Parliament will be. prorogued on Monday or Tuesday at, the latest, and this, the first session of the present Parliament, will come to an end, I may as well sum up the Present position, The credit of the Government: never stood higher, and the policy of the Conservative Ministry has been both wise and tranquillizing. In Fofeign Affairs, there has been the Locarno Pact and the strengthening of the League of Nations, well as. the' efforts to adjust the Mosul difficulty with due regard to four sacrifices and commitments and our pacific attitude in the face of great exasperation in the Far East 'At home, the Government has adjusted the Trish issue with the Roodwill of all, has successfully endeavoured to" avert industrial' strife and has carried out changes in the time-honoured system of Local Self Government with a complete avoidance of Party feeling.
Trade is improving, there is less unemployment, housing is progressing so fast that not only are we building well up. to our normal standard in peace time, but we are overtaking arrears. 'The Government has, as a Party, maintained ity reputation for practical social reform by passing the new Insurance 'Act which will be a priceless boon to millions. It has tried to help' struggling undertakings by the! Safeguarding of Industries. proposals, and has stimulated sug beet growing to the inestimable advantage of agriculture, Special Interest in the Land The Government has indeed shown "its special sympathy with agrieulture; it has made very notable concessions in point of rating on the Rating and Valu; It excluded from the apers new Death Duties purely agricultural Jand; it passed the Allotments: Act, which can be regarded as the charter of allotment holders; it hax devoted large sums through the Road Fund to the assistance of country roads, and will probably do still more in this direction; it proposes next year to take steps to pass an. effective Merchandise Marks Bill aimed especially at the protection of agricultural produce, and it is endeavouring to grapple with the very serious problem of Foot and Mouth Disease and to promote both agricultural ce-operation andrew The Government has helped to bring into prosperity the artificial silk industry which is now, the second largest of its kind in the world, It has reduced taxation and it is striving to effect all possible national economies, and it has placed the nation on a sound financial basis, at a time when half the wa countries of the world are in a economic plight. In short, the Party stands on firm and solid ground. Do not pay credence to newspaper attacks which are often interested and motived. The _bye-elections show sustained confidence in a Ministry to which, apart from Socialism, there is no real alternative. its closing days Parliament passed the Finance Bi authorizing the safeguarding of industries proposals so far as they affect cutlery, gloves and gas mantles. There was good deal of Labour opposition, on the ground that it was the thin end of Protection, but there never was any difficulty about getting the measure through, save that there was a considerable waste of time. The opponents of the measure used the opportunity to obstruct it in every way, even turning up at the House with all kinds and types of knives for use in their arguments.
The Irish Settlement The Irish Settlement is now a fact; it has been accepted both by Ulster and by the Free State without any trouble, though there has deen a-certain amount of "hot ai jin the latter country. The onl curious result is a sort of "revolt" by the Ulster Special Constabulary, at apparently being thrown out of, work. They have cost Ulster about 7,000' sterling, and the country is no longer able to afford them. They fare now endeavouring to lay. down financial terms with the Government, and have even gone as far as ing some of the barracks Belfast where the officers were locked up. The incident, however, is officially without importance, yee the main police duties are carried out by the regular forees, and, there will be no real inconver ence. Probably, moreover, th Ulster Government will object to: being bullied.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.