By Press Release
The Isle of Wight Observer published on 27th June 1914 carried the following report. It seems that it is not a new thing for governments to make mistakes. Herbert Henry Asquith was Prime Minister at the time, the reference to the G.O.M. is to William Gladstone, who was 1Prime Minister for 12 years, spread over four non-consecutive terms (the most of any British prime minister) beginning in 1868 and ending in 1894.
Result of the Bungle
The trouble over the Finance Bill has proved more serious than was anticipated, and the net result of the bungling is that the local authorities will have to go another twelve months without the promised grants-in-aid. By this means, therefore, something like 2½ millions is at the disposal of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and at the time of writing there is a very pronounced feeling in the Liberal Party that, instead of again tinkering with the income tax, Mr Lloyd George should devote this sum to the repeal of the sugar duty.
Apart from the pleasant vision of “the free breakfast table” evoked thereby, another of Mr Gladstone’s suggestions comes to mind – the manufacture of jam by distressed agriculturists. The farmer of the day is in a decidedly better financial position than when the G.O.M. was his guide, philosopher and friend. But a remission of the sugar tax means a much cheaper and better supply of this particular food, and the possibilities for poor folk to preserve fruit on a much more extended scale.