THE HOUSING QUESTION 115 
“ That," said Dr. Addison, with indignation, “is why I 
resigned." 
" On the basis of the last Census returns, I calculated that our 
expenditure during the present year, on Army services alone, 
excluding Mesopotamia and Palestine, is costing each man, 
woman, and child in the country £i 19s. yd. ; the Navy services 
are costing £1 19s. zd. per head, and the Air Service 8s. 3d. 
“ These three together represent a contribution from the 
taxpayers, if the taxation were equally distributed, of £4 7s. 3d. 
Mesopotamia and Palestine add another ns. 2d. The subsidy 
on oats, all of which was used for animal food, represents a taxation 
per head of 5s. 
“ But the expenditure on new houses is 5s. 3d.—just 3d. more 
than horse oats—and the expenditure on slums works out at 
i£d. per head.” 
In the latest Housing debate in the House of 
Commons, on March 13th, 1922, the Minister, assailed 
by critics from both sides of the House, took refuge 
in a statement that the Government had never 
promised the houses ! 
Sir Alfred Mond : “ One of the largest parts of this Debate 
has been occupied with the question of housing. We have had 
many discussions on this subject since I have had the honour 
of holding my present position, and they have all run on somewhat 
similar lines, and to some extent have been subject to the same 
misconception. My attention has been called to what was stated 
in His Majesty’s Speech from the Throne upon the housing 
question. I have looked up that speech. It had been stated 
that the Government recommended that there was a need for 
500,000 houses, but the Government did not pledge themselves 
in that Speech to build that number of houses under the present 
scheme or under any other scheme. When the Hon. Member 
argues that the Government said that they would build 500,000 
houses at the taxpayers’ expense, I say that there is nothing in