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Letter from Sir Patrick Hastings to Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain recalling a scheme he proposed in 1916 for raising money; with notes and copies of correspondence from [Arthur] Rucker, [Principal] Private Secretary to Prime Minster, and [?Christopher] Hankey, [Herbert] Brittain, [Thomas] Padmore, and Sydney Turner of HM Treasury asking if anyone including [1st] Lord Hankey recalls details of the scheme and why it was rejected. [typescript with carbons and manuscript notes].

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Letter from Sir Henry Fairfax-Lucy to WSC criticising the economic situation ("percentage increases for the cost of living") and agricultural policy (ploughing up of grazing land resulting in slaughter of Dairy cattle); encloses copy of letter to Captain Harry Crookshank MP [Financial Secretary to Treasury] and a newspaper article from the Warwick Advertiser.

Scope and Contents Notes by Clement Attlee [Lord Privy Seal] on his proposed visit to the United States to meet with Franklin Roosevelt, President of the United States, at the ILO [International Labour Organization]; draft speech based on the Atlantic Charter, calling for trade agreements "to further in every possible way the greatest possible exchange of goods and services throughout the world"; includes minute from WSC and covering letter from John Martin [Private Secretary to WSC] to A M R Topham [Lord...

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Letter from WSC to the President of the National Union of Manufacturers explaining that the Lend-Lease Bill demands certain sacrifices from both the peoples of the United States and Britain and the reduction of British exports is inherent in this and in war.

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Telegram from the President of the United States [Franklin Roosevelt] to WSC on proposals by the Japanese Ambassador [Kichisaburo Nomura]; for restoration of peace with China in return for petroleum from the United States and an end to sanctions; United States propose trade deal involving raw silk; suspects trouble will follow soon anyway; with reply from WSC expressing concern for China.

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Letter from WSC to Sir John Simon, Chancellor of the Exchequer, offering advice on cost-cutting in the forthcoming Budget.

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Copy of a letter from WSC (Treasury Chambers) to [4th Lord Salisbury, earlier Lord Cranborne, Lord Privy Seal] in response to [Salisbury's] paper including: discussion of capitalism, the effect of death duties to mitigate against the creation of the "idle rich", and his belief that the rich are already taxed as much as possible.Unsigned typescript.

Scope and Contents Copy of a letter from WSC to Stanley Baldwin, Prime Minister, explaining his efforts to have a settled financial policy and discussing increased navy estimates and his calculations that they are higher than suggested. He argues that armaments expenditure paralyses government policy in social and industrial reform, tax reduction and borrowing and warns that accepting the navy estimates will lead to electoral defeat; that the Admiralty is preoccupied with unfounded and unlikely threats from...

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Copy of a minute from WSC to Sir Otto Niemeyer [Controller of Finance] on war reparations and the payment of war debts to the United States. WSC feels that there is a good prospect of obtaining reparations from Europe, including 25 million pounds a year from Germany, and that they should wait for proposals from France and Italy. He advocates an open statement that all previous offers have lapsed.

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Unsigned memorandum [from WSC] to [James] Grigg [Principal Private Secretary to the Chancellor of the Exchequer] and Sir Otto Niemeyer [Controller of Finance, Treasury] asking for their opinions about spreading debt "more broadly over the shoulders of posterity" by converting to lower interest rates and long securities instead of reducing the sinking fund.Carbon typescript.

Scope and Contents Letter from WSC (Chartwell) to Sir Horace Hamilton [Chairman, Board of Customs and Excise] querying figures: reduced revenue from McKenna duties; whether increased consumption and taxation have been accompanied by increased production and depletion of capital reserves; whether levels of saving have been reduced given the rise in unemployment. He concludes by asking Hamilton to forecast figures.Typescript signed with initials annotated by WSC "Sir Warren Fisher [Permanent Secretary, Treasury]...

Scope and Contents Memorandum by Sir Otto Niemeyer [Controller of Finance, Treasury] to WSC, Chancellor of the Exchequer, commenting on the balance sheet: discussing the effct of reductions in fighting services; estimating higher revenues from the Inland Revenue than forecast; and concluding that the balance sheet is likely to be plus £10-15 millions.Annotated "If the Navy is to be given a blank cheque (which is its demand), Britannia rules the waves is about all there will be left to rule."Typescript signed...

