§ Major BRAITHWAITEI beg to move,
That leave be given to bring in a Bill to preserve the standards of hours of work, wages and other conditions of labour in the United Kingdom from being put in jeopardy, and for that purpose to forbid, control or restrict the importation into the United Kingdom of goods in competition with which Home-produced articles, commodities, or products of a like kind can only be sold by increasing hours of work and/or reducing wages and/or worsening the conditions of labour in the United Kingdom.In asking leave to introduce this Bill, I want hon. Members on the Government side of the House to carry their minds back to the Socialist party conference which took place at Birmingham in 1928. The Prime Minister then said:Where there are glaring examples of sweated goods produced under conditions against which British people cannot compete without lowering their standard of living, the remedy is not Safeguarding, but prohibiting the entry of such goods.That is a statement with which I am in entire agreement. Whatever our views on this side of the House may be about Safeguarding or Protection, or whatever you like to call it, there are certain definite circumstances in which no partial exclusion of foreign goods can be In any way satisfactory. The Prime Minister used the term "sweated goods." I find it too difficult to determine what are sweated goods in a foreign country to be able to base a proper judgment on such a vague and unsatisfactory adjective in connection with a Measure of such importance as this. In my opinion, we ought to have regard to the standards that we have arrived at as the irreducible minima and to do everything that we possibly can to maintain them. The leader of the Liberal Party recently said that the standards of British labour were the best in the world. Everyone agrees with that statement, but I hope 1750 we are going to make up our minds not to go back on the position that we have won, but rather to stand and consolidate it. The important point in the Prime Minister's utterance was the emphasis that he laid, not upon conditions abroad, which are, of course, beyond our control, but upon conditions in this country, and the real burden of his statement of policy was that the British people cannot compete with imports from abroad without lowering their standard of living.The purpose of the Bill is to provide a short and simple machinery for enabling rapid decisions to be taken. I believe too long a time elapses and too much harm is done because our legislation is so cumbersome. The Bill does not attempt to define sweated goods or standards of labour or living. It is based upon the assumption that, provided the facts can be given in a satisfactory way to the House of Commons, it will look on them sympatheticly and will be able to act rapidly, so that there shall no longer be the danger of large numbers of unemployed coming into our industries by reason of these importations, and we shall be able to act with such expediency as to be able to afford our people steady employment.
It is proposed in the Bill that a substantial industry—and for the purpose of proving its substantiality, I have fixed a figure of not fewer than 1,000 persons employed—can apply to the President of the Board of Trade, who will set up a committee consisting of a judge of the High Court and an employer and an employé in the industry concerned. Their investigation will not be for the purpose of making recommendations, but merely of putting forward the facts in connection with the industry. They will have power to call all the necessary evidence that they may require. They will not be able to make any definite recommendations, but simply to state the facts that they find out, and, if they find that in a particular industry British labour can only compete by lowering its wages, lengthening the hours of labour, or generally worsening social conditions, the President of the Board of Trade on receiving such evidence, shall submit it to the House of Commons, whereupon it will be competent for any 1751 Member of the House to move the prohibition, regulation or control of that particular class of imports. It is left to the House of Commons to say exactly what line it proposes to take in each case and, with all these facts before it, it ought to be able to make a very quick decision. Having made it, if it is decided to, restrict, or control, or prohibit a particular class of imports, that condition shall be imposed upon those imports until the House shall decide that it can be removed. In my view, a Resolution in this House on this subject should be left to a free vote of the House. It is not a question of party politics, and I do not put this forward in any partisan view, but as something which is necessary to be done for the resuscitation of British industry.
The procedure of the House of Commons provides ample scope for the ventilation of matters of opinion and for the discussion of points of policy, and all that we require from this Committee to be set up by the President of the Board of Trade are the facts for our guidance. The Prime Minister has committed his party to the prohibition of imports of the class that I suggest and the right hon. Gentleman the Member for Carnarvon Boroughs (Mr. Lloyd George) has also committed his party in a very large way on that line. We on these benches have always held that the standard of British labour ought to be preserved by all possible means. In this small Measure, I have endeavoured to lay before the House a scheme, free of legal and technical complications, which preserves to the House the full right to decide what action shall be taken after the facts have been investigated. In order to preserve the authority of the Chancellor of the Exchequer over matters of taxation, articles that are subject to Customs and Excise Duties are specifically excluded.
