THE  HOUSING  QUESTION

19

had  to  point  out  that  his  Report  could  bear  no  such
construction  as  had  been  placed  upon  it.  The  truth
has  a  way  of  coming  out  when  Government  Departments ­
  differ.
The  following  are  some  extracts  from  speeches  of
Ministers  and  supporters  of  the  Government  as  to
needs  :—
His  Majesty  King  George  V,  on  nth  April,  1919,  at
Buckingham  Palace  (this  speech  was,  of  course,  made
on  the  advice  of  his  Prime  Minister)  :—
"  I  am  informed  that  the  immediate  need  of  working-class
houses  for  England  and  Wales  alone  is  estimated  at  approximately
500,000.”
The  Prime  Minister,  in  the  House  of  Commons
21st  December,  1920  :—
“  At  least  500,000  houses  are  needed  to  supply  the  legitimate
demands  for  housing  in  this  country.”
Dr.  Addison  (Minister  of  Health),  at  Bishopsteignton,
1st  July,  1920  :—
“  800,000  houses  are  needed.”
Dr.  Macnamara,  Minister  of  Labour  (Oct.  nth,
1920,  quoted  in  the  Government  official  paper,
Housing):—
“  It  has  been  estimated  that  this  country  required  100,000
new  houses  every  year.  Therefore  the  war  left  us  with  a  shortage
of  half  a  million  houses.”
Major  (now  Lord)  Astor  (Parliamentary  Secretary
to  the  Ministry  of  Health),  on  7th  April,  1919,  at  the
Second  Reading  of  the  Housing  Bill:—