THE  HOUSING  QUESTION

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that  Speech  to  warrant  any  statement  of  that  kind.  I  defy
anybody  to  find  anywhere  a  statement  that  the  Government  said
that  they  would,  regardless  of  expense  and  regardless  of  national
finance,  build  500,000  houses.  .  .
Let  us  refer  to  the  Second  Reading  debate  of  the
Housing  Bill,  1919.  Dr.  Addison,  the  then  Minister
of  Health,  speaking  for  the  Coalition  Government,  of
which  Sir  Alfred  Mond  was  a  member,  and  therefore
equally  responsible  with  Dr.  Addison  himself,  said:—
“  .  .  .  We  propose  that  our  financial  assistance,  to  which  I
will  refer  in  detail,  shall  extend  not  only  to  the  provision  of  new
houses  on  cleared  ground,  but  to  schemes  undertaken  in  slum
areas,  or  with  regard  to  unsatisfactory  houses.
“  The  power  is  asked  where  a  local  authority  defaults  to  either
prepare  a  scheme  or  build  the  houses  ourselves,  and  if  that  were
the  conduct  of  an  Oriental  potentate,  I  daresay  we  should  have
less  trouble  in  the  East.  Let  us  come  to  the  proceedings  of  the
Industrial  Conference  the  other  day  and  what  did  they  say  ?
In  the  Report  signed  by  both  employers  and  employed,  that
conference,  on  page  9,  contains  the  following  :—'  In  order  to
meet  the  present  crisis,  the  Committee  recommend  that  the
Government  should  without  delay  proceed  with  a  comprehensive
housing  programme.  .  .  .  The  Committee  urge  that  where
the  local  authorities  fail  to  utilise  their  powers  to  provide  suitable
housing  accommodation  the  Local  Government  Board  should
take  the  necessary  steps  for  the  erection  of  suitable  houses  in
the  area  of  the  authority,  and  special  powers  if  necessary  to
compel  authorities  to  act  in  accordance  with  the  housing  needs
of  the  district.’  That  is  exactly  what  is  in  the  Bill.”
“  That  is  exactly  what  is  in  the  Bill  !  "  There  is  the
whole  thing  in  a  nutshell.  The  Bill,  said  Dr.  Addison
and  the  Government,  proposed  to  carry  out  a  “  com-