§ Lieut.-Commander KENWORTHYWhat does the Leader of the Conservative party think of this?
§ Major BRAITHWAITETherefore, there can be no reason why, if Members of the House are honest in their protestation of a desire to maintain the standard of living, they should not grant permission for the Bill to be introduced. There may be many details in the work- 1752 ing of a scheme like this which require much modification and for such modification, there should be ample time if the Bill is allowed to go forward. I ask Members of all parties, at this serious time in the industrial life of our country, to let us prevent the dumping of enormous amounts of goods which are produced under conditions with which we have no hope of competing, and to give again to our industries that chance to rebuild themselves and bring back a full measure of employment.
§ Sir BEN TURNERrose—
§ Mr. SPEAKERDoes the hon. Gentleman rise to oppose the introduction of the Bill?
§ Sir B. TURNERIs it in order to ask a question?
§ Mr. SPEAKERNot now.
§ Mr. RHYS DAVIESI rise to oppose the Motion. It is very interesting to hear from the hon. and gallant Gentleman that he is honest in his intentions with regard to this Measure. It is very interesting, in fact, to see any Motion coming from those benches in favour of better standards of living for the workers. This Bill seeks to safeguard the standard of living of working people in this country by the restriction of certain imports. We have apparently to determine wages and hours of labour consequent upon the restriction of certain imports into this country of sweated goods. That is his argument. He makes the further statement that a country like ours can maintain its present standard of living for the working people only if we adopt his proposal, but strangely enough, many other countries have already adopted the same proposal that he is now making, and the standard of living of the working people of those countries is lower than it is here at the moment. Consequently, I ask the House of Commons to reject this proposal. He also makes the statement that there is going to be very simple machinery set up to decide what are sweated goods. I should like to find out what is that simple machinery. Then we are to get at the facts! I should like to ask the hon. and gallant Gentleman whether he is not aware that goods produced in the United States of America, so I am informed, are sold in the markets of this country at a 1753 much cheaper rate than they could be produced at home, whereas the wages in the United States of America are 75 per cent. higher than they are here? Consequently, the hon. and gallant Member cannot have it both ways. After all, this is Protection in another form. It is simply a subtle way of attempting to gain the votes of the working people, I presume, for the Tory party. This proposal has been called safeguarding, and it has been called, on occasions, insulation, and now we are going to term it the restriction of imports.
I made an inquiry some time ago into the wages and conditions of safeguarded industries of this country, and I was astonished to find that what was hoped to be done by the propounders of the theory of the safeguarding of industry had completely failed. In the cutlery trade of Sheffield I found that after four or five years of Safeguarding—and the present proposal would be another means of Safeguarding—the wages for females in that safeguarded trade were 7s. weekly for a girl of 14, and for a woman of 21 years of age the maximum wage was 23s. a week. That is what Safeguarding has done. [HON. MEMBERS: "No!"] There is something very much deeper behind the question of standards of life of our working people than either Free Trade or tariffs or restriction of imports or anything of that kind. It depends very often upon how well organised they are in their trade unions. It is possible to see the working people of a country sweated by their employers, whether you have Free Trade or tariffs or restriction of imports. Consequently, the Labour party take another point of view. The way we should handle this problem is not by this means. We should utilise the machinery of the International Labour Organisation. [HON. MEMBERS: "Oh!"] Is there any hon.
§ Member who would stand up in the House of Commons at any time to argue that this country should withdraw from affiliation with the International Labour Office? I should like to see what would happen to him at the next election if he did so.
§ It is obvious that the Motion we are discussing cannot help the unemployed. That can be proved beyond doubt. I can give the hon. and gallant Member the authority now. The other day I met a social worker in New York, and I was informed that while there are tariffs and restriction of imports in America as strictly enforced as in any country, there are at least half a million unemployed people in the city of New York now being fed and housed at the expense of charitable organisations. I say, therefore, that the means proposed by the hon. and gallant Gentleman to solve this problem will not avail us. It is rather delightful sometimes to hear a Member of the Opposition interpreting a Labour party policy, and, sometimes, Liberal party policy too. It shows, at any rate, some knowledge of our affairs. I sincerely trust that the House of Commons will have nothing to do with this proposal, and I hope the House will vote it down unanimously.
