§ Mr. CHARLETONI beg to move to leave out the Clause.
This is a somewhat hardy annual, but I am proud to carry on in some small degree an agitation which has been going on for about 50 years for a free breakfast table. Governments have been elected on that cry, and Government after Government has failed to do anything in that direction. The country once rang with a programme drawn up on the banks of the Tyne, but that pro- 1969 gramme is now in the cemetery along with many other things. I have spoken on the deletion of this Clause several times, and I will try to resist a desire to follow the rather bad example of the Chancellor of the Exchequer and transgress the rules of order. I will try to emulate him in his later speeches, when he was heroic enough to resist that tendency. The world will never know the struggle which went on in his breast at that time. I have pleaded for the poor, the widow and the orphan, the railwaymen and the helpless. Some friends of mine on both sides of the House have said that so far as the railwaymen are concerned I have proved too much; that I have proved that the railways are run on tea. I do not suggest that for a moment, because if I did I should get shoals of letters from Burton-on-Trent trying to prove the opposite. So far As the duty on tea is concerned, I think it bears heavily on the poor for two reasons. The first is that the grocer and middleman both want a profit on the duty they pay, and, secondly, that the very poor who have to buy the cheapest tea, and who use rather large quantities, have to pay equally with the rich persons who can buy the very best tea. It is not so fair to the poor as if there was an ad valorem duty. I have already told the House how I went to the late Lord Rhondda, who was Food Controller during the War in, what was called, the Business Government. We have no business Government now, and the Front bench is full of people who destroyed that business Government. I think they might learn something from that capable and high-souled business man. When I put the case before him for more tea for the railwaymen, the engineers, the firemen, the stokers, he asked me a few questions and then said, "Oh yes, I see, you shall have the tea." I think this Government might do worse than follow the example of that brilliant member of their party. I do not expect they will rise to his heights, but they might do their best, humbly, to learn from one of their great men, of the past.
I am moving the deletion of this Clause because I am opposed to the economic tendencies and teachings of this Government. The Chancellor of the Exchequer in some of his speeches has referred to broadening the basis of taxation. That might sound very well 1970 to people who attend the Philip Stott College, but it will not pass muster with students of elementary economics attending tutorial classes. We do not want to broaden the basis of taxation. We want to narrow it, as far as the working-class people are concerned. Broadening the basis of taxation is a high-sounding phrase to people who do not understand economy, but it really means adding to the burdens of the poor and relieving the rich. A little while ago I heard a Conservative speaker pleading that employers should be allowed to make large profits in order to provide workmen with work. Exactly the opposite is what I want to do, and it is one of the reasons why I am moving the deletion of this Clause. I want to increase the purchasing power of the worker everywhere. The large profits which are made are not used for providing work.
Capital is not used for providing work; it is largely exported abroad, and enters into competition with our industries at home. The cities of the country are filled with factories that are decaying. The mining crisis is an illustration. We are suffering from the fact that the poor have no purchasing power. This taxation exaggerates it. The Chancellor of the Exchequer cannot say that there is not enough new capital being provided every year. If he does, I would like to know how much he wants. During last year £320,250,000 new capital was raised, of which £90,000,000 went to the Dominions and foreign countries. If that is not enough, then I should like to know how much they want. But the capital, much of it, goes abroad to produce instruments of production which compete with our own industries. It does not go to make the poor happier. The party opposite succeeded in the last election in impressing the country, although I know the "Red" letter had much to with it. John Stuart Mill summed up the subject very well—and he was not a Bolshevist—when he said:
Wherever there is an ascendant class, a large portion of the morality of the country emanates from their class interests and its feeling of class superiority.I cannot help feeling that the economics of the party opposite are dominated by their class interest, and that is why I think they are wrong. The Chancellor of the Exchequer chided the last Chancellor with having remitted taxation, 1971 which he carried over, but he did not mention that he remitted taxation on the rich, which also he has to bear this year. I wonder whether in the light of the results of the elections at East Ham and Hammersmith he does not think it is time to relent a little and give the poor consumer some encouragement, and I would ask whether he could not bring just a sparrow to place on the altar as a propitiation for his past sins. I am not asking very much, but I am asking that he shall help the poor, which I believe is the best direction in which the trade of the country can be improved.
§ Mr. BARKERI beg to second the Amendment.
This Clause proposes to continue the tax upon tea, which is at present 4d. per lb., and the Chancellor of the Exchequer expects to raise by this tax this year £5,850,000. He taunted the Labour party with asking him to do something which they had themselves refused to do, but I should like to remind him that during 1924 the Labour Government reduced the taxation on tea by 4d. a lb. Reference has been made to the incidence of this tax. Tea at 1s. 8d. per lb. has to bear a tax of 4d., and high class tea up to 10s. a lb. bears the same tax. In the one case the tax is 20 per cent. on the poor man's tea, and in the other case it is only 3⅓ per cent. on the rich man's tea. Therefore, it strikes very hardly against the poor man. This tax is a very oppressive tax, because it falls upon the very poorest of the community. The old age pensioner, the unemployed man, out of his miserable 18s. a week, the widow, the ex-service man, on his wretched pension—all have to pay their quota of this tax, and, as a matter of fact, there is no one too poor to be further impoverished by this tax, which is, I think, the meanest tax that we have in the Budget. It should be the aim of every Government to take this tax off tea. Tea is an article of consumption used by the entire population, and it is a harmless beverage that gives a great deal of comfort to our people. The Chancellor has been aspiring for a long time to reduce the cost of living. Here he has a very golden opportunity, and I invite him to embrace this opportunity and to complete the very good work that was commenced 1972 by the Labour Government in this respect. I am certain that he would have the gratitude of the very poorest people of this country if he would rise to the occasion and agree to the deletion of this Clause.
