Rulers of the British Empire
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RULERS OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE The following atudy8i8 of th~ me-n wllO rule the Bri,tish Empi'r~ ull~overs the bad'ground and interrelationship of ~ ez-pone·nt8 ai' the Chamberlai11s, Baldwin, Eden, and Churchill and provides valuable information Ot~ the mmmer in which British leadership i~ formed and maintained. The material for this article wall laken from Brittlll' §ourcell and edited by K. H. AbBhagen, a 8pUiali.8t 1m British affairs.-K.M. N December 10,1900, the Hon. Mem family held shares to a total value of £121,000 ber for Carnarvon Borough, a young in this company, which had received a large O hot-blooded lawyer with a shock of number of orders to equip the docks of black hair, rose to his feet in order to dis Her Majesty's Navy. close to the House some facta which were to shake the British social structure to its PROFITABLE PRISON CAMPS foundations. This young M.P. from Wales, whose name was David Lloyd George, was Excitement in the House rose to a high at that time almost unknown in the political pitch after these disclosures, for Joseph world. What he had to say was the follow. Chamberlain and his whole family were in ing. those days the central figures in Britain's political life. His biographer writes that As fa.r as he had been able to ascertain, the Secretary of State for the Colonies lis the Right Hon. gentleman, Mr. Joseph tened to this attack with a stoical mien. But Chamberlain, Secretary of State for the Lloyd George was not to be disconcerted. Colonies, as well as the Hon. Member for He proceeded to speak of a third company East Worcestershire, his son Mr. Austen in which the Chamberlain family was in Chamberlain, Financial Secretary to the terested and which was receiving Govern. Treasury, were shareholders in three com· ment orders, curiollS orders, indeed, as it panies which in the course of the Boer War transpired later. He was referring to the had amassed huge profits from Government Colombo Commercial Company, a speculative contracts for armaments by cutting out all concern dealing in miscellaneous merchandise ot.her competitors. The first of these com in Ceylon. In the BoerWar, Lord Roberts had panies was known 'as Hoskins & Sons, Ltd. taken many thousands of prisoners in 1899 Lloyd George was in a position to inform and 1900. They had at first been deported the House that this firm, which handled to St. Helena and subsequently to Ceylon Admirn.lty contracts exclusively, was owned on instructions from the Secretary of State alm08t entirely by the Chamberlain family. for the Colonies, the most pressing problem The second firm was the Birmingham Trust, being to accommodate these prisoners in which the family of the Secretary of in Ceylon by building barracks for them. State for the Colonies had invested £67,000. In August 1900, the Ceylon Ob8c'rver stated The Birllliugham Trust was a holding com· that HI iron barracks for soldiers and 30 pany incorporating two other armament for Boer prisoners had already been Pllt lip fnctories, namely, Tubes Limited and Elliot's by the Colombo Commercial Company, and 'Metal Company. Tubes LU1. was owned that more would follow. by ]\{r, Arthur Chamberlain, brother of the Secretary of State for the Colonies, who It was an awkward fact, Lloyd George held 74,800 shares in this concern. Mr. said in his speech, but a fact which could Neville Chamberlain, second son of the not be concealed, that the Chamberlain Secreta.ry of St.ate for the Colonies, was the family were among the leading shareholders managing director of Elliot's l\letal Company. of this company. "r eaJlJlot conceive a Theso two armament factories had, as Lloyd more unfortunate investment at the present George showed, made substantial profits in moment than an investment in making past years by very favorable contract,s with prisons for the Boers. .. ." the Admiralty. As far as Elliot's Metal Lloyd George concluded by saying that Company was concerned, Lloyd George was the Chamberlain family was, moreover, in· able to point out that t,he Chamberlain terested to the extent of £250,000 in the RULERS OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE 7. Kynoch Company Ltd. This oompany was The eecond War Cabinet, formed in May what was popularly caned a. munitions 1915, had already included ConservativC8 factory; unfortunately it could not be denied as members of the Coalition Government. that this munitions factory, which was Except for the first MacDonald Cabinet larRely controlled by the Chamberlain family, (January to November 1924) and the second bail made very substantial profits during Labor Cabinet (July 1929 to August 1931) the Boer War, chiefly because it was in the Conservatives, led by Bonar Law, Stanley the favorable