OFFICIAL WIRELESS

Hokitika Guardian, 26 June 1928, Page 4

OFFICIAL WIRELESS

[Special to Press Assn, by Radio.] MINISTERS’ SALARIES. / LABOUR PARTY TO MOVE FOB INCREASE. RUGBY, June 22. 'Mr William Graham, a Labour member of Parliament and an ex—Minister, who is chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, a Parliamentary body which keeps a close watch upon departmental expenditure, lias put down a motion on behalf of the Labour Party asking for an enquiry into the “emoluments and expenses attaching to tho office of Speaker.’’ Mr Graham’s view, which is shared by most members of the House, is | that the salary of tho Speaker, which has remained fixed since 1895 at £SOOO a year, is now inadequate in view of the expenses attached to the | post. The cost of the official hospitality ho must offer is alone about £ISOO. j It is regarded as possible that the scope of a committee, representative of the whole House, which would consider tlio matter, may be extended to include the question of salaries paid to Ministers. It is notorious that many of these aro inadequate, the experience of successive Prime Ministers having been that) the financial calls made upon them far exceed the ani nual £SOOO received. Taxes alone on ; that amount are over £IOOO. Aljnis- [ tcrial salaries generally vary from I £2OOO to £SOOO. with the exception of 5 legal posts, which are more remunerI ative.

BRITISH TAXATION.

GREAT INCREASE SINCE 1914

RUGBY, June 22.

In to-da.v’s Parliamentary papers Mr Winston Churchill, Chancellor of the Exchequer, gives the latest figures available showing taxation per head of the population in various countries in the financial year ending 1926. Taxation per head was in Great Britain £ls 2s Bd, as compared with £S 5s 10d in France, £5 Gs 5d in ■Germany, £3 8s 9d in Italy, mid £:i Is lid in tho United States. In the year before the war the figures for Britain were £3 11s 4d, compared with in Franco £3 7s, Germany £1 10s Bd, Italy £2 2s Bd, and tho United States £1 7s lid. By far thq largest increase is that of Great Britain, which is £ll 11s 4d greater per head than tho pre-war figure. The largest proportion of this increase is attributable to tho war debt funding arrangement and pension and other war" liabilities.

TARIFF BARRIERS. RESTRICTIONS ON TRADE. RUGBY, June 22. Mr F. C. Goodenough, chairman of Barclay’s Bank, speaking to-day, raid that there was evidence of an inereax.' in the world’s purchneing power, upon which commercial prosperity largely depended. 11c regretted that the tariff barriers showed such slight signs of a reduction. Such barriers continued to exorcise a restrictive influence upon international trade and to force up internal prices and the- cost of living, whereas the increasing demands of civilisation tended to reduce the ability of each country to he self-support-ing and to increase, therefore, the importance of international trade. The removal of the tariff harriers of the world markets would constitute a great step forward towards more general trade recovery than had yet taken nlace.