§ Mr. CHURCHILLI am afraid it is quite impossible for me to contemplate the deletion of this Clause this year. I have already dealt with this matter on the Committee stage, when I took occasion to express a good deal of sympathy with the cause which those who have moved this Amendment have at heart, and I look forward to the day when it may be possible to do something in this direction, but, obviously, the position of the revenue now is not such as would enable us to take action such as is here proposed. After all, the tax must be lighter now than it was even before the War. [An HON. MEMBER: "Owing to the Labour Government!"] Not only so, because reductions were made in the Conservative or rather Coalition Administration, which were further exercised and developed by the right hon. Gentleman opposite, and so, as a result of the attention that has been given to this question, the tax is now actually less in burden, including the preference, than it was before the Great War. That, anyhow, is something. After all, the general rate of the burden of taxation is enormously higher, and in this sphere there is a positive reduction. At a time when every form of taxation has been doubled, trebled, and in some cases quadrupled, the burden on tea has been actually reduced, and the working classes and the poorest people of the country have emerged from the ordeal of the Great War with actually more lightly taxed tea than when they entered it. I never like to say that it is right to fix hard and definite limits to progress or rigidly to curtail the frontiers of hope, but, at the same time, I am not in a position at the present moment to accept this Amendment, and I must ask the House to endorse the very decided opinion expressed by the Committee and maintain the Tea Duty at its present rate.
§ Mr. A. V. ALEXANDERIt seems rather a shame that the Chancellor of the Exchequer is unable to give us the relief asked for in this Amendment. I cannot say he has rejected the appeals 1973 that we have made with anything like enthusiasm, and I can only suggest that after all, as I said on a previous occasion, he is still hankering after those better days of his when he stood so manfully, at least on the platform, for a free breakfast table for the people. He has said to-night, however, one or two things that need to be answered. He has said, first of all, that the actual duty imposed upon tea is less now than pre-War. It is true that the total duty upon tea before the War was 4d. in the lb. and that since the queer antics of the Coalition Government in giving an Imperial preference on 90 per cent. of the tea which is imported from the Empire there has been a slight reduction in the revenue to the Treasury. On that a charge of 3⅓d. is made, but the right hon. Gentleman knows, I am quite sure, from his advisers, that whether the Tea Duty has been manipulated upwards or downwards for the purposes of the Revenue, the actual practice of the trade has always been found to follow the flat rate of duty. When my right hon. Friend the Member for Colne Valley (Mr. Snowden) took 4d. off the flat rate in 1924, the trade immediately reduced the price of tea by the full 4d., and as long as a duty of 4d., flat rate, with a preference of two-thirds of a penny, remains in effect, the consumer pays 4d. on each pound of tea, although the Treasury only receives on 90 per cent. of the product 3⅓d., so that the argument that the Tea Duty is less now than before the War is a little weaker than the arguments that we are used to hearing from the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
The right hon. Gentleman has altogether failed to apprehend the point which was so ably made by the hon. Member for South Leeds (Mr. Charleton), because he spoke about the general conditions of the working classes. The fact is that the whole tendency has been to increase the burden upon these necessities of the consumers in this country. Let me remind the right hon. Gentleman that the Sugar Duty to-day, even after the very large reductions which were made by the Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer, is nearly five times the amount of the Sugar Duty before the War. How very little consolation, therefore, it is to tell the working classes that the Tea Duty is round about the same as it was pre-War. A larger point is this, that in the case of 1974 great numbers of the working classes, although they may have in currency figures higher wages than they received, before the War, their purchasing power is considerably less. You could not get a more striking example of that than is to be found among the miners, whose purchasing power is far less than it was before the War, and in these two main necessities of the working classes, the present position is that, taking the tax on the two articles, combined with a reduced purchasing power, they have a far higher tax to pay. That is quite unfair, in our judgment, and we do not think the Chancellor of the Exchequer has met that general argument at all in his reply to-night. Before I sit down, may I express the hope that the frontiers of hope, about which he spoke, are not so far away as he seemed to suppose? May we urge the right hon. Gentleman to go back to the study of those speeches with which he once enlightened the minds of the people and of which he was so proud that he committed them to books like "The People's Rights," and so on, and to move towards a more favourable consideration of the needs of those people whose cause he once championed but which he has long since deserted.
§ Mr. WALLHEADThe Chancellor of the Exchequer has spoken about the frontiers of hope, but the frontiers of hope, with a Conservative Chancellor of the Exchequer, are more in the nature of a mirage which seems to be constantly changing its colour and receding further the more one advances. I hold that indirect taxation is making the mass of the people pay more than you could otherwise get them to pay. Direct taxation would show them too clearly the nature of taxation and what they were really paying. I hold that the poorer a man is, the more he pays, in proportion to his income, in taxation and rates. It is the old trick. I quote from memory, but I believe it was a Conservative Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir Robert Peel, when he was discussing the question of direct versus indirect taxation, who said that there was a far better way of taxing the poor than taxing them directly; there was a method by which you could tax every rag on their backs and every bite in their mouths and they would not know how the trick was being done. That has been continued from Peel's day. Poor-people drink far more tea than rich people, 1975 and in so far as they consume more, they pay far more taxation. The worse the tea, which the poor people drink the more is the tax in proportion to its value. The wealthy person who drinks tea once or twice a day, and gets the best quality, is paying a tax, in proportion to the value of the tea, of something like 10 per cent.; but, when the quality is poorer and the price cheaper the tax still remains the same and the proportion that is paid rises to as much as 25 per cent. It seems, surely, an unjust method of apportioning taxation, and I am in favour of direct taxation because I want the people to understand exactly what they are paying. If the Chancellor of the Exchequer says he cannot find the means of raising this £5,800,000, is he prepared to consider the wiping out of this Clause if we on these benches suggest another method of raising the money? If he will do that, we will move the Adjournment of the House in order to consider the kind of proposition we should put before him. We on these benches hold that there are fairer methods of raising this taxation than the means he proposes. If he accepts my suggestion we will get to business. He will gain encomiums for himself and he will go down in history as a really daring person, one who will be daring in the cause of peace, although hitherto he has extended more in the other direction. But this will be a final crown of laurels for him.