position of being able to Baldwin, and finally Neville Chamberlain, realize considerably higher prices for its have thus been in power without a break. products than those concerns unconnected 10 the present Parliament they hold 415 of with governmental circles. some 600 seats As the Opposition ill in a hopeless minority, these 415 men and women A MOTION REJEOTED are the virtual representatives of the Britisb people. Who are they? The main purpose of the sweeping attack on the Cha.mbcrlain family by Lloyd George DmEOTORS IN PARLL\l'tIENT W88 to persuade the House to accept It. Bill • . prohibiting Cabinet Ministers from holding The answer to this question was given ill shares in complLnies which dealt in Govern•. a book by Simon Haxey entitled Tory M.P., ment contracts. The motion was rejected which appeared in London in August 1939. by 269 to 127 votes. Its author, or authors-for it is assumed in In defending thelD8Olv08 against the weD· competent quarters that two well.lfflown substantiated accusations brought forward members of the House of Commonsbave by Lloyd George, the two members of the hidden their identity behind the non" do plume of Simon Haxey-havo based:J;heir Chamberlain family were only able to reo statidti~ taliate by weak and unconvincing state· analysis on oarefully collected menU!. And yet an .overwhelming majority material. No serious attempt has ever-boon in the House had immediately rallied round made to dispute the accuracy of the ftwts the cause of the Chamberlain family. The contained in this book. attaok by the Welsh outsider, it was felt, bad According to Haxey, 44 per cent of *hcse been dirc<:ted against tho whole caste, and 415 Conservative Members of Parliament had therefore to be countered by the demo· Le., 181-are managing directors or diro~tors cratic men.'Jure of a majority vote. No sueh of large British stock or trading compiinies. direct attack has ever been made again in Together, these 181 members hold no less the House, not even by the Labor Party. than 775 posts as managing direc~s or Today, Lloyd George himself may look back directors in 700 of the leading bank~, in· Upo/l this illcident as one of his youthful dustrial enterprises, shipping companies, and • escapades. But actually it was this debate overseas trading concerns. In other words, in Parliament in 1900 which first exposed the British Parliament, which is ruled by the roots of that system from which Britain's the C-ousorvativ08, proves, on closer examina· ruling classcs derived their power and sus· tion, to be the representative not of the tenance. Politically speaking, Britain is British nation but of thc most powerful Parliament, and Parliament, in its tum, capitalist interest.~ ever concentrated in one elects tbe Cabinet. But what is Parliament? country-except Wall Street. If we include in our calculation all those Mpnl bers of TOltY DOMINION Parliament who are not directors themselves Except for two short periods, the Con· but whoac brothers, sons, or sons-in-law Ilervat,ives have been in power in the House occupy important business posts, we may of Commons since the resignation of Lloyd well estimate that almost 80 per cent of all George's War Cabinet. Tho acccssion to the Conservative Members of Parliament are power of the Labor Party in 1924 and 1929 directly or indirectly linked with Big Busi ness. Politicalleadenlhip and financial aris meant nothing but 11 brief interregnum. This was termina.ted by Ramsay MacDonald tocracy are thus identical ill Brita·in. having fallen prey to the wiles of the ruling lt must be noted that it was impossible caste; for a few years he remained in Downing to inelude cases in which M.P.'s /l,re share Street u.s a puppet of the National Coalition holders in "private oompanies," i.e. enter· Government, whereas in reality the Consen'& prises which are not registered as publio tives governed the land and reoccupied thpir companies, although in some cases they may lucrative posts. enjoy an international reputat,ion; in all 80 THE XXth CENTURY probability these cases amount to several While he was Prime Minister, an exchange of hundreds. shares took place which closely linked up Unfortunately, no statistics are available Baldwin's Limited with the Vickers Arm ~trong conce~, to assess the total capital of the companies .the leading armament factory whose managers and directors are at present 1D Great Bfltam. As Earl Baldwin and a Members of Parliament. Such a calculation Member of the House of Lords, he was again e:\ists, however, for the period from 1924 able to act -as a. director of his company. to 1929, when there was a large Conservative The net profit of Baldwin's Limited amounted majority. During that time, 1,160 com in 1932 to £530,000, and it increased t() panies (including subsidiary companies) were £1,500,000 in 1938.