was that it was contrary to the pledges which had been given.
§ SIR EDWARD GREYsaid he did not think he had misinterpreted the right hon. Gentleman. His interpretation was that, from the point of view of the Government, the present was not an opportune moment at which to raise the question. But it was a question of very great importance; and, even if the present was not an opportune time for discussing it, it was no reason why it should be dismissed as curtly as it was by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The Amendment illustrated what the effect of preference would be. It would destroy revenue; and, even apart from the pledges of the Government, they all realised the difficulty of accepting the Amendment. This was an illustration of the effect which preference would have. The first effect would be to destroy revenue. Even apart from the pledges which the Government had given, they all saw that it would destroy revenue, and so it would always be. When they gave a preference, preference to India would be the first claim. The Chancellor of the Exchequer had spoken of the pledges of the Government. It was all very well for the Government to give pledges that they would not deal with this matter, but they had no right really to prevent the matter from being discussed in the House of Commons. It 607 was the right hon. Gentleman the Member for West Birmingham who used the phrase, "The discussion to which I invite the House and the country." Those were the terms addressed to the House a year ago. Why was it, then, that discussion was to be regarded as unreasonable? There were two serious points to be considered. First of all, the division would be taken seriously. It would be taken as an indication of opinion on the subject of preference, and a very important opportunity would be given to hon. Members opposite to express their opinions. But, in the next place, he would ask, How long was the matter to be hung up? How long was the pledge of the Government to keep the rest of the Empire in the condition of not knowing what the mind of the country was with regard to the question? He thought it was becoming increasingly serious as time went on that this matter should be kept in suspense, and that whenever an occasion arose of discussing it they should be met with the statement that the Government had given a pledge not to discuss it in this Parliament. How long was this Parliament to last? If there was a definite term set they might be content to accept the pledge of the Government, but no definite term was set, and yet they were told that it was their duty to show how they would respond to the colonial offer; it was a matter of importance that they should be continually staved off from discussion of the matter merely for the reason that the Government had given a pledge to keep the opinion of the country in suspense. Not only was it becoming serious; it was becoming ludicrous to the rest of the Empire.
§ MR. McCRAEsaid he thought his hon. friend had been far too sanguine in expecting an answer from the Government He never expected to hear the voice of the Government as to their opinion or preference, but he wished to point out that they had misunderstood the effect of this Amendment. The result of this proposal would be that all tea coming from foreign parts would be subject to the increased duty of 2d., making the tax 8d. per lb., but unless some consequential Amendment were inserted the duty on colonial and Indian tea would remain at 6d. per lb. 608 Therefore, so far as a reduction of the revenue was concerned the Amendment had not the effect which the Chancellor of the Exchequer feared. On the merits of the question he was willing to support his hon. friend below the Gangway, for the reason that ever since he came into the House, with the exception of the taxes imposed during the war, he had always voted against any tax whatever on tea. Therefore he welcomed his hon. friend's Amendment because it gave him an opportunity of supporting the tax on tea in a modified form. The tea duty before the war was 4d., and now they were proposing to increase it to 8d. Colonial preference had been put before them in this way, that they were asked to make a sacrifice for the sake of the Colonies, but in this case they were going to give their Colonies the benefit and also benefit their own people by remitting the tax on tea coming from the Colonies. From China they imported 26,000,000 lbs. of tea annually and 229,000,000 lbs. from India and Ceylon. So that if they did not put this extra 2d. on Indian and Ceylon tea they were not only helping the Colonies but were at the same time giving a tangible benefit to the poorer classes of the people at home. The war taxation amounted to £33,500,000 and of that £8,000,000 had been remitted and the whole of that,had gone entirely to the income-tax payers, which left the war taxation at £25,500,000, £10,000,000 of which was on the income-tax and £15,500,000 upon indirect taxation. Consequently he thought they had a strong case for a further reduction, and they could not make that reduction more to the advantage of the poorer classes of the community than by relieving them of a portion of this tax on tea. Even if the Chancellor of the Exchequer had imposed a tax on sugar it would have had a less injurious effect. The right hon. Gentleman had said that this was not a protectionist Budget, although he admitted that there was a trace of protection with regard to the duty imposed upon cigarettes. Surely the Chancellor of the Exchequer could afford to make this remission which would benefit their own people by removing a. portion of the tax on tea. He thought the Chancellor of the Exchequer had 609 under-estimated the produce of the taxation he had imposed, and in view of this fact he would be quite within his rights in considering whether some slight remission should be made.
