The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-12-30

to 15s and 1ss. week. GA voice-'Shame ) Think of maintaining a family on that It was scandal. Before the war I was doing my best to create little disturb ance in this country to call attention to these wages and to try to get some means of raising them. Here comes this government In the middle of this great war we fix minimum wage for the agricultural laborer. We set up wages board to consider what he can live on; and these men in the south of England. who were getting 15s., 16s. or 17s. a week, are now getting between sos and 40s. week (Cheers)
 What else has this government of re- actionary lords done? We have the com pulsory cultivation of land which has not been properly used, which means that you have in legislation. for the first time, recognition of the principle thar land is not to be used at the whim of any individual. but is to be used for the benefit of the whole community. Then there was the question of the raising of rents during the war owing to the needs of the people. as during the Napo- leonic wars, when rents were doubled and treblsd because there was a shortage of corn.
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 That is not a bad record during two years of war. 1 challenge any man to go through any two years of government during the last 50 years and point to any two years that have been more fruit full than the last two years. Why do say this? Not In order to boast. but because 1t has bearing on the next five years. When you are asking who IS going to carry out this task. and who Is to carry these great social reforms which everybody Is agreed upon. I think it is necessary you should examine the record of those who are undertaking It. There are two distinct branches in the work that is awaiting the country One Is legislative, and the other is administra- tive, and of the two administration is going to play the greater .part. There must be legislation, but administration is more important Housng-the rehousing problem in this country is more admin istrative than 1t is legislative. Then there is health. The reorganization Of health in this country is problem Of administration. Transport-the transpor- tation problem is, in my Judgment, about the most important you can have. That
 is largely a question of administration, and don't forget that in the present government you have got the two or three m$n who reorganized the whole transpor- tation system behind the lines in France. Land settlement-that is question or administration: and the increase or pro- duction-all those who organized the output in this country for war are mem- bers of the present government.
 All those are questions of administra- ton, and that is why I am calling at tention to them The record of the ad- ministration alone shows, at any rate, whatever they may say about these men whom they are attacking in the admin istration, they are not afraid Of prog ress, whatever they were in the past. daughter and cheers.) Some of them were a little timid in the past, but l think the war has improved us all. If is has not-well, we have not got the quality for improvement. Naughter) We cannot be improved unless this war has improved us It is only bad metal that is no better when 1t is hammered, and the hammering of the last four or five years has made us better if we are good metal. Then there are the peo- pie who say: Your programme Is all right, we mean to help you carry it' but not only that-we do not quite trust you to carry it, and we want to go in in order to see that you carry II. When I think of the record of the men who want to be returned to Parliament to see that my colleagues and l do not slack, 1t fills me with amusement U,aughter)