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Churchill, Hoare, Derby, and the Committee of Privileges, April to June 1934

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 February 2009

Carl Bridge
Carl Bridge
Affiliation:
Flinders University of South Australia
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Type
Communications
Information
The Historical Journal , Volume 22 , Issue 1 , March 1979 , pp. 215 - 227
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1979

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References

1 Committee of privileges report (Parl. Paper, 1933–4, vIII); Amery, L. S., My political life (London, 1955), 111, 102–3Google Scholar; Nine troubled years (London, 1954), pp. 91–9Google Scholar; James, R. R., Churchill: a study in failure, 1900–39 (London, 1970 edn), pp. 269–72Google Scholar; Ghosh, S. C., Decision-making and power in the British Conservative party (Calcutta, 1972), ch. ixGoogle Scholar; Pelling, H., Churchill (London, 1974), pp. 357–63Google Scholar.

2 Amery, Life, 111, 102–3; Hoare, Nine troubled years, p. 94; James, Churchill, p. 269.

3 Gilbert, M., Winston S. Churchill (London, 1976), v, ch. 28Google Scholar.

4 The most important sources I have used are: the Templewood collection, India Office Library, London; the Templewood papers, Cambridge University Library; the Manchester chamber of commerce minute books, Manchester Public Library; and the papers of the 17th earl of Derby, Liverpool Record Office. The Churchill, Amery and Salisbury papers were closed to me, though I have used Gilbert's chapter which is based on them.

5 Drummond, I. M., British economic policy and the Empire, 1900–1939 (London, 1972), ch. ivGoogle Scholar; and Bagchi, A. K., Private capital investment in India, 1900–1939 (Cambridge, 1972), ch. 7CrossRefGoogle Scholar. Also see Dewey's, C. excellent unpublished paper on the convention, ‘The end of free trade imperialism: the concession of fiscal autonomy to India’, Institute of commonwealth studies, 25 02 1974Google Scholar.

6 See MCC min. books, 1931–3, esp. the separately bound India section volume for 1933. The early activities of the cotton trade league are chronicled in the Manchester Guardian, 10 Jan. and 12 Apr. 1933.

7 Churchill to Hoare, 15 APR. 1934, Templewood papers, VII: 3; Churchill to Derby, 15 Apr. 1934, Derby papers. As a peer Derby could not be charged directly by the Commons but he could be called upon as a witness. The findings of the Commons might then lead to action in the Lords, The times, 18 Apr. 1934, and Hailsham's speech, Lords debates, 25 Apr. 1934.

8 Commons debates, 16 Apr. 1934.

9 Ibid.

10 Respectively, R. MacDonald, S. Baldwin, Sir T. Inskip, Sir A. Chamberlain, Lord Hugh Cecil, Sir I. MacPherson, Col. Spender-Clay, C. Attlee, A. Greenwood and Sir H. Samuel. Cecil sympathized with Churchill's India views.

11 The Times, 17, 18 and 20 Apr. 1934.

12 Daily Telegraph, 9 June 1934.

13 Taylor, A. J. P. (ed.), Lloyd George: a diary by Frances Stevenson (London, 1971), entry for 14 04, pp. 268–9Google Scholar. The date is wrong, the events are those of the 16th. Taylor mentions the prevalence of such slips in his introduction, p. xi.

14 Halifax to Lord Brabourne, governor of Bombay, 23 Apr. 1934, Brabourne collection, India Office Library, F. 97/17B.

15 Davidson to Brabourne, 25 Apr. 1934, Davidson papers, Bodleian Library, Oxford, c. 561, fo. 74.

18 Privileges report (P.P. 1933–1994, viii), 13Google Scholar.

17 Hoare to Bond, 5 May 1933, Bond to Hoare, 12 Apr. 1933, copies in India ex. mins., 9 May 1933, MCC min. books.

18 India ex. mins., 11 Apr. and 9 May 1933, and bd. of directors mins., 19 May 1933, MCC min. books. The MCC's joint committee evidence statement is in the Derby papers.

19 Derby to Streat, 10, 12, 18 and 27 Apr., 2 May 1933, Streat to Derby, 13 Apr. 1933, Derby papers.

20 Derby to Hoare, 25 May 1933; Hoare to Derby, 27 and 30 May 1933, Streat to Derby, 26 May 1933; Derby to Streat, Barlow, etc., 7 June 1933, ibid.

21 Derby to Streat, 2 May and 23 June 1933; a copy of the evidence was enclosed in Streat to Derby, 23 June 1933, ibid.

22 Streat to Derby, 24 June 1933, ibid.

23 Hoare admitted receiving the evidence précis from Derby before the 27 June dinner, ‘Committee of privileges: précis of third day's evidence’, 30 Apr. 1934, 6–7, Templewood collection, E. 240/73.

24 India ex. mins., 4 July 1933, MCC min. books.

25 Privileges report (P.P. 1933–1934, VIII), 14Google Scholar.

26 Streat to Derby, 3 and 7 July 1933; Derby to Streat, 10 and 13 July 1933; Derby to W. D. Croft, 10 July 1933; Derby to Sir W. Clare-Lees and to Hoare, 22 July 1933; Derby papers. India section mins., 2 Aug. 1933, MCC min. books.