§ MR. McCRAE, while bowing to the ruling of the Chairman, said he was endeavouring to point out, on the Chancellor of the Exchequer's own showing, that he was in a position to remit part of this duty, and yet have sufficient taxation to meet the expenditure for the year. He thought a more considered reply ought to have been given to this Amendment.
§ MR. McKENNAsaid the Chancellor of the Exchequer had made one taunt which he heard with some astonishment. He referred to his hon. friend the Member for Oldham as having tardily crossed the floor of the House. He reminded the right hon. Gentleman that he had done the same thing himself, but in the case of the Chancellor of the Exchequer he only crossed the floor when he accepted office. Therefore under those circumstances it was not for the right hon. Gentleman to charge his hon. friend with having tardily crossed the floor of the House because he had joined a Party which had stood to the traditions which the Chancellor of the Exchequer and his Party embraced two years ago. The right hon. Gentleman had spoken about the pledge of the Government upon this question, but that was a very convenient thing which was brought forward whenever it was necessary to prevent a discussion which was inconvenient to the Government. He could not understand why the right hon. Gentleman did not give fair consideration to arguments which were thoroughly appropriate to this Bill. His hon. friend the Member for Oldham proposed a scheme of preference which would begin by taking off a tax, but the preference schemes of the right hon. Gentleman opposite began by putting on a tax. If hon. Members opposite believed in preference they ought to take the opportunity which was offered them now and accept an Amendment which gave an advantage to India, and which made the China grower pay the full duty. He urged the Government to take this opportunity of raising money by taxing 610 Chinamen and at the same time benefiting Ceylon and India. If the right hon. Gentleman did not accept this Amendment his conduct would be only one more illustration that the whole thing was a sham and a pretence.
§ MR. ASQUITHsaid that certainly this had been a very curious debate, because not a single Member from the Ministerial Benches, with the exception of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, had even attempted to participate in the debate.
§ MR. HUNT (Shropshire, Ludlow)I stood up.
§ MR. ASQUITHsaid he could not vote for the Amendment because, although he should be glad to see this duty on tea reduced in any way, to vote for it might be supposed to be giving a sanction to the principle of preference. But he could not abstain from expressing his surprise that on a matter of this kind, which had been the subject of agitation and controversy during the last nine months, not a single disciple of preference had risen on the Benches opposite to support the faith that was in him. The Chancellor of the Exchequer said the Government were under a pledge not to discuss this question during the present Parliament. Upon every occasion they had burked discussion and they were doing the same now. The pledge which bound the Government did not bind the supporters of the Tariff Reform League outside the House. That was a fact which he did not pretend to understand or explain, but which he thought the country was taking note of, and although he regretted he was not able to go into the division lobby with his hon. friend, he congratulated him on having elicited this startling, this almost incredible, fact that the Tariff Reform Party, when challenged on the floor of this House, were unable to produce one single Gentleman to champion their cause.
§ MR. HUNTsaid he thought that Gentlemen on the other side had quite forgotten that if the Government had not been bullied and worried by people on the Opposition side of the House, and by people who called 611 themselves Unionist free-traders on this side of the House, they could have brought in a very good Budget indeed, and had no extra tax on tea, but might have taken some of the tax off tea. But because hon. Gentlemen were so tied up with this rotten system, which they were pleased to call free-trade, the Govern-Government could not do it. They could hardly expect the Prime Minister to risk the life of the Unionist Government, when we knew that if they went out the Empire would be delivered into the hands of a conglomeration of oddments who were pleased to call themselves the Liberal Party.
§ MR. HUNTsaid he was sorry if he had made a mistake. He was only explaining why he thought the Prime Minister believed that he could not risk the fate of the Unionist Government. He quite agreed with the right hon. Gentleman. He disliked the tea tax just as much as other people, but they gave the Chancellor of the Exchequer no other chance of showing the people of this country the folly of the rotten—[An HON. MEMBER: Rotten war]—system, and of the policy of the Liberal Party which was the sort of policy that might be expected from a cross between a parrot and a Chinese Mandarin.
