THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 1947. REASON RESTORED

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26639, 9 December 1947, Page 4

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 1947. REASON RESTORED

The measures taken by the French Government to suppress the wave of strikes and industrial disturbances appear to have been successful, and some form of order is emerging from the chaos in which the country has been engulfed for the past few weeks. The battle—for battle it was, complete with guns, dynamite and bombs —was Communism’s greatest bid for power in any Western European country, and it failed not because of repressive measures alone but because, „in the hour of conflict, Communism was forced to unmask and reveal its real intention. This intention was no less than the complete surrender .of the State to Soviet domination, and the creation of a satellite government on the lines of those already imposed on the populations of the Eastern European nations. .To this end the Communist element in the Federation of Trade Unions was prepared to invite a state of anarchy and involve the country in the horrors of civil war. Sabotage, treason and murder were the weapons which these leaders attempted to thrust into the hands of the French workers, but the workers rejected them and are now returning in their thousands to their old employment. The fact that the wave of strikes and the actual armed conflict came so near to achieving the end that the Communist instigators hoped for is evidence that the attempted coup had. been well planned in everything but the time of its commencement. Obviously, however, the Communists were disturbed by the two factors of recent growth which promised restoration of stability to the French political scene. The first of these was the rallying of some millions of French voters, including former Communists, to the de Gaulle banner at the recent municipal elections; it was necessary to challenge this solid, anti-Commu-nist bloc before it gathered greater strength. The second was , the Marshall Plan for European recovery. In its early stages the plan was fought through trade union resolutions rejecting the acceptance of economic aid even though, at the same time, strike after strike was launched for the ostensible purpose of improving the economic condition of the workers. The arrival of American food supplies, however, and the reported readiness of Congress to approve of financial aid to anti-Communistic governments, forced the French Communists into a precipitate declaration of war. Their defeat has been a notable political victory for the French Government, but the upset to industry has added to the many economic ills that already beset the country. As the 100th anniversary of the 1848 revolution approaches, the Republic must prepare for even greater efforts if stability in finance and government is to be restored. OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY “An allowance made to anyone without an equivalent,” was Dr Samuel Johnson’s definition of a pension; and he added sourly that “ in England it. is generally understood to mean pay given tote State hireling for treason to his country.” These are harsh words. No New Zealander would apply them to the members of Parliament who—the Opposition excluded—voted themselves pensions in perpetuity for nine years and 'upward of service in the House. And, indeed, Dr Johnson probably modified his own view when, in later years, he was given fitting support from the King’s purse. But while most people are willing to recognise that men and women in political life are not over-gen erously rewarded for the work that they perform, and that the pecuniary aspect in itself presents no great lure, when considered against a somewhat uncertain tenure of the parliamentary benches, there is considerable dissatisfaction at the extent and nature of the pensions that Parliament has arranged for those who may decide to retire, and those who are directed by the electorate to do so. In the first place,’ these pensions have no actuarial basis; in the second, they are to be paid without any form of means test; in the third, members can become eligible while they are relatively youthful and presumably still able to earn a living outside Parliament. Nor can the public fail to compare the ample terms upon which brief service in the Legislature is assessed by the legislators themselves, with the social security benefits these same legislators consider adequate for those who have given a lifetime of service to the country in lesS glamorous pursuits.

The Waterside Workers’ Union has expressed its disgust with this •“ class legislation in its worst form ” by proposing social security benefits and war pensions of £8 a week for everybody. On all grounds except economic this is an attractive and intriguing proposal. If it does not make sense, then can Parliament’s decision to pay parliamentary pensions up to this amount, for which in most cases no proper equivalent will have been returned, gain the approbation of the still, small voice of ’reason? To that question the people of New Zealand,, who will have to meet most of the cost of the parliamentary pensions, would no doubt make emphatic reply if they were given the opportunity of speaking. But that opportunity has been denied them. The legislation was pushed through the House as a thief in the night; the people of New Zealand scarcely knew what was happening until the theft had been committed. They have no immediate method of protest except the vocal; but in the course of time the Government that arranged these extravagant retiring allowances will be again facing the electors—this time on its way into retirement. It will be for the people then to facilitate the process; and for the Government which takes over to see that the Superannuation Act, 1947, is revised upon a basis of financial commonsense and equity.