§ Mr. SCRYMGEOURI recognise the difficulties that confront the Chancellor of the Exchequer, but it is necessary that those representing industrial constituencies should emphasise the strength of the case that is represented in this Amendment. The very poorest people are, unfortunately, by the conditions of their vocations, addicted to tea drinking to such an extent that in many cases it becomes breakfast, dinner, tea and supper. This tax rests upon them as an unjust burden in proportion to what is paid by those in far better circumstances who do not indulge in tea to the same extent. The Chancellor of the Exchequer has been referred to as a daring person, and no one will gainsay that; and, when he is contemplating the frontiers of hope, may we not anticipate that, in the light of other days, he is 1976 contemplating facing the whole of this question of indirect taxation? It is not only the question of tea. In my view the majority of working people are swindled in indirect taxation. If we go to the old parochial taxes we find that the phraseology employed was that a man should be taxed according to his means and substance; but we have gone away from that stage, which was a perfectly fair basis. What we mean to get at is a free breakfast table, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer had that table before him in his earlier days. Now, under his particular restrictions, he may have additional difficulties, but, it is worthy of his serious consideration to tackle not only the question of tea, but the whole question of the injustice perpetrated on the great body of the people by indirect taxation.
§ Mr. GROVESI think the Chancellor of the Exchequer should accept this Amendment and do something which will be heralded by the great mass of the working people of this country as an admirable thing. I represent a great industrial constituency, and anything we can say or do here that could remove indirect taxation is a step in the right direction. I have always been a firm believer in a free breakfast table, and I sincerely believe that if the Chancellor of the Exchequer could give his serious attention to the repeal of the tea duties, he would confer a boon on the poorer people of this country. Without throwing any unnecessary bouquets at the Labour Government of 1924, I will say that one of the best features of their work, as carried out by the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, was the reduction of the tea duty. I well remember that in the tea shops we saw tea labelled, "1924 tea 4d. per lb. reduction." Apart from any facetious remarks in regard to the Conservative Government, the present Chancellor of the Exchequer has certainly in the past 20 years led the people of this country to believe that he is a great advocate of a free breakfast table, and anything he can do to remit taxation on tea, and, beyond that, to remit taxation on foodstuffs generally, would be a valuable contribution.
Question put, "That the words proposed to be left out stand part of the Bill."
§ The House divided: Ayes, 222; Noes, 126.
1957| Division No. 325.] | AYES. | [6.35 P.m. |
| Adamson, Rt. Hon. W. (Fife, West) | Compton, Joseph | Gosling, Harry |
| Agg-Gardner, Rt. Hon. Sir James T. | Cove, W. G. | Greenall, T. |
| Alexander, A. V. (Sheffield, Hillsbro') | Cowan, D. M. (Scottish Universities) | Greenwood, A. (Nelson and Coine) |
| Ammon, Charles George | Crawfurd, H. E. | Grenfell, D. R. (Glamorgan) |
| Attlee, Clement Richard | Dalton, Hugh | Griffiths, T. (Monmouth, Pontypool) |
| Baker, J. (Wolverhampton, Bilston) | Davies, Evan (Ebbw Vaie) | Groves, T. |
| Barker, G. (Monmouth, Abertillery) | Davies, Rhys John (Westhoughton) | Grundy, T. W. |
| Barnes, A. | Day, Colonel Harry | Guest, Haden (Southwark, N.) |
| Barr, J. | Dennison, R. | Hall, F. (York, W. R., Normanton) |
| Batey, Joseph | Duncan, C. | Hall, G. H. (Merthyr Tydvil) |