§ MR. CATHCART WASON (Orkney and Shetland)said he would support the Amendment proposed by his hon. friend the Member for Oldham. Those who knew Ceylon in the late' 60's knew what a terrible state it was in at that time. The whole industry of the colony was ruined, and the people set to work to create new industries, and the one thing to which they could turn their attention was tea, with the exception of a few cocoa-nuts. These worthy British 612 men and women had laboured hard to develop the tea-growing industry of the colony, and that was the industry which was specially singled out for this unjust tax which the Chancellor of the Exchequer had decided to put upon it. Leaving the question of preference to be dealt with on a future occasion, he supported the Amendment because he believed it would do away with a great deal of the hardship and injustice which the proposed increase of the duty would cause. If the Amendment were carried, it would be necessary for the Chancellor of the Exchequer to recast the Budget and to impose some other duty which would press less heavily on the needy and the poor. The position of the planters in Ceylon and India had. been at all times a most precarious one No other product had ever been taxed up to a 100, or, as some growers said, 120, per cent. They had protested repeatedly at meetings and by deputations to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, but, being unable to bite, they found that there was very little use in barking before the Government. In supporting the Amendment, he also spoke for those poor persons to whom tea was their only luxury and at the same time a great necessity of life. Another reason why they should support the Amendment was that tea was a ticklish subject to deal with. There was a time in our history over a hundred years ago when the whole Empire was brought to the verge of ruin by the obstinacy and stupidity of the British rulers of that day. Liquor sellers throughout the country would gain enormously by this tax.
§ MR. DALZIEL (Kirkcaldy Burghs)said he did not think the debate ought to be allowed to close without a tribute being paid to the manly and outspoken declaration of the hon. Member for Shropshire. It was pleasing for those persons who served their Party to know that they contained within their ranks some men who were not governed by Party considerations, or domineered by the Party whip. The statement of the hon. Gentleman must be regarded, 613 he supposed, as a declaration on behalf of the Conservative Party. That hon. Gentleman was identified more particularly with the tariff section of that Party, but that night he was the only un-official Member who had spoken as representing the dormant feeling of right hon. and hon. Gentlemen on the other side of the House. What did the hon. Gentleman say as representing the united Party opposite? He told the Committee that the Government had been bullied and worried, or they would have treated this question very differently. He could sympathise with the hon. Gentleman. No doubt they had been bullied and worried during the last few days, but he did not think that that was the explanation why the hon. Gentleman's Leader, the right hon. Gentleman the Member for West Birmingham, would not have been inclined to accept the Amendment, because he had told the Committee that if they were to accept the Amendment the life of the Government would be in danger.
§ MR. DALZIELThe hon. Gentleman may explain.
§ MR. DALZIELI confess the hon. Gentleman was so charmed with his outspoken declaration that he has overlooked the small points in his observations. I suggest that the hon. Member said that to accept this Amendment would risk the life of the Government.
§ MR. DALZIELI am afraid that the hon. Gentleman is already receding from the lofty position he occupied.
MR. DALZTELI suggest that if the hon. Gentleman said nothing about the Amendment then he was going to identify himself with the Party opposite. But it is due to the House that the hon. Member should tell us what he did mean.
§ MR. HUNTIf the hon. Gentleman's brains are not good enough to allow him to remember what I did say, it is not my business to say it all over again.
§ MR. DALZIELsaid if ever he was in need of brains he would not go to Shropshire for them. Probably on the Report stage they might have a further declaration from the hon. Member of his position. He did not know what the explanation was of the silence of the Government, except that they had been struck dumb by the result of the Devonport election. If that were not so, it might be that they knew perfectly well that in all the silence that was being observed in regard to fiscal policy they were humbugging the House and the country.
§ MR. DALZIELsaid he would address himself to the Amendment by saying that in his opinion the only proper explanation for the silence of the Government was that they were unable to deal with the position that now presented itself in regard to the question of preference. He 615 suggested to the mover of the Amendment that he had shown that the Party opposite were afraid to tackle their own proposal, and he hoped his hon. friend would give the House a better opportunity, on Report, of discussing the question, when the two leaders of the different sections of the Party opposite might be challenged to give their opinion.
