PAYMENT OF MEMBERS.

Greymouth Evening Star, Volume XXXI, 3 October 1901, Page 4

PAYMENT OF MEMBERS.

Some remarkable information regarding the question of payment of members is contained in a telegram sent by “a correspondent ’’ at Wellington to the Auckland Herald. Some few days ago be says, there was a caucus of tbo Government party on the subject of the proposed increase of the salaries of members from £240 per annum to .£3OO. Mr Heddon said that he was glad to see so largo a mooting of his supporters to decide this important question. The Government were quite ready to bring in the necessary Bill to raise the payment to £3OO, but there must be one stipulation which he must make positive on the subject. Ho Was not going to rnduro what be did last year on this question. All the Ministerial following must take a collective and individual responsibility. What ho endured last year was this, that members kept barracking private'y for the special vote of £lO, urging the Govern meat to pus the money on the Estimates. And then when they got it, and found what people were saying, they declared' they bad nothing to do with it, and represented that it had been forced upon them by Ministers. Ho would not ha\ c that again, and unless members were willing to take the responsibility ho had referred to, Ministers would do nothing. The caucus terminated somewhat unsatisfactorily. Those present all wanted the money, but they thought it wrong that Ministers should not give them a chance of escape. No arrangement has been corno to (concludes the correspondent), and it remains to be seen whether the difficulty can be got over, and some method contrived to get the money out of the Treasury without unduly exciting the public. This is the problem that Ministers and their followers are cogitating.