27 Hoare to Derby, 17 and 21 July 1933, Derby papers.

28 Derby to Streat, 19 July 1933, ibid. This is the first in a numbered series of 24 letters which Derby submitted to the committee of privileges on 12 June 1934. Hereafter if the letters appear in this series I shall cite their number in the footnote thus: Derby to Streat, 19 July 1933, no. 1.

29 Derby to Streat, 26 and 28 July, 3 and 9 Aug. 1933, nos. 3, 4, 6 and 8; Streat to Derby, 20 and 21 July, 8 and 12 Aug. 1933, nos. 2, 5, 7 and 9; Derby to Hoare, 22 July 1933, Hoare to Derby, 24 July 1933, Derby to Kershaw, 26 July 1933, Kershaw to Derby, 31 July 1933 draft amendments enclosed. Kershaw's amendments are identical with those in Derby to Streat, 9 Aug. 1933, no. 9, ibid.

30 Streat to Derby, 31 July 1933, no. 4, ibid.

31 Streat to Derby, 12 Aug. 1933, no. 9, Derby to Hoare, 10 Aug. 1933, Hoare to Derby, 29 Aug. 1933, ibid.

32 Sir T. Ainscough (trade commissioner in India) to Wilson (Board of Trade), 3 Oct. 1933, MCC min. books; Hoare to Derby, 4 Oct. 1933, Nall to Derby, 8 Oct. 1933, Derby papers; MCC to Clare-Lees, 9 Oct. 1933 (tgm), ‘Summary of events commencing October 9th…’, 23 Oct. 1933, MCC min. books.

33 ‘Highly confidential note dictated by Barlow of Manchester’, 11 Oct. 1933, Derby papers.

34 Clare-Lees to MCC, 16 Oct. 1933 (tgm), Derby to Clare-Lees, 17 Oct. 1933 (tgm), ‘Summary of events…’, 23 Oct. 1933, MCC min. books. Derby to Barlow, 12 Oct. 1933, Derby papers.

35 Clare-Lees to MCC, 18 Oct. 1933 (tgm), Clare-Lees to Derby, 18 Oct. 1933 (tgm), MCC to Clare-Lees, 18 Oct. 1933 (tgm), ‘Summary of events…’, 23 Oct. 1933, MCC min. books.

36 Barlow to Derby, 21 Oct. 1933, Derby papers.

37 The India ex. carried the new evidence 6:1 on the 23rd, then unanimously on the 24th, India ex. and other mins. 23 and 24 Oct. 1933; special meeting of India ex., bd. of directors and others, 26 Oct. 1933, MCC min. books. The others were representatives of two cotton trade groups outside the MCC but associated with the MCC's evidence and the mission.

38 Clare-Lees to MCC, 23 and 24 (twice) Oct. 1933 (tgms), MCC to Clare-Lees, 23 Oct. 1933 (tgm), ‘Summary of events…’, 23 Oct. 1933, MCC min. books. Barlow to Derby, 27 Oct. [1933], Derby papers.

39 Derby to Barlow, 26 Oct. 1933, Derby to Knowles, 27 Oct. 1933, Hoare to Derby, 3 Nov. 1933, Derby papers. Joint committee on Indian constitutional reform (P.P. 1932–1933, VIII)Google Scholar, 1873–98.

40 Drummond, British ec. policy and the empire, p. 134, and Hoare to Derby, 26 Oct. 1933, Derby papers. In the event the duty was not lowered until 1938 when it was reduced to 20 per cent. In 1939 it was reduced to 17 per cent or lower on a sliding scale: the lower the consumption the lower the tariff. By 1939–40 Lancashire's exports to India had fallen to 145m. yards, Bagchi, Private investment in India, pp. 238 and 242–3.

41 Committee of privileges evidence 23 and 24 Apr. 1934, Templewood collection, E. 240/73.

42 Ibid.

43 Ibid.

44 On 26 Apr. 1934 Hoare and Hailsham, the lord chancellor, decided to withhold the Kershaw letters on grounds of departmental privilege. Others may have been held back for the same reason, India office discussion, 26 Apr. 1934, Derby papers.

45 Committee of privileges evidence 20 Apr. and 1 May 1934, Templewood collection, E. 240/73. But note the slip in Nine troubled years, p. 97, where Hoare admits Derby initiated the dinner.

46 Points on the Manchester evidence, 3 May 1934, Templewood collection, E. 240/73. And ‘Statement by…Hoare with reference to Mr Churchill's charges’, 10 May 1934, Templewood papers, VII: 3.

47 Statement to the committee of privileges, Apr. 1934, Derby papers.

48 Privileges report (P.P. 1933–1934, VIII)Google Scholar, 20–3.

49 Taylor, (ed.), Lloyd George, entry for 11 05 1934, 271Google Scholar.

50 Cabinet minutes, Public Record Office, London, cab. 24(34) of 13 June 1934, CAB 23/79.

51 Commons debates, 13 June 1934.

52 Baldwin to Derby, 2 July 1934, cited in Churchill, R., Lord Derby ‘King of Lancashire’ (London, 1959), p. 596Google Scholar.

53 Commons debates, 13 June 1934. Translated literally Amery's quotation is ‘let justice be done even if the heavens fall’.

54 See Manchester Guardian, 27 June 1934. The resolution against the joint committee report was defeated 1, 102:390 at a special meeting of the National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations on 4 Dec. 1934, The Times, 5 Dec. 1934.

55 Gilbert, Churchill, v, 529–36.