§ MR. AUSTEN CHAMBERLAINrose in his place, and claimed to move, "That the Question be now put."
§ Question put, "That the Question be now put."
§ The Committee divided:—Ayes, 158; Noes, 109. (Division List No. 161.)
617| AYES. | ||
| Agg-Gardner, James Tynte | Gordon, J.(Londonderry, South | Peel, Hs. Wm. Robert Wellesley |
| Anson, Sir William Reynell | Gore, Hn R. G. C. Ormsby-(Salop | Percy, Earl |
| Arkwright, John Stanhope | Graham, Henry Robert | Platt-Higgins, Frederick |
| Arnold-Forster, Rt. Hn. Hugh O. | Gray, Ernest (West Ham) | Pretyman, Ernest George |
| Atkinson, Rt. Hon. John | Greene, Sir E. W. (B'ryS Edm'nd | Pryce-Jones, Lt.-Col. Edward |
| Bagot, Capt. Josceline FitzRoy | Grenfell, William Henry | Randles, John S. |
| Bailey, James (Walworth) | Gretton, John | Renwick, George |
| Bain, Colonel James Robert | Hall, Edward Marshall | Ridley, Hon. M. W. (Stalybridge |
| Balcarres, Lord | Hardy, L. (Kent, Ashford) | Ridley, S. Forde (Bethnal Green |
| Balfour, Rt. Hon. A. J. (Manch'r | Hare, Thomas Leigh | Ritchie, Rt. Hn. Chas. Thomson |
| Balfour, Capt. C. B. (Hornsey) | Harris, Dr. Fredk. R. (Dulwich | Robertson, Herbert (Hackney) |
| Balfour, Rt. Hon. G. W. (Leeds | Haslett, Sir James Horner | Rolleston, Sir John F. L. |
| Balfour, Kenneth R. (Christen. | Heath, Arthur Howard(Hanley | Round, Rt. Hon. James |
| Banbury, Sir Frederick George | Heath, James (Staffords., N. W. | Royds, Clement Molyneux |
| Bignold, Arthur | Heaton, John Henniker | Sackville, Col. S. G. Stopford |
| Bigwood, James | Hobhouse, Rt Hn H (Somers't, E | Sandys, Lieut.-Col. Thos. Myles |
| Blundell, Colonel Henry | Hogg, Lindsay | Sassoon, Sir Edward Albert |
| Brassey, Albert | Hope, J. F. (Sheffield, Brightside | Saunderson, Rt. Hn. Col. Edw. J. |
| Brodick, Rt. Hon. St. John | Howard, Jn.(Kent, Faversham | Scott, Sir S. (Marylebone, W.) |
| Burdett-Coutts, W. | Hozier, Hn. James Henry Cecil | Sharpe, William Edward T. |
| Butcher, John George | Hudson, George Bickersteth | Skewes-Cox, Thomas |
| Carson, Rt. Hon. Sir Edw. H. | Hunt, Rowland | Smith, Abel H. (Hertford, East) |
| Cautley, Henry Strother | Jeffreys, Rt. Hon. Arthur Fred. | Smith, Hon. W. F. D. (Strand) |
| Cavendish, V. C. W (Derbyshire | Kenyon-Slaney, Col. W. (Salop. | Spear, John Ward |
| Chamberlain, Rt Hn. J. A (Worc. | Keswick, William | Stanley, Hn. Arthur (Ormskirk |
| Chaplin, Rt. Hon. Henry | Knowles, Sir Lees | Stanley, Edward Jas.(Somerset |
| Chapman, Edward | Law, Andrew Bonar (Glasgow) | Stanley, Rt. Hon. Lord (Lancs. |
| Clive, Captain Percy A. | Lawrence, Wm. F. (Liverpool) | Stirling-Maxwell, Sir John M. |
| Coates, Edward Feetham | Lawson, J. Grant (Yorks., N. R. | Stock, James Henry |
| Cochrane, Hon. Thos. H. A. E. | Lee, A. H. (Hants., Fareham) | Strutt, Hon. Charles Hedley |
| Colomb, Rt. Hon. Sir John C R. | Lees, Sir Elliott (Birkenhead) | Talbot, Lord E. (Chichester) |
| Colston, Chas. Edw. H. Athole | Legge, Col. Hon. Heneage | Talbot, Rt. Hn. J. G (Oxf'd Univ. |
