POLITICAL NOTES

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 33, 3 November 1919, Page 4

POLITICAL NOTES

END OF THE SESSION. | It is expected now that the House [ will complete its business, ou /Tuesday's sitting, but it is quite passible that this Tuesday sitting will extend right through the night into Wednesday, and up till a late hour on Wedne.v day evening. The Government may have to drop one or two Bills, but the wholo programme for the session has already been passed Fur such a short session it has be?n a phenomenally big programme, containing some Bills of first importance. Hours have been from the first week of the session, ami Ministers and members of Iho Government party liave had one of the most trying sessions any of them have ever known. Mr. Massey has had a very heavy burden lo carry, for in addition to the management of the business of the House he na.s been kept very busy in all the other hours of the day' receiving deputations, interviewing dozens of people every (lav. and in his spare time giving some attention to Hie plans of Ills parly for tho coming elections.

MEMBERS' PAY. The Prime Minister, made a statement in the House on Saturday night clear!} indicating 'his inteutioii to move to increase the honorarium of. the members of th? :-ext Parliament. It is understood tlmt the proposal will be to raise tho honorarium from .£3OO to J3IOO a year at least. There is a scheme also for the payment of superannuation to members of Parliament who have given a great part of their lives to Parliamentary service. It is well-known that there nro some ex-members of the House who aro now in straitened circumstances, and thero are votes or. the Estimates every year to provide them with modest-' pen.sioiu-'. The suggestion is that there shall ho created a superannuation fund by tho. payment of .£SO nor year on ae. cc-unt of each member, this payment to ho in addition to the increase in salary of J ion. There are many difficulties about the formulation of a workabb superannuation scheifie. It, is suggested that in order to be entitled to any superannuation ricrhts, a member shall have served for three Parliaments, or nine years. f "WRONG BILL." "I have just received from some of my constituents a telegram protesting rliat a right of mipeal Mr. If. K. Holland (('rev) had got, as far a* this ill tho House early on Saturday morning when he was iul >rrnpteil by a chorus of ""Wrong Bill" from members. The House -was di=cussim.T the Railway Bill at the timo. Mr. Holland looked puzzled until a member'explained: "We've all got the telegram. Tt refers to the Post and Telegranli Bill." "Thank you. I'm sorry," said Mr. Holland as he subsided-.