PAY OF MEMBERS

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 308, 22 September 1920, Page 8

PAY OF MEMBERS

COMMITTEE SUGGESTS NEW SCALE FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR EXMEMBERS Tho Civil List Bill Joint Committee, reporting to tho House yesterday upon the Civil List Bill (No. 2), recommended the deletion of a clause providing that jio one in receipt of a salary ns a Minister of the Crown shall receive pajv ment as a member. The committeo also submitted the following recommendations:—' That the honorarium for the Speaker of .the Legislative Council be .£800; For the Chairman of Committees, Legislative Council, iiso; For the Speaker, House of Representatives, .fclOOO; For the Chairman of Committees, House of Representatives, ,£700; For members of the Legislative Council, ,£350; For members of the House of Representatives, ' i£soo. "That such payments be made from the date on which members of tho House, of Representatives were declared duly elected. In the of members of the Legislative Council, from the same dato or the later dato of their individual appointment. • , "That the Government create a fund (by annual allocation) for the purpose of aiding ex-members and their families requiring assistance, applications to participate fund to be dealt with by a committee consisting of the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Legislative Council, and two Speakers and the Leader of the Opposition. "That ex-members who have served for three Parliament? in either Chamber or conjointly in. tho two Chambers, shall be allowed to Tetain their railway pass, with the privilege attaching thereto. "That the Leader of the Opposition be provided by the Government with a private secretary and typiste to be appointed by the Speaker of the House." Tho report was tabled without discussion. The effect of the amendment proposed regarding Ministers is to give members of the Government tho salary of .£SOO a year as members of the House in addition to the payment of ,£IOOO a year made to them as Ministers. The amended Bill proposes in effect an increase of 50 per cent, in the salaries of - ' Ministers.. KEEPING LOCALPOLITICS CLEAN THE RESTRICTION MAINTAINED. The present law provides that' a member of a municipal corporation, hold his seat if he is financialljr(<'intercstcd in. a contract made by Jho council,lf the payment exceeds ,£5 in tho case of a 6ingle contract or ,£lO altogether in any financial year. Mr.'Sykea (Masterton) '.moved in the House of Representatives last night that in tl>» cases of boroughs having a population ol 2000 or less, the limit should bo extended from .£lO to X'so. He said that the restriction was unnecessary, and involved inconvenience in small towns, where the number of businesses was limited. The amendment was supported by Mr. Horn (Wakatipu), who mentioned that in a southern township a broken culvert had remained unmended.for son>» timc,_. I>ecause the sole local storekeeper could not suddly the materials for repairs. The Prime Minister said the amendment would be dangerous. This view was taken by several other members. wmTtfTought that the amendment would open the door to. jobbery and corruption, 7ne strict law now in operation had made for clean local politics. After brief discussion the amendmont was lost on the voices.

Mr. Young (Waikato) moved'that the ,£lO restriction should not apply to newspaper advertisements. He pointed out that, a member of a borough council migh't be a director of a local nowspaper. which had to handle the statutory advertising of the local body. Mr, M'Nicol (Pallia tua)6aid that country newspapers had to insert statutory advertisements, and they -also did job printing. He thought that th© amendment should apply to advertisements only, and that the printing should bo cubject to the same restrictions as othor trading. , The amendment was lost on the voices.

MEMBERS' QUESTIONS DEALERS' PROFIT ON BLANKETS. Mr! field. (Otaki) is asking tho Minister o£ lndustriw and Commerce whether ifc is true that softgoods dealers are being allowed to charge a gross profit of about 40 per cent, on sales of blankets; and whether, in view, of the great demand for, and ready sale of, this class of Dici«sarie6 of life, this is. not an undue rate of 'profit.. Mr. Veitch (Wanganui) is asking the Prime Minister whether lie is aware that the general publik in Wanganui are having great difficulty- in securing supplies of butter for household use, and whether lie will take immediate steps to overcome the difficulty. In a note to his question Mr. Veitch suggests thiit supplies are being withheld in. order that they may bring a higher price later. Mr. Veitch is also asking the Minister of Railways whether he will take into favourable consideration an amendment of the railway freights in the di-_ rection of carrying Cook Island at the same rate as New Zealand, fruits. "These fruits arc almost entirely shipped to the port of Auckland, and the cost' of transport from there to southern ports is very heavy," states Mr. Veitch. "There is great delay in handling the fruits, and this results in very heavy loss through wastage." Mr. Hunter (Waipawa) is asking the Minister of Railways whether he will give, instructions that on Mondays extra first-class carriages are to he provided on the Napier to Wellington mail train. disabilities~oFjlgo-slavs ( Reporting yesterday upon a petition asking that disabilities imposed »y the war legislation cjn Jugo-Slavs resident in New Zoaland might bo removed, the Defence Committee informed the Houso that as the petition dealt -with a matter of policy it had no rccommogdatlon to make. HOMES FOifINSPECTORS A suggestion that the Government should iind homos for inspectors engaged at freezing works was made in the House of Representatives by Mr. J. C. Craigio (Timaru). Some of- these men, said Mr. Craigie, found it impossible to genomes in the neighbourhood of the worlts, and very great hardship was caused to them. Tho Government ought to set a good example to other employers in a matter of this kind. The Minister of Agriculture (Mr. Nosworthy) promised to look into the mat' ter. It would be a very big tiling for the Government to undertake to find h&mes for all tho persons in its employment, and he did not think that the Government could go so far. But he would look into Mr. Craigie's suggestion. HAWKERS' LICENSE FEES As reported by the committee to which it was referred, the Municipal Corporations Bill contained the following now clause:—"The license fee for a hawker or pedlar who soils only perishable articles of human food shall not exceed ten shillings it year, and in tho case cf any other hawker or pedlar shall not exceed ono pound a year." During tho committal of the Bill in tho House lost night, Mr. J. H. Hamilton (Awarua) protested against the proposal that tho fee in the second case should not exceed JEI a year. lie thought that in order to lia fair to the man who paid rent, rates, and taxes, the Government should seo (hat tho hawker who conducted business free of such chargos paid .£lO a year for his license. He moved an amendment accordingly. • Mr. Hamilton's amendment did net receive very much support from (he members who took part in tho brief debate that it inspired. When put to tho House it was lost on th« voices.