§
Question put,
That leave be given to bring in a Bill to preserve the standards of hours of work, wages and other conditions of labour in the United Kingdom from being put in jeopardy, and for that purpose to forbid, control, or restrict the importation into the United Kingdom of goods in competition with which home-produced articles, commodities, or products of a like kind can only be sold by increasing hours of work and/or reducing wages and/or worsening the conditions of labour in the United Kingdom.
§ The House divided: Ayes, 164: Noes, 129.
1755| Division No. 314.] | AYES. | [3.57 p.m. |
| Albery, Irving James | Brooke, W. | Cobb, Sir Cyril |
| Allen, U.-Col. Sir William (Armagh) | Brown, C W. E. (Notts. Mansfield) | Cocks, Frederick Seymour |
| Alpass, J. H. | Brown, Brig.-Gen. H. C. (Berks, Newb'y) | Cohen, Major J. Brunei |
| Ashley, Lt.-Col. Rt. Hon. Wilfrid W. | Buchan, John | Colfox, Major William Philip |
| Atholl, Duchess of | Buchan-Hepburn, P. G. T. | Colville, Major D. J. |
| Baldwin, Oliver (Dudley) | Buchanan, G. | Cooper, A. Duff |
| Baldwin, Rt. Hon. Stanley (Bewdley) | Bullock, Captain Malcolm | Cove, William G. |
| Beckett, John (Camberwell, P[...]ckham) | Cadogan, Major Hon. Edward | Culverwell, C. T. (Bristol, West) |
| Bennett, William (Batteries, South) | Cayzer, Sir C. (Chester, City) | Cunliffe- Lister, Rt. Hon. Sir Philip |
| Betterton, Sir Henry B. | Chamberlain, Rt. Hn. Sir. J. A. (Birm., W.) | Davies, Maj. Geo. F. (Somerset, Yeovil) |
| Boothby, R. J. G. | Chamberlain, Rt. Hon. N. (Edgbaston) | Davison, Sir W. H. (Kensington, S.) |
| Bourne, Captain Robert Croft | Chapman, Sir S. | Day, Harry |
| Bowyer, Captain Sir George E. W. | Christie, J. A. | Dug dale, Capt. T. L. |
| Braithwaite, Major A. N. | Church, Major A. G. | Eden, Captain Anthony |
| Broadbent, Colonel J. | Churchill, Rt. Hon. Winston Spencer | Edge, Sir William |
| Brockway, A. Fenner | Clydesdale, Marquess of | Elliot, Major walter E. |
| Erskine, Lord (Somerset, Weston-s.-M.) | Llewellin, Major J. J. | Salmon, Major I. |
| Everard, W. Lindsay | McConnell, Sir Joseph | Samuel, A. M. (Surrey, Farnham) |
| Fal[...]e, Sir Bertram G. | McElwee, A. | Samuel, H. walter (Swansea, West) |
| Ferguson, Sir John | McEntee, V. L. | Sandeman, Sir N. Stewart |
| Ford, Sir P. J. | McGovern, J. (Glasgow, Shettleston) | Sandham, E. |
| Galbraith, J. F. W. | McShane, John James | Shepherd, Arthur Lewis |
| Ganzonl, Sir John | Marcus, M. | Shepperson, Sir Ernest Whittome |
| Gilmour, Lt.-Col. Rt. Hon. Sir John | Margesson, Captain H. D. | Shillaker, J. F. |
| Glyn, Major R. G. C. | Marjoribanks, Edward | Smith, Frank (Nuneaton) |
| Grattan-Doyle, Sir N. | Markham, S. F. | Smith, Louis W. (Sheffield, Hallam) |
| Greaves-Lord, Sir walter | Matters, L. W. | Smith, R. W. (Aberd'n & Kinc'dine, C.) |
| Gretton, Colonel Rt. Hon. John | Maxton, James | Smith, Tom (Pontefract) |
| Griffiths, T. (Monmouth, Pontypool) | Meller, R. J. | Smith-Carington, Neville W. |
| Gunston, Captain D. w. | Messer, Fred | Smithers, Waldron |