| Corbett, T. L. (Down, North) | Leveson-Gower, Frederick N. S. | Taylor, Austin (East Toxteth) |
| Craig, Charles Curtis (Antrim, S.) | Lockwood, Lieut.-Col. A. R. | Thornton, Percy M. |
| Crossley, Rt. Hon. Sir Savile | Loder, Gerald Walter Erskine | Tollemache, Henry James |
| Dalkeith, Earl of | Lowther, C. (Cumb., Eskdale) | Tomlinson, Sir Win. Edw. M. |
| Davenport, W. Bromley | Loyd, Archie Kirkman | Tuff, Charles |
| Dickinson, Robert Edmond | Lucas, Col. Francis (Lowestoft) | Valentia, Viscount |
| Dickson, Charles Scott | Lyttelton, Rt. Hon. Alfred | Walrond, Rt. Hn. Sir William H. |
| Doughty, George | Macdona, John dimming | Warde, Colonel C. E. |
| Douglas, Rt. Hon. A. Akers | MacIver, David (Liverpool) | Webb, Colonel William George |
| Durning-Lawrence, Sir Edwin | Maconochie, A. W. | Welby, Lt.-Col. A. C. E (Taunton |
| Dyke, Rt. Hn. Sir William Hart | M'Arthur, Charles (Liverpool) | Welby, Sir Charles G. E. (Notts |
| Egerton, Hon. A. de Tatton | M'Iver, Sir Lewis (Edinburgh, W | Whiteley, H.(Ashton und. Lyne |
| Fergusson, Rt. Hn. Sir J. (Manc'r | M'Killop, James (Stirlingshire) | Whitmore, Charles Algernon |
| Fielden, Edward Brocklehurst | Milner, Rt. Hn. Sir Frederick G. | Williams, Colonel R. (Dorset) |
| Finch, Rt. Hon. George H. | Montagu, G. (Huntingdon) | Willoughby de Eresby, Lord |
| Finlay, Sir Robert Bannatyne | Morpeth, Viscount | Wilson, A. Stanley (York, E. R. |
| Fison, Frederick William | Morrison, James Archibald | Wodehouse, Rt. Hn. E. R. (Bath |
| Fitzroy, Hn. Edward Algernon | Mount, William Arthur | Wyndham, Rt. Hon. George |
| Forster, Henry William | Murray, Rt. Hon. A. G. (Bute) | |
| Foster, P. S. (Warwick, S. W.) | Murray, Charles J. (Coventry) | TELLERS FOR THE AYES—Sir |
| Galloway, William Johnson | Nicholson, William Graham | Alexander Acland-Hood |
| Gordon, Hn. J. E. (Elgin & Nairn) | Pease, Herb. Pike (Darlington) | and Mr. Ailwyn Fellowes. |
| NOES. | ||
| Abraham, William (Cork, N. E.) | Horniman, Frederick John | Pirie, Duncan V. |
| Abraham, William (Rhondda) | Hutchinson, Dr. Charles Fredk. | Power, Patrick Joseph |
| Ainsworth, John Stirling | Joicey, Sir James | Price, Robert John |
| Allen, Charles P. | Jones, William (Carnarvonshire | Priestley, Arthur |
| Asher, Alexander | Joyce, Michael | Redmond, John E. (Waterford) |
| Barran, Rowland Hirst | Kennedy, Vineent P. (Cavan, W. | Rigg, Richard |
| Black, Alexander William | Kilbride, Denis | Roe, Sir Thomas |
| Boland, John | Labouohere, Henry | Rose, Charles Day |
| Brigg, John | Langley, Batty | Runciman, Walter |
| Brown, George M. (Edinburgh) | Law, Hugh Alex. (Donegal, W.) | Russell, T. W. |
| Buxton, Sydney Charles | Lawson, Sir Wilfrid (Cornwall) | Samuel, Herbert L. (Cleveland) |
| Caldwell, James | Leese, Sir Jos. F. (Accrington) | Samuel, S. M. (Whitechapel) |
| Causton, Richard Knight | Levy, Maurice | Seely, Maj. J. E. B. (Isle of Wight |
| Clancy, John Joseph | Lewis, John Herbert | Shaw, Charles Edw. (Stafford) |
