§ 12.12 a.m.
§ The Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade (Captain Euan Wallace)I beg to move,
That the Additional Import Duties (No. 10) Order, 1937, dated the fourteenth day of December, nineteen hundred and thirty-seven, made by the Treasury under the Import Duties Act, 1932, a copy of which was presented to this House on the said fourteenth day of December, nineteen hundred and thirty-seven, be approved.In November, 1934, the House approved an Order imposing an import duty of 10s. a cwt. on carrots for a certain period of the year and allowing the duty on carrots during the remaing period of the year to be the sum of 2s. 4d. That proposal was made solely for the purpose of helping the home growers of early carrots under glass, and it has turned out to be of considerable help to those 192 growers who are fortunate enough, for this purpose, to live in the southern half of these islands; but it so happens, apparently, that the sun does not shine as strongly in the northern part of this country, and it has been found that people who wish to grow this particular kind of early carrots in the North of England cannot get their crop so early and are cut out from the benefits of the legislation, which was meant to apply to all parts of the country. I do not wish to detain the House at this late hour, and therefore I will limit myself to saying that this Order adds a fortnight to the 10s. period, thus seeking to rectify what is considered to be a rather unjust situation.
§ 12.14 a.m.
§ Mr. A. V. AlexanderIt is exceedingly unfortunate that we on this side always have to protest against these Orders being taken after 11 o'clock and indeed after midnight. The pledge that was given by the Government that we should not be required to sit late to-night has been entirely set aside. It is true that these Orders are exempted business, but there is a good deal more in the principle of this matter that we want to discuss than can reasonably be discussed at this hour. However, I feel it is incumbent upon me to say that it is not merely a question of the additional duty being levied, by this Order, for a fortnight in the year; it is a question of adding something to the burden which already rests on the consumer of this particular commodity for another part of the year.
The Parliamentary Secretary said that the growers of this very valuable vegetable in the South have been getting the sun and that those in the North have not. Now the people in the South will get the additional benefit. I gather that that is the position, in order that the people of the North may also benefit for a similar period. We on this side of the House have very strong recollections of discussions on nutrition. We heard figures quoted by the hon. Lady the Member for Dundee (Miss Horsbrugh) of the value it would be to working-class mothers if they would use more of carrots and water, and it is a pretty fine commentary upon a Government, being content to shelter behind that kind of argument from their own benches with regard to nutrition, that they then seek first to tax and then to 193 extend the period of tax on the very foods that they argue are the most nutritional for the purposes of the children of the country.
We shall shortly be considering the report of M. van Zeeland with regard to the general hope of improving trade relationships between nations and I cannot help but mention that I saw in a newspaper this morning that the Parliamentary Secretary's colleague, the Secretary for the Department of Overseas Trade, was making a speech, only yesterday, I think, to the British Chamber of Commerce in Paris, in which he said:
Everywhere commerce is hindered by tariffs, quotas, and exchange troubles.He went on to say:Every day in my office I hear the complaints of my exporters, and here to-night I have the other side of the medal in the complaints of my importers.The other Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade is abroad trying to make suggestions for the reduction of tariffs, while his colleague is here, asking us to place additional burdens on the consumer. If it were not for the lateness of the hour, I could say a great deal more about this matter in principle, but I want to say quite frankly, that I really do not think the Government have made out a very good case for this change.
§ 12.18 a.m.
§ Sir Percy HarrisI want to add my protest against the Government taking this business at this late hour. If the programme was so congested that it was necessary to sit late, the House should have met earlier, either last week or yesterday, but to ask us at a quarter past 12 to pass a new import duties Order is an abuse of Parliamentary procedure and quite unworthy of the Patronage Secretary. We have had a very busy day and passed three important Orders, and I only hope my right hon. Friend will resist passing through Orders of this character after midnight. Large concerns are likely to have their businesses interfered with by these irritating regulations, which are bound to handicap trade and make business more difficult. This is a Continental trade, and it is not a good gesture to France, where they are going through very severe financial stringency and finding it very difficult to maintain their exports, to put on an annoying additional duty of this sort. More and more 194 these Commissioners are treating Parliament with contempt. They do not even pretend to give us an outline of the evidence that has enabled them to arrive at the conclusion that it is necessary to add another fortnight in this case. I hope this habit of beginning what is a comparatively new Session in this way will not be continued. If it is, I shall vigorously protest on every occasion.
§ 12.20 a.m.