| Benn, Capt.-in Wedgwood (Leith) | Donnico, H. | Hamilton, Sir H. (Orkney & Shetland) |
| Berry, Sir George | Edwards. C. (Monmouth, Bedwellty) | Hardie, George D. |
| Bowerman, Rt. Hon. Charles W. | Edwards, J. Hugh (Accrington) | Harney, E. A. |
| Broad, F. A. | Ellis, R. G. | Hartshorn, Rt. Hon. Vernon |
| Bromley, J. | England, Colonel A. | Hayday, Arthur |
| Brown, James (Ayr and Bute) | Evans, Capt. Ernest (Welsh univer.) | Hayes, John Henry |
| Buchanan. G. | Forrest, W. | Henderson, Rt. Hon. A. (Burniey) |
| Buxton, Rt. Hon. Noel | Foxcroft, Captain C. T. | Henderson, T. (Glasgow) |
| Charieton, H. C. | Garro-Jones, captain G. M. | Hirst, G. H. |
| Clowes, S. | Gardner, J. P. | Hirst, W. (Bradford, South) |
| Cluse, W. S. | Gibbins, Joseph | Hopkinson. Sir A. (Eng Universities) |
| Clynes, Rt. Hon. John R. | Gillett, George M. | Hore-Belisha, Leslie |
| Hudson, J. H. (Hiddersfield) | Paling, W | Stephen, Campbell |
| John, William (Rhondda, West) | Parkinson, John Allen (Wigan) | Stewart, J. (St. Rollox) |
| Johnston, Thomas (Dundee) | Pethick-Lawrence, F. W. | Sullivan, J. |
| Jones, Henry Haydn (Merioneth) | Ponsonby, Arthur | Sutton, J. E. |
| Jones, Morgan (Caerphilly) | Potts, John S. | Thorne, G. R. (Wolverhampton, E.) |
| Jones. T. I. Mardy (Pontypridd) | Purcell, A. A. | Thurtle, E. |
| Kelly, W. T. | Rees, Sir Beddoe | Townend, A. E. |
| Kirkwood, D. | Richardson, R. (Houghton-le-Spring) | Trevelyan, Rt. Hon. C. P. |
| Lansbury, George | Riley, Ben | Viant, S. P. |
| Lawson, John James | Robinson, Sir T. (Lancs., Stretford) | Wellhead, Richard C. |
| Lee, F. | Runciman, Rt. Hon. Walter | Walsh, Rt. Hon. Stephen |
| Lindley, F. W. | Sakiatvala, Shapurji | Watson, W. M. (Dunfermline) |
| Livingstone, A. M. | Salter, Dr. Alfred | Webb, Rt. Hon. Sidney |
| Lowth, T. | Scrymgeour, E. | Wheatley, Rt. Hon. J. |
| Lunn, William | Shepherd, Arthur Lewis | Wiggins, William Martin |
| MacLaren, Andrew | Shiels, Dr. Drummond | Wilkinson, Ellen C. |
| Maclean, Nell (Glasgow, Govan) | Short, Alfred (Wednesbury) | Williams, C. P. (Denbigh, Wrexham) |
| March, S. | Sinclair, Col. T. (Queen's Univ., Belfst) | Williams, David (Swansea, East) |
| Mitchell, E. Rosslyn (Paisley) | Sitch, Charles H. | Williams, Dr. J. H. (Lianelly) |
| Montague, Frederick | Smith, Ben (Bermondsey, Rotherhithe) | Williams, T. (York, Don Valley) |
| Morrison, R. C. (Tottenham, N.) | Smith, H. B. Lees- (Keighley) | Wilson, R. J. (Jarrow) |
| Murnin, H. | Smith, Rennie (Penistone) | Wragg, Herbert |
| Naylor, T. E. | Smith-Carington, Neville W. | |
| Newton, Sir D. G. C. (Cambridge) | Snell, Harry | TELLERS FOR THE AYES.— |
| Oliver, George Harold | Spencer, G. A. (Broxtowe) | Sir Godfrey Collins and Sir |
| Oman, Sir Charles William C. | Spoor, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Charles | Robert Hutchison. |
| Palin, John Henry | Stamford, T. W. | |
| NOES. | ||
| Acland-Troyte, Lieut.-Colonel | Crooke, J. Smedley (Deritend) | Hogg, Rt. Hon. Sir D.(St.Marylebone) |
| Ainsworth, Major Charles | Crookshank, Col. C. de W. (Berwick) | Hope, Capt. A. O. J. (Warw'k, Nun.) |
| Alexander, E. E. (Leyton) | Crookshank, Cpt. H. (Lindsey, Gainsbro) | Hope, Sir Harry (Forfar) |
| Alexander. Sir Wm. (Glasgow, Cent'l) | Curzon, Captain Viscount | Hopkins, J. W. W. |
| Allen, J. Sandoman (L'pool, W. Derby) | Dalkeith, Earl of | Hopkinson, A. (Lancaster, Mossley) |
| Amery, Rt. Hon. Leopold C. M. S. | Dalziel, Sir Davison | Horlick, Lieut.-Colonel J. N. |
| Ashley, Lt.-Col. Rt. Hon. Wilfrid W. | Davidson, Mayor-General Sir John H. | Hudson, Capt. A. U. M. (Hackney, N.) |
| Astbury, Lieut.-Commander F. W. | Davies, Dr. Vernon | Hunter-Weston, Lt.-Gen. Sir Aylmer |
| Atholl, Duchess of | Davies, Sir Thomas (Cirencester) | Huntingfieid, Lord |
| Balfour, George (Hampstead) | Dawson, Sir Philip | Hurd, Percy A. |
| Barclay-Harvey, C. M. | Dixey, A. C. | Hurst, Gerald B. |