| Cogan, Denis J. | Lough, Thomas | Sheehan, Daniel Daniel |
| Condon, Thomas Joseph | Lundon, W. | Sheehy, David |
| Cullinan, J. | Lyell, Charles Henry | Shipman, Dr. John G. |
| Dalziel, James Henry | MacVeagh, Jeremiah | Slack, John Bamford |
| Delany, William | M'Arthur, William (Cornwall) | Soames, Arthur Wellesley |
| Devlin, Joseph (Kilkenny, N.) | M'Crae, George | Soares, Ernest J. |
| Dewar, John A. (Inverness-sh.) | M'Kenna, Reginald | Spencer, Rt. Hn. C. R (Northants |
| Donelan, Captain A. | M'Killop, W. (Sligo, North) | Sullivan, Donal |
| Doogan, P. C. | Markham, Arthur Basil | Taylor, Theodore C. (Radcliffe) |
| Douglas, Charles M. (Lanark) | Mooney, John J. | Tennant, Harold John |
| Edwards, Frank | Murphy, John | Thomas, D. Alfred (Merthyr) |
| Elibank, Master of | Nannetti, Joseph P. | Tomkinson, James |
| Ellice, Capt E. C (S Andrw's Bghs | Nolan, Joseph (Louth, South) | Toulmin, George |
| Emmott, Alfred | O'Brien, K. (Tipperary, Mid.) | Trevelyan, Charles Philips |
| Farrell, James Patrick | O'Brien, Patrick (Kilkenny) | Wason, Eugene (Clackmannan) |
| Flynn, James Chrissopher | O'Brien, P. J. (Tipperary, N.) | White, Luke (York, E. R.) |
| Gladstone, Rt. Hn. Herbert Jn. | O'Connor, James (Wicklow, W. | Whitley, J. H. (Halifax) |
| Grey, Rt. Hn. Sir E. (Berwick) | O'Donnell, John (Mayo, S.) | Wilson, Henry J. (York, W. R.) |
| Griffith, Ellis J. | O'Donnell, T. (Kerry, W.) | Woodhouse, Sir J. T (Huddersf'd |
| Gurdon, Sir W. Brampton | O'Kelly, Jas. (Roscommon, N.) | |
| Hammond, John | O'Malley, William | TELLERS FOR THE NOES—Mr. |
| Harcourt, Lewis V.(Rossendale | O'Shee, James John | Churchill and Mr. Cathcart |
| Hayden, John Patrick | Partington, Oswald | Wason. |
| Helme, Norval Watson | Pease, J. A. (Saffron Walden) |
§ Question put accordingly, "That the words 'from foreign countries be there inserted."
618§ The Committee divided:—Ayes, 38; Noes, 198. (Division List No. 162.)
619| AYES. | ||
| Abraham, William (Cork, N. E.) | Kennedy, Vincent P.(Cavan, W | O'Donnell, T. (Kerry, W.) |
| Clancy, John Joseph | Law, Hugh Alex. (Donegal, W. | O'Kelly, Jas. (Roscommon, N.) |
| Cogan, Denis J. | Lundon, W. | O'Malley, William |
| Condon, Thomas Joseph | MacVeagh, Jeremiah | O'Shee, James John |
| Cullinan, J. | M'Killop, W. (Sligo, North) | Power, Patrick Joseph |
| Delany, William | Mooney, John J. | Redmond, John E. (Waterford) |
| Devlin, Joseph (Kilkenny, N.) | Murphy, John | Roe, Sir Thomas |
| Donelan, Captain A. | Nannetti, Joseph P. | Sheehan, Daniel Daniel |
| Doogan, P. C. | Nolan, Joseph (Louth, South) | Sheehy, David |
| Farrell, James Patrick | O'Brien, K. (Tipperary, Mid.) | Sullivan, Donal |
| Flynn, James Christopher | O'Brien, Patrick (Kilkenny) | |
| Hammond, John | O'Brien, P. J. (Tipperary, N.) | TELLERS FOR THE AYES—Mr. |
| Hay den, John Patrick | O'Connor, James (Wicklow, W. | Churchill and Mr. Cathcart |
| Joyce, Michael | O'Donnell, John (Mayo, S.) | Wason. |
