14 MAY 1925
The death of Lord Milner was announced.
In the House of Lords, Earl Buxton asked whether the reports upon slavery which the Secretary for Foreign Affairs undertook to call for in 1923 had yet been received, and whether the League of Nations had asked for information. Viscount Cecil replied that, while the Government were anxious to carry forward to the utmost of their power the suppression of slavery, the situation had undoubtedly been modified by the fact that the League had undertaken to make inquiries into the subject. The Government would act with and through the League of Nations.
The Rating and Valuation Bill, the main objects of which are to simplify the method of making and collecting rates and to promote uniformity in valuation, passed second reading in the House of Commons.
The Earl of Oxford and Asquith, who received the Freedom of the City of London, replying to the toast of his health proposed by the Prime Minister, referred to the innate generosity of the English people and English politicians.
Mr Churchill, who was the guest of the British Bankers’ Association, said the prolongation of the embargo on the export of gold would have been taken in every part of the world as a mark of weakness in our financial system. He also spoke on pensions in their relation to industry, and appealed for a strong public opinion to support the Government in combating the upward pressure of expenditure.
A monument has been unveiled at Chanak Fair to the memory of the New Zealand troops who fell in Gallipoli.
At the Canadian shipping inquiry, Mr Preston was cross-examined regarding statements made in his report alleging unfair discrimination against Canadian ports by the steamship combine in the North Atlantic. There were several lively passages with counsel.