London, Feb. 14. HE debate in the House of Commons to-day, which resulted in the victory of the Government by an emphatic majority, has provided the climax to a ten days' crisis, Apparently, the scales of relief, published last December and put into force by the Unemployment Assistance Board under the new arrangement whereby relief has been taken out of the hands of the local] authorities, have given widespread disa faction according to a United Press message.
On February 6, there was a disturbance of the unemployed at Sheffield.
On February 8, a special cable to this journal announced that the Trade Union Congress and the Labour Party together were organizing demonstrations against the new scheme, which, it was asserted, inflated to the maximum the income taken into account and reduced to a minimum the amounts of assistance paid to the applicants. On February 9, the Government issued a statement to the effect that the unemployment relief adjustments would cost the Exchequer +£5,000,000 annually.
Presumably by some error which After discussion, the motion was has not been exactly explained oF defeated by 374 votes to 68.
Identified, there was such a serious miscalculation in the seales that the Incompetence Alleged Government were impelled to bring delivering his attack, Mr. Ina Bill to suspend the operation Lansbury said that they were charg-fof the Unemployment Act under ing the Government with. incom-which the Unemployment Assistance potence. Everything that had hap. Board operates in order. to give ened, he suid, had been foretold by temporary relief pending the neces members of the Labour Party. sary readjustments and revision of He criticized the "atrocious house. the scales. hold "means test" and declared This naturally evoked strong cut angrily that if Mr. Ramsay Mac-Jism among the ranks of the oppost-Donald repeated certain statements tion and precipitated a Cabinet which bad been circulated about him, crisis, "coinciding with the Govern he would publish certain confidential ment's loss of a seat at Wavertree, owing to the split in the Conserva At this foncture, Mr. tive vote by the intrusion of Mr. Th ornas, Secrtary of Randolph Churchill and the oceurrence of a financial crash on the Baltic Exchange in consequence of the failure of a big firm engaged in the peanut trade, pepper and copra being. also involved.
These complications gave rise to uneasiness for the Government position. The Rothermere press helped to accentuate the crisis by jubilation over Mr. Randolph Churchill's successful sabotage, which was attributed to the "Dally Mal attacks on the India Bill
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.