| NOES. | ||
| Abraham, William (Rhondda) | Arnold-Forster, Rt. Hn. Hugh O. | Balcarres, Lord |
| Agg-Gardner, James Tynte | Asher, Alexander | Balfour, Rt. Hon. A. J. (Manch'r |
| Ainsworth, John Stirling | Atkinson, Rt. Hon. John | Balfour, Capt. C. B. (Hornsey) |
| Allen, Charles P. | Bagot, Capt. Josceline FitzRoy | Balfour, Rt. Hon. G. W. (Leeds |
| Anson, Sir William Reynell | Bailey, James (Walworth) | Balfour, Kenneth R. (Christch. |
| Arkwright, John Stanhope | Bain, Colonel James Robert | Banbury, Sir Frederick George |
| Barran, Rowland Hirst | Heath, James (Staffords., N. W | Rigg, Richard |
| Bignold, Arthur | Heaton, John Henniker | Ritchie, Rt. Hn. Chas. Thomson |
| Bigwood, James | Helme, Norval Watson | Robertson, Herbert (Hackney) |
| Blundell, Colonel Henry | Hobhouse, Rt Hn H (Somers't, E | Rolleston, Sir John F. L. |
| Brassey, Albert | Hogg, Lindsay | Rose, Charles Day |
| Brigg, John | Hope, J. F. (Sheffield, Brightside | Round, Rt. Hon. James |
| Brodrick, Rt. Hon. St. John | Horniman, Frederick John | Royds, Clement Molyneux |
| Brown, George M. (Edinburgh) | Howard, Jn. (Kent, Faversham | Sackville, Col. S. G. Stopford |
| Burdett-Coutts, W. | Hozier, Hn. James Henry Cecil | Samuel, Herbert L. (Cleveland) |
| Butcher, John George | Hudson, George Bickersteth | Samuel, S. M. (Whitechapel) |
| Caldwell, James | Hunt, Rowland | Sandys, Lieut.-Col. Thos. Myles |
| Carson, Rt. Hon. Sir Edw. H. | Hutchinson, Dr. Charles Fredk. | Sassoon, Sir Edward Albert |
| Cautley, Henry Strother | Jeffreys, Rt. Hon. Arthur Fred. | Saunderson, Rt. Hn. Col. Edw. J. |
| Cavendish, V. C. W. (Derbyshire | Jones, William(Carnarvonshire | Scott, Sir S. (Marylebone, W.) |
| Chamberlain, Rt Hn. J. A (Worc. | Kenyon-Slaney, Col. W.(Salop. | Seely, Charles Hilton (Lincoln) |
| Chaplin, Rt Hon Henry | Keswick, William | Seely, Maj. J. E. B. (Isle of Wight |
| Chapman, Edward | Kilbride, Denis | Sharpe, William Edward T. |
| Clive, Captain Percy A. | Knowles, Sir Lees | Shaw, Charles Edw. (Stafford) |
| Coates, Edward Feetham | Langley, Batty | Skewes-Cox, Thomas |
| Cochrane, Hon. Thos. H. A. E. | Law, Andrew Bonar (Glasgow) | Slack, John Bamford |
| Colomb, Rt. Hon. Sir John C. R. | Lawrence, Wm. F. (Liverpool) | Smith, Abel H.(Hertford, East) |
| Colston, Chas. Edw. H. Athole | Lawson, J. Grant (Yorks., N. R. | Smith, Hon. W. F. D. (Strand) |
| Corbett, T. L. (Down, North) | Lawson, Sir Wilfrid (Cornwall) | Soares, Ernest J. |
| Craig, Charles Curtis (Antrim, S.) | Lee, A. H. (Hants., Fareham) | Spear, John Ward |
| Crossley Rt. Hon. Sir Savile | Lees, Sir Elliott (Birkenhead) | Stanley, Hn. Arthur (Ormskirk |
| Dalkeith, Earl of | Legge, Col. Hon. Heneage | Stanley, Edward Jas.(Somerset |
| Dalziel, James Henry | Leveson-Gower, Frederick N. S. | Stanley, Rt. Hon. Lord (Lancs. |
| Davenport, William Bromley | Levy, Maurice | Stirling-Maxwell, Sir John M. |
| Dewar, John A. (Inverness-sh.) | Lockwood, Lieut.-Col. A. R. | Stock, James Henry |
