LOWER SALARIES.

Taranaki Daily News, 28 January 1922, Page 5

LOWER SALARIES.

BILL THROUGH HOUSE.

THIRD READING CARRIED. BY 40 VOTES TO 19. The reductions of salaries in the Civil Service have received Parliamentary sanction. The third reading of the Bill was carried by the House of Representatives early yesterday morning, and last night the Legislative Council passed the measure.

By Telegraph.—Press Association. Wellington Jan. 27. After the telegraph office closed the debate on -the third reading of the Retrenchment Bill was continued •bv Mr. Fraser, who described the measure as a public disaster.

Mr. Massey then replied, contending that it was impossible for the Government to make public the Economies Committee’s reports, which were largely confidential. He defended the rebates made to land owners, for which he took the whole responsibility, because the country could ont go on bearing the heavy burden of taxation which it is at present bearing. He had no particular fault to find with the opposition put up by the Labor Party to the Bill, but he was satisfied that if they got control of the country it would not be long before they reduced it to the present state of Russia. He could not congratulate the Leader of the Opposition (Mr. Wilford) upon his tactics, which led to the Government being strongly supported in the last division, and which greatly strengthened the position of the Government. He was satisfied that the end of retrenchment had not come yet. They must )go on for the next twelve' months, blit he Was convinced that the effect of the Bill will be to reduce the cost of living. If it induces a spirit of economy amongst the people it will do great good. The cost of living was steadily coming down, and in twelve months he was convinced it will have fallen far below the three shillings per day which he proposed to take from bonuses. The Bill represented an unpleasant duty, but he was satisfied that when the people came to sealise the position they would recognise it not as an evil, but as a. blessing in disguise. On the motion that the Bill be read a third time, a division was taken, the motion being carried by 40 to 19.

The House rose at 2.46 a.m. till 2.30 p.m

BILL BEFORE UPPER HOUSE. MEASURE GENERALLY SUPPORTED THE BILL PASSED. Wellington, Last Night. The Public Expenditure Adjustment Bill was received by the Legislative Council from the House this afternoon and read a first time.

Sir Francis Bell, moving the second reading of. the Bill, said that the increases and bonuses had been granted .when no politica l purpose could be served and that the decreases were being made at a time when it was a political disadvantage to do so. Therefore it* was only fair to admit that the Government must be convinced of the necessity of its action. A halt and more than a halt must be called. The Council, of course, had no power to amend the Bill, as it was an appropriation measure.

The *Hon. W. H. Triggs said that if bonuses were continued they would have to be paid by the taxpayers, who themselves were suffering from lessened returns. Therefore if bonuses were to be continued heavier tjaxlafion would have to be imposed, which would act in the long run to the disadvantage of the very people whom it was sought to benefit.

Sir William Hall Jones complimented the Government upon the manner in which it was handling a difficult situation. £ . , « The Hon. J. B. Gow assured the Government of the Council’s hearty sympathy in the action taken in a time of necessity. This was the price of war. The Hon. J. Barr said that provided the reductions were applied to bonuses granted to meet the increased cost, of living there could b£,no logical objection. Some increases, however, had not been tagged as bonuses and that was why-some objection had been raised to the Bill. The civil service ought to remember that those who were endeavoring to use them now had done their best to help the enemies of the British nation during the whole of the war period. The Hon. G. J. Garland supported the Bill, but regretted that the “cut” should effect pupil teachers, probationers and training college students. The Hon. Sir Thomas Mackenzie congratulated the Government on facing the situation, but said it was possible the distribution of the burden might not be perfect. The Hon. W. 'Earnshaw contrasted tne percentage taken from men on day as compared with that taken from high salaried men, claiming that the former were being hit hardest of all. The Hon. Sir J. R- Sinclair said )t was clear as noonday that retrenchment was unavoidable. It could not be avoided by taxation, for the country could not carry a higher burden in that direction. , s The Hon. J. MacGregor suggested that it would have been better for the Government to have made reductions from wages and salaries instead ot from bonuses, and the sacrifices should be equal in proportion from judges downwards. , Sir Francis Bell said the Government knew the system adopted was the leasattractive one, but it was tne fairest. The judges, he added, had sent him a communication desiring to ’ know whether an offer on their part to share in the retrenchment would be impropei, and he had said it would be most improper, for apart from the Constitution Act it was essential for the protection of the people in their possession of an independent and upright judicature that there should be no interference with Bill was put through committee and passed.