| Barnston, Major Sir Harry | Drewe, C. | Hutchison, G. A. Clark (Midi'n & P'bl's) |
| Beckett, Sir Gervase (Leeds, N.) | Eden, Captain Anthony | Jackson, Lieut.-Col. Rt. Hon. F. S. |
| Bellaire, Commander Canyon W. | Edmondson, Major A. J. | Jackson, Sir H. (Wandsworth, Cen'l) |
| Been, Sir A. S. (Plymouth, Drake) | Elliot, Major Walter E. | James, Lieut.-Colonel Hon, Cuthbert |
| Bethel, A. | Erskine, Lord (Somerset,Weston-s.-M.) | Jephcott, A. R, |
| Betterton, Henry B. | Erskine, James Malcolm Monteith | Kennedy, T. |
| Bird, Sir R. B. (Wolverhampton, W.) | Evans, Captain A. (Cardiff, South) | Kidd, J. (Linlithgow) |
| Blades, Sir George Rowland | Everard, W. Lindsay | Kindersley, Major Guy M. |
| Blundell, F. N. | Falle, Sir Bertram G. | King, Captain Henry Douglas |
| Boothby, R. J. G. | Fanshawe, Commander G. D. | Kinloch-Cooke, Sir Clement |
| Bowyer, Captain G. E. W. | Fermoy, Lord | Knox, Sir Alfred |
| Bridgeman, Rt. Hon. William Clive | Fielden, E. B. | Lane Fox, Col. Rt. Hon. George R. |
| Briggs, J. Harold | Forestier-Walker, Sir L. | Lister, Cunliffe., Rt. Hon. Sir Philip |
| Brittain, Sir Harry | Fraser, Captain lan | Locker-Lampson, G. (Wood Green) |
| Brown, Maj. D. C. (N'th'l'd., Hexham) | Frece, Sir Walter de | Lord. Walter Greaves |
| Brown, Brig.-Gen.H.C.(Berks,Newb'y) | Fremantle, Lieut.-Colonel Francis E. | Lucas-Tooth, Sir Hugh Vere |
| Buckingham, Sir H. | Gadie, Lieut.-Col. Anthony | Luce. Maj.-Gen. Sir Richard Harman |
| Bull, Rt. Hon. Sir William James | Galbraith, J. F. W. | MacAndrew, Major Charles Glen |
| Bullock, Captain M. | Gates. Percy | MacDonald, It (Glasgow, Cathcart) |
| Burgoyne, Lieut.-Colonel Sir Alan | Gibbs, Col. Rt. Hon. George Abraham | McDonnell, Colonel Hon. Angus |
| Burman, J. B. | Gilmour, Lt.-Col. Rt. Hon. Sir John | McLean. Major A. |
| Burney, Lieut.-Com. Charles D. | Goff, Sir Park | Macmillan, Captain H. |
| Burton, Colonel H. W. | Grace, John | McNeill, Rt. Hon. Ronald John |
| Caine, Gordon Hall | Graham, Rt. Hon. Wm. (Edin., Cent.) | Maitland. Sir Arthur D. Steel- |
| Campbell, E. T. | Grant, Sir J. A. | Malone, Major P. B. |
| Cautley, Sir Henry S. | Grattan-Doyle, Sir N. | Margesson, Captain D. |
| Cayzer, Sir C. (Chester, City) | Greene. W. P. Crawford | Marriott, Sir J. A. R. |
| Cecil, Rt. Hon. Sir Evelyn (Aston) | Grotrian, H. Brent | Mason, Lieut.-Col. Glyn K. |
| Chadwick, Sir Robert Burton | Guinness, Rt. Hon. Walter E. | Meller, R. J. |
| Chamberlain,Rt.Hn.Sir J. A. (Birm.,W.) | Gunston, Captain D. W. | Meyer, Sir Frank |
| Charterls, Brigadier-General J. | Hacking, Captain Douglas H. | Milne, J. S. Wardlaw- |
| Churchill, Rt. Hon. Winston Spencer | Hail, Capt. W. D'A. (Brecon & Rad.) | Mitchell, S. (Lanark, Lanark) |
| Churchman, Sir Arthur C. | Hammersley, S. S. | Mitchell, W. Foot (Saffron Walden) |
| Clarry, Reginald George | Hanbury, C. | Mansell, Eyres, Com. Rt. Hon. B. M. |
| Clayton, G. C. | Hannon, Patrick Joseph Henry | Moore-Brabazon, Lieut.-Col. J. T. C. |
| Cobb, Sir Cyril | Harland, A. | Moreing, Captain A. H. |
| Cochrane, Commander Hon. A. D. | Harmsworth, Hon. E. C. (Kent) | Morrison, Bell, Sir Arthur Clive |
| Colfox, Major Wm. Phillips | Harrison, G. J. C. | Neville, R. J. |
| Cooper, A. Duff | Hartington, Marquess of | Newman, Sir R. H. S. D. L. (Exeter) |
| Cope, Major William | Hallam, Henry C. | Nicholson, O. (Westminster) |
| Couper, J. B. | Henderson, Lieut.-Col. V. L. (Bootle) | Nicholson, Col. Rt. Hn. W. G.(Ptrsf'id.) |
| Cowan, Sir Wm. Henry (Islingtn., N.) | Henn, Sir Sydney H. | Nuttall, Ellis |
| Cralk, Rt. Hon. Sir Henry | Hills, Major John Walter | O'Neill, Major Rt. Hon. Hugh |
| Pennefather, Sir John | Sanderson, Sir Frank | Tryon, Rt. Hon. George Clement |
| Penny, Frederick George | Scott, Sir Leslie (Liverp'l, Exchange) | Tartan, Sir Edmund Russborough |
| Percy, Lord Eustace (Hastings) | Shaw, Lt.-Col. A. D. Mcl. (Renfrew, W.) | Vaughan-Morgan, Col. K. P. |
