A SALARY OF £2000.

Taranaki Central Press, Volume IV, Issue 409, 16 April 1937, Page 7

A SALARY OF £2000.

Leader of the Opposition. London, March 26. The bill which will give the Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons a -salary of £2OOO a year has been the paradoxical eft yt of ; placing him above the Government’.. ’ In the matter of salary he will be on I the same footing as ‘the Royal Family i and His Maj.sty’S Judges. His pay, like theirs, will come out of what is called the Consolida) ed Fund This is a Parliamentary device to prevent any future debate on the Leader of .(the Opposition's salary. Ministers’ salaries ar© paid out of the various Depai) men al vol es, and the recognised way of censuring a Minister is to put down a motion “to reduce his .salary by £100." If would be a pr ■pos'erous situation it the Opposition Leader could be censured hrough his salary, like a MiniAer. The very fact that he is in opposition means that he has a minority of the House b hind him, consequently a vo’e of censure against him could always be carried. IL is to escape this, farcical situation that his salary has been placed on the Consolidated Fund. His pay can therefor© no more be debated han can the King’s Civil List or a Judge’s- £5OOO a- year salary. This is as i't should be, for the Leader of the Opposition's £2OOO is not regarded- as payment for Parliamentary duties. It is recognition of the fact hat he is preparing for possible Premiership, and must therefore abandon almost entirely his own private profession or business. Aga Khan’s Horses. The Aga Khan has 65 m ires and four allions at four different ttuds I 'll Frsnce. In that country, in number of mares, he is second only to Baron Edouard de R I lischilfl, who has over 80. The oldest mar t the Aga Khan has in France are 17 years. With 65 in France and others in England and Ireland, the Aga Khan posi.ibly has more mares, than any a her breeder in the world. Nowadays the Aga Khan does very little racing in France, his few representatives being sent from England, bu; his wife does a good deal in that country. One of her horses y.-'as Mas d’Antibes, who was.''Sold-ito go to India, where he has done so well. Queering the Market. Good horses are difficult to buy in any part of the world, but it is on record /that good money will separate most owners, from a horse. It is reported in a Sydney paper that a Dominion visitor stated that owners of likely horses in New Zealand are not to be tempted by substantial offers. He said that there ate tome good two-year .olds in New Zealand, but it would be difficult to buy any of them Such opinions show an unconscious <.endency to queer the market and prevent possible buyers, from searching New Zealand Tor horses. A really good and unexposed horse is worth about four times as. much/for racing in Australia as is if kept, for racing in Nev? Zealand, and if the right goods are obtainable the Australians will find the money. Ellis’s Eyesight. The bare announcem’nt that L. J. Ellis is returning to New Zealandlacks the mbst Important information that could be conveyed, and that consist t of news concerning his eyesight. Appartnly a cure has been effected, as he contemplates ret urning to Australia in order to accept a mount for the Melbourne Cup.