The Evening Star WEDNESDAY, JULY 19, 1871.

Evening Star, Volume IX, Issue 2627, 19 July 1871, Page 2

The Evening Star WEDNESDAY, JULY 19, 1871.

One of the most degrading exhibitions, of the session in the Provincial Council took place on the honorarium question last evening. Perhaps it is inseparable from representative Governments where the principle of payment of members is adopted, that those interested should set a value on their services and apportion themselves a share of the public money : but we believe we only speak the common sentiment when we say that is a disgrace to the Council to have cut down the salaries of men who have served the Province faithfully for a long series of years, and then to reverse their own decision, arrived at during the early part of the session, and to raise the honorarium to country members, one-third. The City members cannot properly be included in this imputation of reckless selfishness, excepting by aiding and abetting it; for they, by the reversal of the resolution that each member should receive fifteen shillings a day, sacrifice their own interest to that of the country members. Had the country members really desired a reduction of expenditure, they would not have entertained the proposition for raising their rate of remuneration. Precisely the same arguments that they used for cutting down the salaries of the permanent officers, applied to their own cases. When first one pound a day was adopted as a reasonable compensation for expence of board, the cost of living was much higher than now. Probably the expence of boarding at hotels was more than double; the finances of the Province were in a prosperous state, and the pound a day was not more than reasonable. Even the withdrawal from the ordinary occupations of life for six weeks, entailed a loss upon those who were elected. Matters are very different now. With some exceptions, the country members are not only not losers by attending a meeting of Council, but they look forward to it as one means of adding to their incomes. Many of them could not earn onefourth of the honorarium by either hand or head labor, and there is every reason to believe that our sessions are unduly lengthened for the purpose of giving sops to hungry trading politicians, such as are furnished by Tunpeka and other equally clearsighted constituencies. On no other ground is it conceivable that so much time should have been wasted on such unsatisfactory results as have marked the session. We cannot but regret that Mr Barton allowed himself to become the advocate of such a system. The City expected better things of him when he was elected, and naturally ask how it is that he should have taken such deep interest in men who have shewn so little capacity for legislation, and such a wide appreciation of availing themselves of the opportunity of putting money into their own pockets. Thfe Superintendent, the Executive, the Speaker, every officer.in every department, has had his salary cut down by these —wc had nearly said cormorants, but we suppose that would be considered scurrilous—and yet they forsooth must have their nineteen shillings and elevenpence per day, and take upon themselves to say who does and who does not deserve it. It is a pity that our ideas of government do not extend to the constituencies making a contract with their representatives at the time of election to represent them for so much—say ten, fifteen, or twenty pounds a year. We have no doubt that had tenders been called for the work would have been quite as well done at one fourth of the cxpence. We all know that Mr Bathgate did offer to do all the work of the Executive for two hundred and fifty pounds a year. He would have been a loser, merely because he did not know what he was bidding for : but executive business is one thing and representative another. None but those who have held office know the one, but everybody, from Mr Graham upwards, believes he knows the other. Had such a plan been adopted in all probability quite as good or bet-

ter representatives would have obtained seats, the Council would have been spared a vast amount of nonsensical talking, and the session would have been brought te a close at one quarter the expense. Every Session of our Provincial Council latterly has placed its conduct in more repulsive forms before the country and weakened public confidence in it. This last exhibit of pure selfishness will tend still more to alienate men from supporting Provincial Institutions, for the Council have brought themselves as a body under that most emphatic condemnation, that they have laid the burden ot retrenchment on other men’s shoulders, but will not themselves touch it with one of their fingers.