| Perkins, Colonel E. K. | Shaw, Capt. W. (wilts, Westb'y) | Waddington, R. |
| Perring, Sir William George | Sheffield, Sir Berkeley | Wallace, Captain D. E. |
| Peto, Basil E. (Devon, Barnstaple) | Shepperson, E. W. | Warner, Brigadier-General W. W. |
| Philipson, Mabel | Simms, Dr. John M. (Co. Down) | Warrender, Sir Victor |
| Pielou, D. P. | Slaney, Major P. Kenyon | Waterhouse, Captain Charles |
| Pliditch, Sir Philip | Snowden, RI. Hon. Philip | Watson, Sir F. (Pudsey and Otley) |
| Pownali, Lieut.-Colonel Sir Assheton | Spender-Clay, Colonel H. | Watson, Rt. Hon. W. (Carlisle) |
| Preston, William | Stanley, Col. Hon. G. F. (WIll'sden, E.) | Watts, Dr. T. |
| Price, Major C. W. M. | Stanley, Lord (Fylde) | Wheler, Major Sir Granville C. H. |
| Radford, E. A. | Stanley, Hon. O. F. G. (Westm'eland) | White, Lieut.-Col. Sir G. Dalrymple |
| Ralne. W. | Steel, Major Samuel Strang | Williams, A. M. (Cornwall, Northern) |
| Ramsden, E. | Storry.Deans, R. | Williams, Com. C. (Devon, Torquay) |
| Rawson, Sir Cooper | Stott, Lieut.-Colonel W. H. | Wilson, M. J. (York, N. R., Richm'd) |
| Reid, Capt. A. S. C. (Warrington) | Streatfeild, Captain S. R. | Wilson, R. R. (Stafford, Lichfield) |
| Reid, D. D. (County Down) | Stuart, Crichton-, Lord C. | Windsor-Clive, Lieut.-Colonel George |
| Remer, J. R. | Stuart, Hon. J. (Moray and Nairn) | Winterton, Rt. Hon. Earl |
| Rantoul, G. S. | Styles, Captain H. Walter | Wise, Sir Fredric |
| Rhys, Hon. C. A. U. | Sueter, Rear-Admiral Murray Fraser | Wolmer, Viscount |
| Roberts, E. H. G. (Flint) | Sugden, Sir Wilfrid | Womersley, W. J. |
| Ropner, Major L. | Templeton, W. P. | Wood, E.(Chest'r, Stalyb'ge & Hythe) |
| Russell, Alexander West (Tynemouth) | Thom, Lt.-Col. J. G. (Dumbarton) | Worthington-Evans, Rt. Hon. Sir L. |
| Rye, F. G. | Thompson, Luke (Sunderland) | Young, Rt. Hon. Hilton (Norwich) |
| Salmon, Major l. | Thomson, Rt. Hon. Sir W. Mitchell- | |
| Samuel, A. M. (Surrey, Farnham) | Tinne, J. A. | TELLERS FOR THE NOES.— |
| Sandeman, A. Stewart | Tinker, John Joseph | Major Hennessy and Mr. F. C. |
| Sanders, Sir Robert A. | Titchlield, Major the Marquess of | Thomson. |
| Division No. 326.] | AYES | [7.57 p.m. |
| Acland-Tryte, Lieut.-Colonel | Forrest, W. | Nicholson, O. (Westminster) |
| Agg-Gardner, Rt. Hon. Sir James T. | Foxcroft, Captain C.T. | O'Connor, T. J. (Bedford, Luton) |
| Alexander, E. E. (Leyton) | Fraser, Captain Ian | Oman, Sir Charles William C. |
| Allen, J. Sandeman (L'pool, W. Derby) | Frece, Sir Walter de | Pennefather, Sir John |
| Ashley, Lt.-Col. Rt. Hon. Wilfrid W. | Gadle, Lieut.-Col. Anthony | Penny, Frederick George |
| Astbury, Lieut.-Commander F. W. | Galbraith J. F. W. | Percy, Lord Eustace (Hastings) |
| Balfour, George (Hampstead) | Gates, Percy | Perkins, Colonel E. K. |
| Barclay-Harvey, C. M. | Gault, Lieut.-Col. Andrew Hamilton | Perring, Sir William George |
| Barnston, Major Sir Harry | Gibbs, Col. Rt. Hon. George Abraham | Pielou, D. P. |
| Beamish, Captain T. P. H. | Gilmour, Lt.-Col. Rt. Hon. Sir John | Pilditch, Sir Philip |
| Beckett, Sir Gervase (Leeds, N.) | Glyn, Major R. G. C. | Preston, William |
| Bellairs, Commander Carlyon W. | Goff, Sir Park | Price, Major C. W. M. |
| Bennett, A. J. | Grenfell,, Edward C. (City of London) | Radford, E. A. |
| Berry, Sir George | Grotrian, H. Brent | Raine, W. |
| Bethel, A. | Gunston, Captain D. W. | Ramsden, E. |
| Betterton, Henry B. | Hall, Lieut.-Col. Sir F. (Dulwich) | Rawson, Sir Cooper |
| Birchall, Major J. Dearman | Hammersley, S. S. | Rees, Sir Beddoe |
| Bird, Sir R. G. (Wolverhampton, W.) | Hannon, Patrick Joseph Henry | Rentoul, G. S. |
| Blades, Sir George Rowland | Harland, A. | Rice, Sir Frederick |
| Blundell, F. N. | Harmsworth, Hon. E. C. (Kent) | Roberts, E. H. G. (Flint) |
| Bourne, Captain Robert Croft | Harvey, Major S. E. (Devon, Totnes) | Ropner, Major L. |
