The precincts of Parliament, empty for seven weeks past of all but the bored policeman, and, like school buildings in holiday ti ace of dreams amid the surrounding tremie, were alive and busy yesterday.' Numbers of Members arrived in London during the week fend, and the afternoon. was filled with preliminary Committee meet the Govern: ment iz fet fo be. approaching ihe cal tent of its "ablitien, Tt' was elected for two broad purposes—to arrest the ruinous "course of extravagance, and to devise pla for the revival. of national Pros: country gave it carte blanche. perity.. For' doth purposes "the
To some extent the first part of
complished. At least, British credit, the programme has been acstands higher to-day, in spite of the departure from gold, than perhaps that of any country. The heroism with which the nation accepted the War Loan Conversion was beyond praise: no one will ever know what real hardship this capital levy, for it was nothing else, inflicted in modest homes all over the country, but any of us could quote eases from per sonal experience. "Apart from. economies of thi kind, the honour of which is due to the nation, not to the Government, the report' of the Comptroller and Auditor-General shows that in the five months from the Government's taking office to March 1, 1932, there was a saving on civil appropriations of £203 millions.
This was a good start, but the back-benchers. Beonomy Committee Jaimed at £100,000,000 savings and the Ray Commission, 1 think, at There is tittle doubt that education Jeosts could be reduced, not merely without detriment, but. even advantage: for example, by making parents pay something, as until a few years ago they always did, and by raising the age of entry, which ix fa. year younger than that in any other country. The Ministry Transport, ix again. to be "tracked by Lord Buckmaster, ax more tha ence. before. Both generally recognised superfuities.
The Burden of Tax any substantial increase of would be a disaster of the first
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.