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were: Sir Eric Geddes, Lord Inchcape, Lord Faringdon, Sir J. P. Maclay and Sir Guy Granet. The savings recommended in this report totalled 75,061,8751. towards the 100,000,0001. which the Chancellor of the Exchequer asked the Committee to find, in addition to the savings of 75,000,000l. suggested by the departments. The report showed that the Committee had gone with great thoroughness into the expenditure of the departments, but it reiterated again and again that the detailed economies suggested were not exhaustive, and that the recommendations gave the minimum economies which should be made. Savings to the following amounts were recommended:

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The recommendations included the creation of a Ministry of Defence to co-ordinate the three fighting services and prevent overlapping and duplication. Economies suggested in the Navy affected altogether 35,000 officers and men. Work in the Royal Dockyards should be greatly reduced, and a judicious substitution of air power should further reduce Navy estimates. As regards the Army, a reduction of 50,000 officers and men was recommended. Increases made in auxiliary services were to be drastically reduced. As regards the Air Force, units allotted to Navy and Army should be reduced by 83 squadrons. Economies were suggested in administration and policy, and a reduction of the provision for reconditioning of old machines and purchase

of new ones.

As regards education, the Report recommended the exclusion from school of children under six. The cost of teaching should be brought down and an alteration made in the grant system. State-aided or free secondary education for a class that could afford to pay should be reviewed. Free secondary education was not to be seriously reduced, but to be confined to children whose mental calibre justified it and whose parents could not afford to pay for it. The superannuation of teachers was to be put on a contributory basis. Turning to health and housing, the Report recommended a vigorous policy of sale of subsidised houses, a revision of burdens of the National Health Insurance scheme to reduce the liability of the State, and a limit to the expenditure on tuberculosis, maternity, and child welfare. As regards unemployment, it was proposed that a Committee of experts should be appointed to simplify the Unemployment Insurance scheme, amalgamating Unemployment and Health

Insurance cards, records, and, as far as possible, administration, and exploring the possibility of developing Unemployment Insurance by industries. The abolition of Employment Exchanges and the Ministry of Labour was also suggested for consideration. As regards pensions, Old Age Pensions could not be altered until 1923, but reductions might be made in the Ministry of Pensions, both as regards Parents' Pensions and administration, without inflicting undue hardship.

The proposals further included the abolition of the Ministry of Transport and the transference of its functions to the Board of Trade. The Road Department and Electricity Commissioners were also to come under the President of the Board of Trade. The abolition of the Overseas Trade Department was recommended. The Mines Department and Petroleum Department were similarly to be discontinued. It was stated that economies could be effected in connexion with surveys of ships and general registered shipping, so that in future these services should be placed on a self-supporting basis. Dealing with agriculture and fisheries, the amount for this service was to be reduced from 364,760l. to 250,000l., the system of percentage grants being abolished. Economies were recommended in expenditure on reduction of disease, improvement of livestock, and lighthorse breeding. In view of the costliness of land settlement under the Act of 1919, further acquisition of land was to be restricted as far as possible to holdings that could be provided on an economic basis. The total expenditure under this heading was to be limited to 17,000,000l. instead of 20,000,0001. In Scotland the cost of education and research was to be reduced by 50,000l., and land settlement was to be kept within the limit of 3,000,000l. instead of 3,500,000l. The Scheme of afforestation by the State was to be discontinued, the vote of 275,000l. for the ensuing year to be disallowed, and steps taken to cancel the power to spend the remaining 2,822,000l. of the total of 3,500,000l. authorised under the Forestry Act, 1919.

Turning to the police, the Report recommended the discontinuance of the percentage grant system. An immediate investigation was to be undertaken of the strength of all Police Forces in England and Wales, and economies were to be effected forthwith in connexion with the Metropolitan Police totalling 700,000l. The obligation to pay the Metropolitan Police scale of remuneration in County and Borough Police Forces was to be cancelled. Immediate economies were recommended in connection with County and Borough Police Forces corresponding with those in the Metropolitan Force, reducing the estimates by 1,687,5007. Similar recommendations were made with regard to the Scottish Police Forces. Reductions were recommended in the number of warders in prisons and reformatories, and also in cost of maintenance. The Report stated that the cost per head in reformatories and industrial

schools had risen unreasonably, and recommended the closing of certain schools.

This Report was no sooner published than the Admiralty issued a critical reply to that section of it which dealt with the Navy. In this reply the Board of Admiralty recognised that the Report contained several valuable suggestions, but affirmed that its major recommendations were based on a serious misconception of the character and requirements of our experience in the late war. The misconception was so complete as greatly to diminish the value of the Report as the basis of practicable suggestions for economy. The very large reduction proposed by the Committee in the Navy estimates could not actually be carried out without affecting naval policy, and the Admiralty considered that even if viewed in the most liberal and unpractical light, the recommendations would not achieve a reduction of more than 14,000,000l. The other 7,000,000l. had no other apparent foundation than the general desire to obtain a striking result. In regard to the question of manning, the Admiralty stated that the Geddes Committee had never grasped the essential requirements of the system which they criticised. Having started on a wrong basis, the Committee had fallen into almost every possible error in the series of calculations, leading them to the conclusion that only 86,000 men were required for the service of the fleet. Relying on agreements entered into at Washington, the Admiralty had themselves proposed large reductions, and they believed that these alternative reductions, amounting to a total very little short of the quite unsubstantial round figure asked for by the Committee, would prove greater than could have been actively secured under the recommendations of the Committee.

