But it must not be assumed that the whole House
is confident about the future. There are misgivings in several quarters, especially among the Liberal Opposition and the left wing of the Conservative Party. The critics share the views of the Manchester Guardian and, to some extent, of Mr. Keynes. They feel that the Chancellor has taken the line of least resistance, and has merely postponed the problem instead of grappling with it now. In particular, they find it almost impossible to believe that voluntary savings will prove anything like adequate to fill the gap between the proceeds of taxation and the cost of the war. Of course, they are unable to estimate the value of the new purchase tax, but, although it is no doubt a valuable contribution, to suggest that it provide i a solution in itself would clearly be absurd. Maybe not much will be heard of these objections in the coming debates on the Budget Resolutions and the Finance Bill. As far as is known, neither of the Opposition parties is yet prepared finally, to commit itself in favour either of the Keynes scheme or of any concrete alternative. Mr. Attlee, it is true, had a few words to say on the subject of a capital levy, but it is doubtful whether even he and his followers believe that it could be imposed within the finan- cial year that is now beginning. Sir Archibald Sinclair drew an alarming comparison between Germany's war expenditure and our own, and spoke of the need for raising the country's production to the highest possible level, and, on the other hand, severely limiting its consumption. But it will probably be some little time yet before the party banners are nailed to any particular fiscal masts.
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