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Events beyond any one man's control which made this Conservative victory possible included the Labor Cabinet's split, the Naval mutiny and sterling's slide off gold—but it was the Conservative Party machine, reorganized, conciliated within itself and tuned up by Neville Chamberlain which all over England turned the Labor enemy's defeat into a rout. That rout was the reason why the 1932-33 Budget of His Majesty's Exchequer was presented to the House of Commons last week by Rt. Hon. Arthur Neville Chamberlain as Chancellor.
The Budget. Promptly at 3:21 p. m. Edward of Wales, having climbed the narrow stair in the House of Commons to the Peers' gallery, entered smiling and took the seat from which H. R. H. hears all budget speeches, the seat directly behind the clock.
Below on the oblong floor of the House, which is a great Gothic box, crisp English primroses bloomed in the buttonholes of scores of M. P.s, for Budget Day had happened to fall on "Primrose Day."** On the Government front bench sat snowy-crested Scot MacDonald between the Empire's two biggest bumblers, Stanley Baldwin, Lord President of the Council, and James Henry ("Jim") Thomas, Secretary of State for the Dominions. Exactly at 3:30 p. m. Chancellor Chamberlain rose, ruffled his notes, took a stiff stance beside the red leather despatch box and, before he began to make his budget speech, cast a quick glance up at the packed public galleries.
Speaking as usual without effort or gestures, Mr. Chamberlain took his time, began with a tribute to his famed predecessor Viscount Snowden of Ickornshaw, a choleric Free Trader who attacks the present Chancellor's tariff policies on any & every occasion. With the Olympian condescension of a Chamberlain, the new Chancellor declared last week: "Lord Snowden's last budget is a model example of secure but sound and sane finance. We are now £9,000,000 better off than Lord Snowden anticipated."
In one respect Chancellor Snowden erred conspicuously last year, overestimated by £18,000,000 the revenue from estate duties. To this error (resulting from the fact that an unusually small number of rich men died during the year) Chancellor Chamberlain alluded by making the only joke in his budget speech. "I am reminded," said he stroking his mustache, "of that story concerning the Peninsular War, the story of the General who saw his troops hesitate to charge and encouraged them by exclaiming, 'You don't want to live forever, do you?' "
This joke the House of Commons received at first in dead silence. Suddenly, after a lapse of perhaps 45 seconds, the Englishmen, Scotsmen and Welshmen present saw the joke and roared. Chancellor Chamberlain, his stern features relaxing in a smile of pleasure, got down to business.