§ I have finished what I described as my very unpleasant task. These proposals are admittedly drastic and disagreeable. They are justified only by the regrettable necessity urged upon us by the present financial position of the nation, but I 312 have received during the last few weeks the most amazing evidence of the willingness of the nation, men and women of all classes, to make their contribution to this effort. This morning my post was like the post on every day for a week past. Old age pensioners—[An HON. MEMBER: "Shame"]—have returned their pension books. [An HON. MEMBER: "What about Lord Nelson's?"] War pensioners have offered to forgo their pensions for the year. National War Savings Certificates have been returned cancelled. [An HON. MEMBER: "What about the Duke of Westminster?"] Postal orders, large and small, pour in. [Interruption.] Children, even, have sent from their savings-boxes shillings and half-crowns to help the nation in its need. Factory girls have come to me—[HON. MEMBERS: "Oh"]—with collections taken in the workshops; and to-day, following many other similar gifts, I received a 5 per cent. War Loan bond for £1,000 to be cancelled.
§
These proposals that I have submitted give everybody the opportunity of contributing. I have tried as best I could to spread the burden of the sacrifice as fairly and as evenly as human ingenuity can devise. To balance a Budget with a deficit of £170,000,000, to spend, as we are doing this year, at the expense of the Exchequer, something like £100,000,000 for the relief of unemployment—[HON. MEMBERS: "Why not?"]—is an achievement which no country in the world has ever attempted. The House of Commons will, I believe, accept these proposals, the country will accept them—[Interruption]—and in doing so they will show to the world an example of the indomitable British spirit in the face of difficulty.
All our past proclaims our future: Shakespeare's voice and Nelson's hand,
Milton's faith and Wordsworth's trust in this our chosen and chainless land,"—
§ Mr. KIRKWOODWhat about Dick Turpin?