Scope and Contents Copy of a letter from WSC to Stanley Baldwin, Prime Minister, marked "most secret" relaying a conversation with Neville Chamberlain [Minister of Health] about including the costs of widows and old age insurance in the budget; balancing relief to the direct taxpayer; meeting the cost of war pensions; the timing of implementing Chamberlain's Insurance Bill; establishment of a committee of experts to consider insurance; housing and funding for building "Weir" steel houses; and support for...

Scope and Contents Copy of a letter from the Chancellor of the Exchequer [WSC] to King George V about his budget proposals. He explains that the budget has two main objectives: to provide security for the wage earning population against misfortune and to encourage the "enterprise of the nation" by remission of income taxes; that the 1925 budget is based on tax revenue of £826 million set against expenditure of £799.5 million; proposals to increase estate duty and taxes on luxury goods and to re-introduce the...

Scope and Contents Copy of a letter from WSC to Stanley Baldwin, Prime Minister, about a possible enquiry into protection of the steel industry, pointing out that there will be consequences because it underpins the rest of British industry, which make it likely that an enquiry would over-ride the claims of the steel industry, or if it didn't, that Free Trade will become a dominant feature of British politics. WSC suggests that the government is not obliged to set up an enquiry, and that a Royal Commission...

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Copy of a memorandum from WSC to Sir Otto Niemeyer [Controller of Finance, Treasury] asking him about the impact of the return to the Gold Standard on the United States "Shall we not be relieving them from the consequences of their selfish and extortionate policy?" and suggesting that [Ralph] Hawtrey [Director of Financial Enquiries, Treasury] should draft a paper about the subject.Carbon typescript. Unsigned.

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Minute from WSC to Sir Otto Niemeyer [Controller of Finance] marked "private and confidential" querying statements made by Niemeyer about the gap between Britain and the United States, bank rates and the 1.25 million unemployed, remarking "while that unemployment exists, no one is entitled to plume himself on the financial or credit policy which we have pursued".Carbon typescript.

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Copy of a minute from WSC to James Grigg [Principal Private Secretary to the Chancellor of the Exchequer] informing him that he will not circulate the "gold papers" [about the return to the Gold Standard] to the Cabinet and will explain them verbally, because of information obtained by the press about the contributory insurance policy.Carbon typescript. Unsigned.

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Copy of a minute from WSC to Sir Richard Hopkins [Chairman of the Board of Inland Revenue] asking his "Committee of Five" to consider a revolutionary scheme to separate coprporate and investment income, treat earned income more favourably, and levy income and super tax on investment income by means of a national register. He ends by summarising the advantages of this scheme and discussing the establishment of the register.Carbon typescript.

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Copy of a minute from WSC to Sir Richard Hopkins [Chairman of the Board of Inland Revenue] marked "absolutely secret" asking for Hopkins' scheme to spend £8-£10 million on giving relief to the reserves of companies, and discussing measures to give relief to the employers of labour.Unsigned typescript.

Scope and Contents Memorandum from WSC to Sir Otto Niemeyer [Controller of Finance, Treasury] seeking advice about the effect of a reduction or increase in income tax on gilt edged government stock, specifically the correspondence between the rise of the stock and reduction in tax; the impact on consumers of raised taxation; consumption as an indicator of prosperity; and National Debt. He concludes "To sum up, a reduction in taxation is the greatest economic service which a state can render to the population...

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Carbon copy of WSC's proposal for the betting tax.

Scope and Contents Memorandum from WSC to Sir Otto Niemeyer [Controller of Finance, Treasury] marked "Private & Personal To be returned" on subjects including: conversion; the addition of £37 million to the national debt; contrast to the freedom from debt in Germany and France; and WSC's view that the Treasury will be criticised for favouring a 'rentier' class over 'social, moral or manufacturing' interests. He ends by asking Niemeyer to prepare proposals for using forced loans and government bonds as part...

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Memorandum from Sir Otto Niemeyer [Controller of Finance, Treasury] to WSC enclosing newspaper cuttings and an extract from the Cunliffe Committee report as background information about [Reginald] McKenna's Federal Reserve theory and summarising the reasons for his opposition to the proposals.Typescript signed with initials

Scope and Contents Memorandum from WSC to Sir Otto Niemeyer [Controller of Finance, Treasury] on the economic position of Germany and Great Britain and the negative impact of the rigid policy of the Bank of England, high taxation, poor trade and high unemployment. WSC argues that the policy is unsatisfactory on social, industrial and political grounds; that Germany is in a healthier economic state and that the allies may need to reduce the reparations burden on Germany and that misleading conclusions will be...