A COURAGEOUS SPEECH.

On this question of the women’s benefit one of the most courageous speeches of the day came from Major Nall, who drew attention to the absurdity of only giving the head of a family a few shillings more unemployment allowance than a single woman. He said that there were hundreds of women and girls only too willing to laze at 12s a week, while middle-class women are totally unable to get domestic help, and are breaking down in health in large numbers under the strain. This is about the first time that any member has had the courage to stand up in these debates and utter a word of sympathy with middle-class households, which cannot get servants, and Major Nall will certainly receive the gratitude of those who feel that it is monstrously unfair that they should be taxed to keep in idleness able-bodied women for whom there is domestic work in abundance. They will not take it, however, and now that their allowances are raised to 16s they will be more obstinate in their refusal than ever. When Major Nall uttered this protest on behalf of the long rows of servantless houses in every industrial town he was greeted with mocking laughter from the Labour benches, and one or two members shouted that it would do middle-class women good to do their own work. Mr Will Thorne was specially scornful of their woes.

There was manifestly a strong feeling in the House in favour of differentiation as against flat rates, but the difficulties are very great, and though the official amendment of Mr Clynes emphasised the principle of differentiation, Mr Barnes pointed out that it was not in accordance with the practice of the trade unions, for they always insist that benefit shall be in strict proportion to contribution. There were some dissenting cries, but he stuck to his point, and he was not seriously challenged.