| Bowyer, Capt. G. E. W. | Haslam, Henry C. | Russell, Alexander West (Tynemouth) |
| Braithwaite, A. N. | Henderson, Lieut.-Col. V. L. (Bootie) | Rye, F. G. |
| Briggs, J. Harold | Henn, Sir Sydney H. | Samuel, A. M. (Surrey, Farnham) |
| Briscoe, Richard George | Hennessy, Major J. R. G. | Sandeman, A. Stewart |
| Brittain, Sir Harry | Hills, Major John Waiter | Sassoon, Sir Philip Albert Gustave D. |
| Brocklebank, C. E. R. | Hope, Capt. A. O. J. (Warw'k, Nun.) | Shaw, R. G. (Yorks, W. R., Sowerby) |
| Brooke, Brigadler-General C. R. I. | Hope, Sir Harry (Forfar) | Shaw, Lt.-Col. A. D. Mcl. (Renfrew, W.) |
| Brown, Col. D. C. (N'th'l'd., Hexham) | Hopkins, J. W. W. | Shaw, Capt. W. W.(Wilts, Westb'y) |
| Brown, Brig.-Gen. H. C. (Berks, Newb'y) | Hopkinson, Sir A. (Eng. Universities) | Shepperson, E. W. |
| Bullock, Captain M. | Horlick, Lieut.-Colonel J. N. | Simms, Dr. John M. (Co. Down) |
| Burgoyne, Lieut.-Colonel Sir Alan | Howard, Captain Hon. Donald | Skelton, A. N. |
| Burman, J. B. | Hudson, R. S. (Cumb'l'nd, Whiteh'n | Slaney, Major P. Kenyon |
| Burney, Lieut.-Com. Charles D. | Hunter-Weston, Lt.-Gen. Sir Aylmer | Smith-Carington, Neville W. |
| Burton, Colonel H. W. | Hurd, Percy A. | Somerville, A. A. (Windsor) |
| Caine, Gordon Hail | Hurst, Gerald B. | Stanley, Lord (Fylde) |
| Cassels, J. D. | Hutchison, G. A. Clark (Midl'n & P'bl's) | Stanley, Hon. O. F. G. (Westm'eland) |
| Cautley, Sir Henry S. | Jackson, Lieut.-Col. Rt. Hon. F. S. | Steel, Major Samuel Strang |
| Cayzer, Sir C. (Chester, City) | Jacob, A. E. | Storry-Deans, R. |
| Cecil, Rt. Hon. Sir Evelyn (Aston) | James, Lieut.-Colonel Hon. Cuthbert | Stott, Lieut.-Colonel W. H. |
| Chadwick, Sir Robert Burton | Jephcott, A. R. | Streatfeild, Captain S. R. |
| Charteris, Brigadier-General J. | Jones, G. W. H. (Stoke Newington) | Stuart, Crichton-, Lord C. |
| Churchill, Rt. Hon. Winston Spencer | Kennedy, A. R.(Preston) | Stuart, Hon. J. (Moray and Nairn) |
| Churchman, Sir Arthur C. | Kidd, J. (Linilthgow) | Styles, Captain H. Walter |
| Clarry, Reginald George | Kindersley, Major Guy M. | Sugden, Sir Wilfrid |
| Clayton, G. C. | King, Captain Henry Douglas | Templeton, W. P. |
| Cobb, Sir Cyril | Lister, Cunliffe-, Rt. Hon. Sir Phillip | Thom, Lt.-Col. J. G. (Dumbarton) |
| Cochrane, Commander Hon. A. D. | Locker-Lampson, G. (Wood Green) | Thomson, F. C. (Aberdeen, South) |
| Colfax, Major Wm. Phillips | Lougher, L. | Tinne, J. A. |
| Conway, Sir W. Martin | Lucas-Tooth, Sir Hugh Vere | Titchfield, Major the Marquess of |
| Cooper, A. Duff | Luce, Major-Gen. Sir Richard Harman | Tryon, Rt. Hon. George Clement |
| Cooper, J. B. | MacAndrew, Major Charles Glen | Turton, Edmund Russborough |
| Craig, Ernest (Chester, Crewe) | Macdonald, Capt. P. D. (I. of W.) | Vaughan-Morgan, Col K. P. |
| Craik, Rt. Hon. Sir Henry | Macdonald, R. (Glasgow, Cathcart) | Waddington, R. |
| Crooke, J. Smedley (Derltend) | McDonnell, Colonel Hon. Angus | Wallace, Captain D. E. |
| Crookshank, Col. C. de W. (Berwick) | McLean, Major A. | Warrender, Sir Victor |
| Crookshank, Cpt. H.(Lindsey, Gainsbro) | Macmillan, Captain H. | Waterhouse, Captain Charles |
| Cunliffe, Sir Herbert | Macnaghten, Hon. Sir Malcolm | Watson, Sir F. (Pudsey and Otley) |
| Dalkeith, Earl of | McNeill, Rt. Hon. Ronald John | Watson, Rt. Hon. W. (Carlistle) |
| Dalziel, Sir Davison | Maitland, Sir Arthur D. Steel- | Watts, Dr. T. |
| Davidson, Major-General Sir J. H | Malone, Major P. B. | Wells, S. R. |
| Davies, Dr. Vernon | Margesson, Captain D. | Wheler, Major Sir Granville C. H. |
| Davies, Sir Thomas (Cirencester) | Marriott, Sir J. A. R. | Williams, Com. C. (Devon, Torquay) |
| Davison, Sir W. H. (Kensington, S.) | Meller, R. J. | Williams, Herbert G. (Reading) |
| Dawson, Sir Philip | Merriman, F. B. | Wilson, R. R. (Stafford, Lichfield) |
| Crewe, C. | Meyer, Sir Frank | Windsor-Clive, Lieut.-Colonel George |