The Geddes Report and the reply of the Admiralty were discussed in Parliament on February 13, and the discussion will be dealt with later.

The King opened the new session of Parliament on February 7. In his Speech he referred to the Disarmament Conference at Washington, saying that a Treaty had been designed to maintain peace in the Pacific, signed by the representatives of the British Empire, the United States, France, and Japan, and was awaiting ratification. Agreement had also been reached on the question of disarmament, and a Treaty had been signed providing a large measure of relief from the burden of armaments. The problem of securing the payment of reparations by Germany in the manner most conformable to the general interest was engaging the continuous consideration of the Government and our Allies. The German Government had themselves submitted proposals which were now under consideration. Discussions had recently been initiated, and were now proceeding, between the British Government and the Governments of France and Belgium with a view to the conclusion of agreements for common action in the event of un

provoked attack by Germany. Referring to the estimates, the King's Speech said that every effort had been made to reduce public expenditure to the lowest possible limit, regard being had alike to the security and efficiency of the State, to public obligations, and to the necessity of relieving our citizens to the utmost extent from the burdens which now rested heavily on them. Retrenchment upon so great a scale must necessarily involve hardship to individuals and postponement of public hopes, but in a time of great industrial depression such as that through which the world was at present passing, it was a necessity of the situation that economy should be practised by all and in every direction. The Speech then went on to sketch a programme of legislation for the coming session. A Bill would be submitted at an early date to give effect to the Irish Agreement, and a Bill of Indemnity would also be introduced. Reference was made to the great and continued volume of unemployment. The only remedy for this distressing situation was to be found in the appeasement of international rivalries and suspicions, and in the improvement of the conditions under which trade was carried on all over the world. Proposals would be submitted for the reform of the House of Lords, and for the adjustment of differences between the two Houses. Among other Bills to be introduced was one for establishing a new International Trade Corporation, one to enable the Government to give effect to the policy of co-operation in Empire settlement and migration, one to amend the Criminal Law Amendment Acts, and one relating to allotments.

In the House of Commons speeches on the Address were delivered by Sir Donald Maclean on behalf of the Free Liberals, and by Mr. Clynes for the Labour Party. The former was in favour of a General Election as soon as possible, but the latter made it clear that the Labour Party shrank from taking over the reins of government in the present state of affairs at home and abroad.

In reply Mr. Lloyd George declared that, if the Labour Party did not want the Government to go, the whole value of their criticism was destroyed. Turning to the policy of the Government with regard to France, he affirmed that it was one of friendship and co-operation in the interests of peace. Friendship did not mean subordination or subservience; it meant candour and co-operation for common ends. Their purposes were alike although their methods might not always agree. He doubted whether even Germany would regard the pact with France with an unfriendly eye. France felt that she was isolated. The pact would give her confidence and calmness, and calm judgment was vital in the present disturbed state of the world. On the other hand, there was a danger that the young people of Germany would be brought up with thoughts of vengeance and of recovering her position and prestige. Mr. Lloyd George said that he was trying to deal seriously with a

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very serious problem. Germany must be made to feel that such a policy would not pay, that a war of revenge would bring not merely France but other lands in as well. Moreover, this was an undertaking given at Versailles to counteract the policy of those who advocated the annexation of territory on the left bank of the Rhine, which would have been disastrous to the peace of Europe.

The Prime Minister concluded his speech by referring to Egypt, India, and Ireland. On Egypt he spoke with reserve, having regard to the approaching conversations with Lord Allenby. Complete self-determination could not be accorded without reference to external conditions. Egypt was the corridor country to India, the highway between the Eastern and Western parts of the Empire. Over a million troops from Australia, India, and New Zealand passed through Egypt during the war, and if it had been an independent country it would have been overrun by Turkish armies led by Germans. It had also to be remembered what Great Britain had done for the prosperity of Egypt, and that the British arms and name over Egypt had given every one who went there a sense of complete security. Referring to the procedure on Ireland, he said that legislation would be introduced to frame the constitution of the Free State and to equip the Provisional Government with the necessary authority to carry on the government of the country in the meantime. It might be found desirable to seek the opinion of the Irish people upon the Treaty, and the body which would be elected would be a provisional assembly which would create the Constitution. He appealed to the House not to take too serious a view of the difference of opinion between Sir James Craig and Mr. Collins. The question of boundaries could only arise a month after the Act of Constitution had been passed. Why take up a quarrel that had not yet arisen? Answering questions, the Prime Minister said that the Government proposed to advance two millions to Austria out of the balance of ten millions already voted for Central Europe.

On February 8 news arrived of the crossing of the Ulster frontier by armed men from the South, and of the attacks upon leading citizens which have already been described. During the debate on the Address Captain Craig referred to this incident, and warned the Government of the possibility of a long-drawn-out war over the boundary dispute between North and South. Territory, he said, might be exchanged by agreement, but Ulster would never agree to the loss of any portion of her territory without her consent. Mr. Chamberlain, in reply, said that immediately on the receipt of the news the Government had sent telegrams to the officer commanding the troops in Ireland, ordering him to give all necessary aid to the Northern Government in defence of the Northern boundaries, and to ask for reinforcements if necessary, and to Mr. Collins as head of the Provisional Government, informing him that the

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