§ Mr. Wedgwood BennI have heard many discussions on Free Trade and tariffs, but never have I heard a speech on the subject like that to which we have just listened from the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade. His case was that the sun shines more strongly elsewhere than it shines at times in this country, and it is not fair, and we must have protection against that. I should like to congratulate the Chancellor of the Exchequer. I have heard many speeches by him that I have admired, but for courage and self-restraint, his silence tonight is one of his greatest achievements.
§ 12.21 a.m.
Mr. J. J. DavidsonI hesitate to speak at this late hour of the night, but I think that back benchers also should protest against the Government's treatment of this House. Many Members, not only on this side but on all sides of the House, have been continually pressing the Government to outline a definite food policy for the country, and we have been continually met with evasive replies. I can give the Minister many figures to show that in Scotland agricultural produce has materially declined because of the lack of a Government policy on the question of food for the people. Many Members know that daily we are receiving protests from women's organisations, from housewives, from co-operative guilds, and even in some instances from Conservative women's organisations, on the rising cost of foodstuffs. Here is a foodstuff that is essential to the people of this country, and the Government's only practical policy to-day is to impose further taxation on a necessity for the people. The bringing on of business like this at such a late hour will make business in this House much more difficult in the future. There are many of us on these benches who are not going to tolerate the casualness of this Government much longer. As representatives of 195 many thousands of people, we are going to ask and we are going to demand from the Government that at least they should put up spokesmen who can give the House a sensible outline of the Government's policy, and not mere casualness such as we have had to-night.
§ 12.23 a.m.
§ Mr. PrittThere is another matter that the Minister might consider with reference to this little piece of legislation. I presume that when the Order which is being amended was passed, it was decided and considered that the best way on the whole of balancing the exploitation of the consumer in the interests of the producer was to impose this tax for a certain period, which would enable carrot growers in the South to have their little rake-off, like shipowners or beet-sugar people; but now it is proposed, in order to give somebody else a rake-off, to give the carrot growers in the South of England a fortnight more rake-off than they previously needed, so that a certain percentage of the growers of early carrots in England will actually be having the benefit of an extra exploitation of the community for a fortnight longer than they need have had, and the consumers in Dundee will, I suppose, be reduced to water alone, instead of water and carrots, for a fortnight longer than would otherwise
§ happen, and, of course, as long as it was safe to drink.
§ Surely the House ought to be told the percentage of growers in the South and in the North. How many of the growers in the North have cousins on the Front Bench? The growers in the North are obviously those who have worked themselves up, having previously grown something better suited to their climate. In the hope of getting protection, the good nature of the House is exploited at this time, and in order to get through one more little ramp. We ought to be told precisely what the ramp is.
§ 12.26 a.m.
§ Mr. JaggerI want to complain about the stupid way in which this change has been made. Surely it could be graded in accordance with the amount of sunshine that we have on a given date so that gradually, from the Orkney Islands to Lands End it was graded exactly in accordance with the sun available? If that is not done, the whole argument for the duty becomes absurd in the extreme and is convicted of a stupidity that is inconceivable, even for the Government.
§ Question put.