| Hall, Lieut.-Col. Sir F. (Dulwich) | Milner, Major J. | Southby, Commander A. R. J. |
| Hall, Capt. W. G. (Portsmouth, C.) | Monsell, Eyres, Com. Rt. Hon. Sir B. | Spender-Clay, Colonel H. |
| Harbord, A. | Morrison, W. S. (Glos., Cirencester) | Steel-Maitland, Rt. Hon. Sir Arthur |
| Heneage, Lieut.-Colonel Arthur P. | Mort, D. L. | Stephen, Campbell |
| Hope, Sir Harry (Forfar) | Muff, G. | Sueter, Rear-Admiral M. F. |
| Howard-Bury, Colonel C. K. | Muggeridge, H. T. | Taylor R. A. (Lincoln) |
| Hudson, Capt. A. U. M. (Hackney, N.) | Muirhead, A. J. | Taylor, W. B. (Norfolk, S. W.) |
| Hurd, Percy A. | Nicholson, O. (Westminster) | Thompson, Luke |
| Hurst, Sir Gerald B. | Nicholson, Col. Rt. Hn. W. G.(Ptrsf'ld) | Thomson, Sir F. |
| Hutchison, Maj.-Gen. Sir R. | Oman, Sir Charles William C. | Thurtle, Ernest |
| Inskip, Sir Thomas | O'Neill, Sir H. | Titchfield, Major the Marquess of |
| Jones, Llewellyn., F. | Ormsby-Gore, Rt. Hon. William | Turner, Sir Ben |
| Jowitt, Rt. Hon. F. W. | Peake, Captain Osbert | Vaughan-Morgan, Sir Kenyon |
| Kennedy, Rt. Hon. Thomas | Penny, Sir George | Wallace, Capt. D. E. (Hornsey) |
| Kenworthy, Lt.-Com. Hon. Joseph M. | Percy, Lord Eustace (Hastings) | Ward, Lieut.-Col. Sir A. Lambert |
| Kinley, J. | Peto, Sir Basil E. (Devon, Barnstaple) | Warrender, Sir Victor |
| Kirkwood, D. | Pownall, Sir Assheton | Watts-Morgan, Lt.-Col. D. (Rhondda) |
| Lamb, Sir J. Q. | Pybus, Percy John | Wayland, Sir William A. |
| Lane Fox, Col. Rt. Hon. George R. | Quibell, D. J. K. | Williams, Charles (Devon, Torquay) |
| Lang, Gordon | Reid, David D. (County Down) | Wise, E. F. |
| Lathan, G. (Sheffield, Park) | Reynolds, Col. Sir James | Wood, Rt. Hon. Sir Kingsley |
| Lawrie, Hugh Hartley (Stalybridge) | Roberts, Sir Samuel (Ecclesall) | Wright, Brig.-Gen. W. D. (Tavist'k) |
| Lee, Frank (Derby, N. E.) | Rodd, Rt. Hon. Sir James Rennell | Young, Rt. Hon. Sir Hilton |
| Lee, Jennie (Lanark, Northern) | Rosbotham, D. S. T. | |
| Leighton, Major B. E. P | Russell, Alexander West (Tynemouth) | TELLERS FOR THE AYES.— |
| Lewis, Oswald (Colchester) | Russell, Richard John (Eddisbury) | Mr. Womersley and Mr. Lockwood. |
| NOES. | ||
| Adamson, w. M. (Staff., Cannock) | Gray, Milner | Perry, S. F. |
| Ammon, Charles George | Grenfell, D. R. (Glamorgan) | Pole, Major D. G. |
| Arnott, John | Hall, G. H. (Merthyr Tydvil) | Potts, John S. |
| Ayles, walter | Hall, J. H. (Whitechapel) | Ramsay, T. B. Wilson |
| Barnes, Alfred John | Hardie, David (Rutherglen) | Rathbone, Eleanor |
| Barr, James | Haycock, A. W. | Raynes, W. R. |
| Bevan, Aneurin (Ebbw Vale) | Hayes, John Henry | Richardson, R. (Houghton-le-Spring) |
| Bondfield, Rt. Hon. Margaret | Henderson, Right Hon. A. (Burnley) | Riley, Ben (Dewsbury) |
| Bowerman, Rt. Hon. Charles W. | Henderson, Arthur, Junr. (Cardiff, S.) | Romeril, H. G. |
| Broad, Francis Alfred | Henderson, Thomas (Glasgow) | Salter, Dr. Alfred |
| Bromfield, William | Harriotts, J. | Samuel, Rt. Hon. Sir H. (Darwen) |
