The Daily News TUESDAY, JULY 24. THE EXPENSE OF GOVERNMENT.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 8163, 24 July 1906, Page 2

The Daily News TUESDAY, JULY 24. THE EXPENSE OF GOVERNMENT.

Tuc fact that tho Premier has had a few words to say about tho Legislative Council lately reminds us that Now Zealand is alleged to ho a demo icracy. It any proof were needed that the people rule, surely it can he found in the fact that the people pay fortyfour gentlemen a yearly salary of £2OO each to revise the work of the men the people elect to do the work. The fact that, the peoplo luvo not elected those forty-four gentlemen, or that there are only a few ammg the said forty-four whom one of the people would like to pay a yearly salary of two hundrel pounds out of his own pocket, dops not mat'.er. This is a demo.'iacy. You are n democrat. Therefore what is done with the tacit consent of the democracy is democratic. That is good logic.

Positions in the Legislative Council are not in the gift of the people, but the people endow the gift, without their own consent. The people might reason (if they reason about the spending of their own money at all that it is a queer thing for the Lower House to bo socially inferior to the Upper and lesser-paid House, and that the ineaibcis of tho Lower Chamber should have the gift of th; supe.ria'billet. But then there are so many (piece tilings about democratic government. Take, for instance, 'he Gov rnorship of the colony. Tiu Govetno - is usually an amiable noble nan, wli . is made Governor because he is a n bloinao. It is not a necessity that i Governor shall possess the ability to govern, although, of course, ■any Governor may be an adept ai 'be business. lie i.-; required to b, amiihlc, the footinai. is required to stand in the ifiin with his lint oil', and ho allowance for His Excellency, who doesn't govern, is, counting tin allowance for establ.shnio it and tra 'ehing, seven thousand pounds pei almoin and fre< quarters, The 'omocr.iev does r.ct choose him. It the democracy had the choosing, i' would probably forego its privilege, not because the Governors we tire in the habit of coating are not nice, amiable geirLinen, but because if is rather a pity th it they should bo torn away from ,-ll f hey hold dear in the dear Old L.m to Vegetate in a country where thero is no adequate society for poisons ol their rank. Then the money would be saved to the Im perial and Colo u.-il Governments. * * * *

Ik you give it :i thought, it, is an expo sivo biiMiiess doing the legislative voi!; for about nin<> hundred thou Mid people. For instance, the Now '] aland Cabinet thaws tho tidy litlh--inii nl' ninety thousand throe bundled fiiirs out of the Treasury in salir.-ie.-i-'i year. This is exclusive o!' - |i-il>,' which are ny and varied. ■Ve die rit cavilling at tho idea of .•■■. :-■ tiuigwoll paid ; and good ir.eo.

• '■' I be :dw:- V s ivel! odd. The ecd.a.i'y d he fVln- it' that unv man, no liiut'.iv •■•.:. it !,j.s provioa

raining ma;." :. iva he.-a school leisu private member tu-duv, aim 'O-11101 row, without ever having been near the place he is about to "con ■rol," he takes over duties as head of i great State department, and also akes over the salary. He. may, in fact, climb right out of tho tussock into fourteen hundred pounds' worth of billet without ihe necessity of knowing the A.BC. of the work. Hi need never learn. There are no competitive examinations for Minis ters of the down. And this beintr so, the people should have .some small say in the matter of the distribution of the ninety odd thousand pounds every year. * * * *

Of coni>:o the day of the elective executive will come, and perhaps then "vcn higher salaries will be paid. We don't soy the present salaries are unduly large. Wo only say the •i st of the administration of the of '.irs of a handful of |oiple is enor nously too great. If the people i. ere asked point blank, fir matinee, if tl.ey were ('ontent to go on paying i'urty-fonr aged gentleman an agj;rej,<a:,o turn of £Hfcj'Jo pounds per ve.iv f.r " .evising" legislation they di 1 not I-now wantel revising, do you think the people woul I cheerfully unsv. er " Yes " I If the demoeracN \V( re silked if tliev did not think thai taS,OO3 was to"> large a sun t» pay i;i sal.-i'ies to the members of tliellui-.ee>!' l{eprcs.-i,t-,i.. V es, d> you think if ui.id 1 ;:u.-v. er ' .No."

I'm: .-.dai'es i ~SI ■ tiers imv not hi !-.»> !.ir„'e indie! Vey are not—lml do n ihe ci.lony lopdri the serviceof eighty of ilium* is Nov Zealand a eontin; nt, or a group of islands with tie popuh ion of a tnvn? When r.-nli- mental's when tlio ter rible machinery fr mi the lllaek ito I to the Creat Seal gets to work, and th.) nimble Hansard reporter is earn ii;g his live shillings a minute, there are expenses. .Remember that a Democratic Government pays all the people engaged in P.iili.unent build ings as if they worked for the whole vear. They work three or four months —when the Hou-o sits. Many a smart shorthaiid-wriliiig gii-1 would be glad to get three I Ir'd pounds a \en

.'..1- .-,;■] ii.l.lir.- i>i the i-.li.M-V for five miimfesbifts dining tho..-'three or fniin.ini.llis; :,i,.l many :i housewife isgbnl In -,.(, I In- (•■.!ii i )|,-l.i-il Hanviiii, !'..]' lighting liros, when the

'I in: I'arli-inc-nb.rv pi-oc.-iluiv and the Pallium-'liter/ " p.-r!:.s " idea are re plica.soj' (Imp-nee-dun-airl " p-ah.s" of •be Iti-iti.sl, Houses of Parliament. A' Home th.W cling to ibe old glitter aid the old 'rod. tap" and the old

waste. This is the onlv reason whv tbe Parliament nf New Z-5.1.-ind, and. inci-ienl-illv. all other colonial ]>.„■ Humours. f„]l. m - s „it. 'p;,„ l iiv i s t, expenditure id' mmev in Parliament is' Mb.-thine-;." To'spc-l us ,niH, -as possible of lb.' no .pies' cash while the Parliament sits is the chief i.doi,• ol'the persons concerned. The lac-a-V ami inorrcninluM'.is the pi-o-eliire for fl,.w-M,,1,„.t of the people,- 1,,,-ioess ,!,■■ bciteclo: the persons' ~,*...,.' All the .'mar,-Id customs and i-liller and was' - vbe v. rv impnssiv,and v.-rv fbiii-b, btf. io'a .lemo.-r.arv it se---'-is to n; tlmt; (!,c cost, oftlm giilfei- illicit la- eiif.-lown without !.;ii.|gt.i : r-|..-o:.l-aha' north -f in in.-w, by iil'mii.e. t.in- rovi-.orv dumber, ■is ii.-i-i- uttcrlv nndemo-aatie, the reduction of the numbmnf Al's.H.U., pn.i-tieiil.-uly in the big cities, ,v|,ieh do not. ie-piire tbiee members, 1-ylln' paving of members "lily lor work doiio, and by refusing to pay men employed by Parliament, a year's salary'for three or i'mii months' work. ;j olrirs occupies ton mii'-li of the time and attention of the people of .New Zealand, and polities takes fcy, much of the | copies' money. Tim necessity for such a large amount of government does not exist v.-hi'e the colony is ia its swaddling clothes in j'ugard to population,