| Dickinson, Robert Edmond | Loder, Gerald Walter Erskine | Strutt, Hon. Charles Hedley |
| Dickson, Charles Scott | Lowther, C. (Cumb., Eskdale) | Talbot, Lord E. (Chichester) |
| Doughty, George | Loyd, Archie Kirkman | Talbot, Rt. Hn. J. G (Oxf'd Univ. |
| Douglas, Rt. Hon. A. Akers | Lucas, Col. Francis (Lowestoft) | Taylor, Austin (East Toxteth) |
| Douglas, Charles M. (Lanark) | Lyell, Charles Henry | Taylor, Theodore C. (Radcliffe) |
| Durning-Lawrence, Sir Edwin | Lyttelton, Rt. Hon. Alfred | Thomas, D. Alfred (Merthyr) |
| Dyke, Rt. Hn. Sir William Hart | Macdona, John Gumming | Thornton, Percy M. |
| Egerton, Hon. A. de Tatton | MacIver, David (Liverpool) | Tomkinson, James |
| Emmott, Alfred | Maconochie, A. W. | Tomlinson, Sir Wm. Edw. M. |
| Fergusson, Rt. Hn. Sir J. (Manc'r | M'Arthur, Charles (Liverpool) | Toulmin, George |
| Fielden, Edward Broeklehurst | M'Iver, Sir Lewis (Edinburgh, W | Tuff, Charles |
| Finch, Rt. Hon. George H. | M'Killop, James (Stirlingshire) | Valentia, Viscount |
| Finlay, Sir Robert Bannatyne | Markham, Arthur Basil | Walrond, Rt. Hn. Sir William H. |
| Fison, Frederick William | Milner, Rt. Hn. Sir Frederick G. | Warde, Colonel C. E. |
| Fitzroy, Hn. Edward Algernon | Montagu, G. (Huntingdon) | Wason, Eugene (Clackmannan) |
| Forster, Henry William | Morpeth, Viscount | Webb, Colonel William George |
| Foster, P. S. (Warwick, S. W.) | Morrison, James Archibald | Welby, Lt.-Col. A. C. E (Taunton |
| Galloway, William Johnson | Mount, William Arthur | Welby, Sir Charles G. E. (Notts. |
| Gordon, Hn. J. E. (Elgin & Nairn) | Murray, Rt. Hon. A. G. (Bute) | White, Luke (York, E. R.) |
| Gordon, J.(Londonderry, South | Murray, Charles J. (Coventry) | Whiteley, H.(Ashton und. Lyne |
| Gore, Hn G. R. C. Ormsby-(Salop | Nicholson, William Graham | Whitley, J. H. (Halifax) |
| Graham, Henry Robert | Pease, Herb. Pike (Darlington) | Whitmore, Charles Algernon |
| Gray, Ernest (West Ham) | Peel, Hn. Wm. Robert Wellesley | Williams, Colonel R.(Dorset) |
| Greene, Sir E. W (B'ry S Edm'nds | Percy, Earl | Willoughby de Eresby, Lord |
| Grenfell, William Henry | Pirie, Duncan V. | Wodehouse, Rt. Hn. E. R. (Bath |
| Gretton, John | Platt-Higgins, Frederick | Woodhouse, Sir J. T (Huddersf'd |
| Griffith, Ellis J. | Pretyman, Ernest George | Wyndham, Rt. Hon. George |
| Hall, Edward Marshall | Priestley, Arthur | |
| Hardy, L. (Kent, Ashford) | Pryce-Jones, Lt.-Col. Edward | TELLERS FOR THE NOES—Sir |
| Hare, Thomas Leigh | Randles, John S. | Alexander Acland-Hood |
| Harri, Dr. Fredk. R. (Dulwich) | Renwick, George | and Mr. Ailwyn Fellowes. |
| Haslett, Sir James Horner | Ridley, Hon. M.W.(Stalybridge | |
| Heath, Arthur Howard(Hanley | Ridley, S. Forde (Bethnal Green |
§ Committee report Progress; to sit again to-morrow.
620§ And, it being after One of the clock Mr. SPEKER adjourned the House without Question put.
§ Adjourned at eighteen minutes before Two o'clock.