| Eden, Captain Anthony | Milne, J. S. Wardlaw- | Winterton, Rt. Hon. Earl |
| Edmondson, Major A. J. | Mitchell, S. (Lanark, Lanark) | Wise, Sir Fredric |
| Elliot, Major Walter E. | Monchell, Eyres, Com. Rt. Hon. B. M. | Womersley, W. J. |
| Ellis, R. G. | Moreing, Captain A. H. | Wood, E. (Chester, Stalyb'ge & Hyde) |
| Everard, W. Lindsay | Morrison-Bell, Sir Arthur Clive | Worthington-Evans, Rt. Hon. Sir L. |
| Falle, Sir Bertram G. | Nall, Lieut.-Colonel Sir Joseph | Wragg, Herbert |
| Fanshawe, Commencer G. D. | Neville, R. J. | |
| Fermoy, Lord | Newman, Sir R. H. S. D. L. (Exeter) | TELLERS FOR THE AYES.— |
| Forestier-Walker, Sir L. | Newton, Sir D. G. c. (Cambridge) | Major Cope and Captain Viscount Curzon |
| NOES | ||
| Adamson, Rt. Hon. W. (Fife, West) | Attlee, Clement Richard | Barr, J. |
| Alexander, A. V. (Sheffield, Hillsbro') | Baker, J. (Wolverhampton, Bilston) | Batey, Joseph |
| Ammon, Charles George | Barker, G.(Monnmouth, Abertiliery) | Benn, Captain Wedgwood (Leith) |
| Bowerman, Rt. Hon. Charles W. | Heyday, Arthur | Salter, Dr. Alfred |
| Broad, F. A. | Hayes, John Henry | Scrymgeour, E. |
| Bromfield, William | Henderson, Right Hon. A. (Burnley) | Shaw, Rt. Hon. Thomas (Preston) |
| Bromley, J. | Henderson, T. (Glasgow) | Short, Alfred (Wednesbury) |
| Brown, James (Ayr and Bute) | Hirst, G. H. | Sinclair, Major Sir A. (Caithness) |
| Buchanan, G. | Hirst, W. (Bradford, South) | Sitch, Charles H. |
| Buxton, Rt. Hon. Noel | Hore-Belisha, Leslie | Slesser, Sir Henry H. |
| Charleton, H. C. | Hudson, J. H. (Huddersfield) | Smillie, Robert |
| Clowes, S. | Jenkins, W. (Glamorgan, Neath) | Smith, Ben (Bermondsey, Rotherhithe) |
| Cluse, W. S | John, William (Rhondda, West) | Smith, H. B. Lees (Keighley) |
| Clynes, Rt. Hon. John R. | Johnston, Thomas (Dundee) | Smith, Rennie (Penistone) |
| Collins, Sir Godfrey (Greenock) | Jones, Henry Haydn (Merioneth) | Snell, Harry |
| Compton, Joseph | Jones, Morgan (Caerphilly) | Snowden, Rt. Hon. Philip |
| Cove, W. G. | Jones, T. I. Mardy (Pontypridd) | Spencer, G. A. (Broxtowe) |
| Cowan, D. M. (Scottish Universities) | Kelly, W. T. | Spoor, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Charles |
| Dalton, Hugh | Kennedy, T. | Stamford, T. W. |
| Davies, Evan (Ebbw Vale) | Kirkwood, D. | Stephen, Campbell |
| Davies, Rhys John (Westhoughton) | Lansbury, George | Stewart, J. (St. Rollox) |
| Day, Colonel Harry | Lawson, John James | Sullivan, J. |
| Dennison, R. | Lee, F. | Sutton, J. E. |
| Duncan, C. | Lindley, F. W. | Thorne, G. R. (Wolverhampton, E.) |
| Dunnico, H. | Livingstone, A. M. | Thurtle, E. |
| England, Colonel A. | Lowth, T. | Tinker, John Joseph |
| Garro-Jones, Captain G. M. | Lunn, William | Townend, A. E. |
| Gardner, J. P. | Maclean, Neil (Glasgow, Govan) | Viant, S. P. |
| Gibbins, Joseph | March, S. | Wallhead, Richard C. |
| Gillett, George M. | Mitchell, E. Rosslyn (Paisley) | Walsh, Rt. Hon. Stephen |
| Gosling, Harry | Montague, Frederick | Watson, W. M. (Dunfermilne) |
| Graham, D. M. (Lanark, Hamilton) | Morris, R. H. | Webb, Rt. Hon. Sidney |
| Graham, Rt. Hon. Wm. (Edln., Cent.) | Murnin, H. | Welsh, J. C. |
| Greenall, T. | Oilver, George Harold | Wiggins, William Martin |
| Greenwood, A. (Nelson and Coins) | Palin, John Henry | Wilkinson, Ellen C. |
| Grenfell, D. R. (Glamorgan) | Palling, W. | Williams, C. P. (Denbigh, Wrexham) |
| Griffiths, T. (Monmouth, Pontypool) | Parkinson, John Allen (Wigan) | Williams, David (Swansea, East) |
| Groves, T. | Pethick-Lawrence, F. W. | Williams, Dr. J. H. (Llanelly) |
| Grundy, T. W. | Ponsonby, Arthur | Williams, T. (York, Don Valley) |
| Hall, F. (York, W. R., Normanton) | Potts, John S. | Wilson, R. J. (Jarrow) |
| Hall, G. H. (Merthyr Tydvil) | Purcell, A. A. | |
| Hardie, George D. | Richardson, R. (Houghton-le-Spring) | TELLERS FOR THE NOES.— |
| Hartshorn, Rt. Hon. Vernon | Riley, Ben | Mr. Charles Edwards and Mr. Barnes. |