| Bromley, J. | Hirst, W. (Bradford, South) | Sawyer, G. F. |
| Brown, Ernest (Leith) | Hudson, James H. (Huddersfield) | Sexton, Sir James |
| Burgess, F. G. | Jenkins, Sir William | Shield, George William |
| Buxton, C. R. (Yorks. W. R. Elland) | John, William (Rhondda, West) | Short, Alfred (Wednesbury) |
| Cape, Thomas | Jones, Henry Haydn (Merioneth) | Simmons, C. J. |
| Carter, W. (St. Pancras, S. W.) | Jones, Rt. Hon Leif (Camborne) | Simon, E. D. (Manch'ter, Withington) |
| Chater, Daniel | Law, Albert (Bolton) | Sinclair, Sir A. (Caithness) |
| Clarke, J. S. | Lawson, John James | Sinkinson, George |
| Cluse, W. S. | Lawther, W. (Barnard Castle) | Sitch, Charles H. |
| Clynes, Rt. Hon. John R. | Leach, W. | Smith, Ben (Bermondsey, Rotherhithe) |
| Daggar, George | Lloyd, C. Ellis | Smith, Lees-, Rt. Hon. H. B. (Keighley) |
| Dalton, Hugh | Longbottom, A. W. | Smith, Rennle (Penistone) |
| Davies, D. L. (Pontypridd) | Lovat-Fraser, J. A. | Smith, W. R. (Norwich) |
| Denman, Hon. R. D. | Lunn, William | Stamford, Thomas W. |
| Duncan, Charles | Macdonald, Gordon (Ince) | Sullivan, J. |
| Ede, James Chuter | MacLaren, Andrew | Sutton, J. E. |
| Edmunds, J. E. | Mander, Geoffrey le M. | Thorne, W. (West Ham, plaistow) |
| Edwards, C. (Monmouth, Bedwellty) | Manning, E. L. | Tillett, Ben |
| Edwards, E. (Morpeth) | Mansfield, W. | Tinker, John Joseph |
| Egan, W. H. | Marshall, Fred | Toole, Joseph |
| Elmley, Viscount | Mills, J. E. | Tout, W. J. |
| Foot, Isaac | Montague, Frederick | Townend, A. E. |
| Freeman, Peter | Murnin, Hugh | Vaughan, David |
| George, Major G. Lloyd (Pembroke) | Nathan, Major H. L. | Wallace, H. W. |
| George, Megan Lloyd (Anglesea) | Naylor, T. E. | Watson, W. M, (Dunfermline) |
| Gill, T. H. | Noel-Buxton, Baroness (Norfolk, N.) | Wedgwood, Rt. Hon. Joslah |
| Gillett, George M. | Oliver, P. M. (Man., Blackley) | Welsh, James (Palsley) |
| Glassey, A. E. | Paling, Willfrid | Whiteley, Wilfrid (Birm., Ladywood) |
| Gould, F. | Palmer, E. T. | Whiteley, William (Blaydon) |
| Graham, D. M. (Lanark, Hamilton) | Parkinson, John Allen (Wigan) | Williams, David (Swansea, East) |
| Williams, E. J. (Ogmore) | Wilson, J. (Oldham) | TELLERS FOR THE NOES.- |
| Williams, Dr. J. H. (Llanelly) | Wilson, R. J. (Jarrow) | Mr. Benson and Mr. Rhys Davies. |
| Williams, T. (York, Don Valley) | Young, R. S. (lslington, North) |
§ Bill ordered to be brought in by Major Braithwaite, Mr. Womersley, Mr. Gibson, Sir Nicholas Grattan-Doyle, Sir George Hamilton, Lieut.-Colonel Gault, Mr. Lookwood, Mr. Otho Nicholson, Lieut.-Colonel Heneage, Mr. Remer, Lieut.-Colonel Sir Frederick Hall, and Sir Ernest Shepperson.
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c1757
- STANDARDS OF LABOUR BILL, 96 words c1757
- CHAIRMEN'S PANEL. 41 words c1757
- WILLS AND INTESTACIES (FAMILY MAINTENANCE) BILL. 30 words
- SELECTION (STANDING COMMITTEES).
- SCOTTISH STANDING COMMITTEE. 49 words
- MESSAGE FROM THE LORDS. 18 words
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cc1757-8