§ The House divided: Ayes, 124; Noes, 28.
197| Division No. 78.] | AYES. | [12.27 a.m. |
| Acland-Troyte, Lt.-Col. G. J. | Cruddas, Col. B. | Hudson, Capt. A. U. M. (Hack., N.) |
| Anderson, Sir A. Garrett (C. of Ldn.) | De Chair, S. S. | Hunter, T. |
| Astor, Hon. W. W. (Fulham, E.) | Dodd, J. S. | Hutchinson, G. C. |
| Baldwin-Webb, Col. J. | Duckworth, Arthur (Shrewsbury) | James, Wing-Commander A. W. H. |
| Balniel. Lord | Duckworth, W. R. (Moss Side) | Keeling. E. H. |
| Barclay-Harvey, Sir C. M. | Eckersley, P. T. | Kerr, Colonel C. I. (Montrose) |
| Beechman, N. A. | Edmondson, Major Sir J. | Kerr, J. Graham (Scottish Univs.) |
| Bird, Sir R. B. | Elliot, Rt. Hon. W. E. | Kimball. L. |
| Blair, Sir R. | Ellis, Sir G. | Leech, Sir J. W. |
| Boothby, R. J. G. | Elliston, Capt. G. S. | Lipson, D. L. |
| Bossom, A. C. | Emery, J. F. | Lloyd, G. W. |
| Bower, Comdr. R. T. | Entwistle, Sir C. F. | Lyons. A. M. |
| Boyce. H. Leslie | Errington, E. | MacDonald, Rt. Hon. M. (Ross) |
| Bracken, B. | Fildes, Sir H. | Margesson, Capt. Rt. Hon. H. D. R. |
| Briscoe, Capt. R. G. | Findlay. Sir E. | Marsden, Commander A. |
| Bull, B. B. | Fremantle, Sir F. E. | Mayhew, Lt.-Col. J. |
| Butcher, H. W. | Furness, S. N. | Mellor, Sir J. S. P. (Tamworth) |
| Campbell, Sir E. T. | Fyfe. D. P. M. | Mills, Major J. D. (New Forest) |
| Cartland, J. R. H. | Gower. Sir R. V. | Moore. Lieut.-Col. Sir T. C. R. |
| Cazalet, Capt. V. A. (Chippenham) | Grant-Ferris, R. | Muirhead, Lt.-Col. A. J. |
| Channon, H. | Greene, W. P. C. (Worcester) | Munro, P. |
| Chapman. A. (Rutherglen) | Grimston, R. V. | Nall, Sir J. |
| Clarke, Colonel R. S. (E. Grinstead) | Guinness. T. L. E. B. | Neven-Spence, Major B. H. H. |
| Cobb, Captain E. C. (Preston) | Gunston, Capt. Sir D. W. | Nicolson, Hon. H. G. |
| Colfox, Major W. P. | Hannah, I. C. | Palmer, G. E. H. |
| Colville, Lt.-Col. Rt. Hon. D. J. | Hannon. Sir P. J. H. | Radford, E. A. |
| Craven-Ellis, W. | Harbord, A. | Raikes, H. V. A. M. |
| Croft, Brig.-Gen. Sir H. Page | Heilgers, Captain F. F. A. | Ramsay, Captain A. H. M. |
| Crooke, Sir J. S. | Hely-Hutchinson, M. R. | Rankin, Sir R. |
| Crookshank. Capt. H. F. C. | Higgs, W. F. | Rathbone, J. R. (Bodmin) |
| Cross. R. H. | Holmes, J. S. | Reed, A. C. (Exeter) |
| Crowder, J. F. E. | Horsbrugh, Florence | Rickards, G. W. (Skipton) |
| Ropner, Colonel L. | Storey, S. | Williams, H. G. (Croydon, S.) |
| Ross Taylor, W. (Woodbridge) | Strauss, H. G. (Norwich) | Wilson, Lt.-Col. Sir A. T. (Hitchin) |
| Rowlands, G. | Stuart, Hon. J. (Moray and Nairn) | Winterton, Rt. Hon. Earl |
| Royds, Admiral Sir P. M. R. | Thomas, J. P. L. | Womersley, Sir W. J. |
| Salmon, Sir I. | Wakefield, W. W. | Wragg, H. |
| Salt, E. W. | Wallace, Capt. Rt. Hon. Euan | Young, A. S. L. (Partick) |
| Savery, Sir Servington | Ward, Lieut.-Col. Sir A. L. (Hull) | |
| Scott. Lord William | Ward, Irene M. B. (Wallsend) | TELLERS FOR THE AYES.— |
| Simon, Rt. Hon. Sir J. A. | Watt, Major G. S. Harvie | Captain Hope and Captain |
| Southby, Commander Sir A. R. J. | Whiteley, Major J. P. (Buckingham) | Dugdale. |
| Spears, Brigadier-General E. L. | Wickham, Lt.-Col. E. T. R. | |
| NOES. | ||
| Adams, D. M. (Poplar, S.) | Jagger, J. | Silverman, S. S. |
| Alexander, Rt. Hon. A. V. (H'lsbr.) | Jones, A. C. (Shipley) | Smith, Ben (Rotherhithe) |
| Benn, Rt. Hon. W. W. | Kelly, W. T. | Smith, E. (Stoke) |
| Buchanan, G. | Logan, D. G. | Stephen, C. |
| Cocks, F. S. | Mathers, G. | Stewart, W. J. (H'ght'n-le-Sp'ng) |
| Ede, J. C. | Maxton, J. | Tomlinson, G. |
| Fletcher, Lt.-Comdr. R. T. H. | Noel-Baker, P. J. | Westwood, J. |
| Foot, D. M. | Pritt, D. N. | Wilkinson, Ellen |
| Greenwood, Rt. Hon. A. | Seely. Sir H. M. | |
| Harris, Sir P. A. | Sexton, T. M. | TELLERS FOR THE NOES.— |
| Mr. Tinker and Mr. Davidson. |
Question put, and agreed to.
§
Resolved,
That the Additional Import Duties (No. 10) Order, 1937, dated the fourteenth day of December, nineteen hundred and thirty-seven, made by the Treasury under the Import Duties Act, 1932, a copy of which was presented to this House on the said fourteenth day of December, nineteen hundred and thirty-seven, be approved.