The Temuka Leader TUESDAY, MAY 13, 1890. THE LIGHT BRIGADE.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2045, 13 May 1890, Page 2

The Temuka Leader TUESDAY, MAY 13, 1890. THE LIGHT BRIGADE.

Recent cablegrams informed us that the British Government had under consideration the proposal to make provisions for the few of “ The Light Brigade ” who escaped the “ jaws of death,” and still lire. We remember reading a speech that was delivered by their commanding officer in congratulating these heroes on their actions, just immediately after their return from the battle. He told them amongst other things that their country would for ever remember their heroic deeds, and would, of course, make provision for their declining years. But how have these promises been fulfilled ? The great majority of the men have been for years inmates of English poorhouses, and that is how a grateful Government has treated them. This is certainly a disgrace and a scandal, and it is time that England bestirred herself to remove such a foul stain. But when one remembers the many aristocratic pensioners to whom thousands of pounds are paid annually by the taxpayers of England the wrong becomes more aggravated. For instance, the King of the Belgians married an aunt of Queen Victoria, and she died 12 months after, yet that man got in solid money out of England £1,367,000. The Duke of Cumberland, fifth son of G-eorge 111., got £1,066,000; Queen Adelaide, widow of William IV„ got £1,200,000; the Queen’s mother got £897,000; the Duke of Essex, sixth son of George 111., £750,000; the Duke of Cambridge, seventh son of George 111 £1,114,000, ond so on. in short, according to the Financial Reform Almanac for 1890, page 47, the uncles, cousins, sad aunts of Queen Victoria, without any reference at all to her own children, received from the taxpayers of England £8,984,958, “ besides,” the same I author remarks, “ enormous expenses for their residences in nearly all cases and large receipts of public pay from military and other appointments. These items, it is fair to assure, would '

amount to £65,045, raising the total to £9,050,000.” then the almanac adds to this the allowances to the Cambridge family, which amounted to £910,000, besides free residences and exemption from all rates and taxes, and the children of the Queen to date have received £4,961,083, besides perquisites making in all £14,921,083- Besides these there are thousands of Lords and Commons receiving large pensions, for which they never rendered the slightest service to the country, yet the heroes I of Balaklava have been thrust into poor houses to starve on the miserable fare which Mr Bumble likes to dele out to them. Is it wonderful that

such outrageous wrongs as these spur men on .to become socialists and communists, and any other ist which promises relief from such encumbrances ? Not one of the personages referred to above have rendered any service t® the nation, yet these drones receive these immense sums of money, while Mr Bumble’s paupers die ©f starvation. Even in New Zealand we pay a large sum in pensions. Eor instance, Dr Pollen has been in receipt of £SOO a year for over 20 years, besides his honorarium as a member of the Legislative Assembly. Mr Gisborne, who lives in England, gets a similar sum, and so do hundreds of others, and we say nothing at all about it; but if a poor working man happaned to be unfortunate enough to meet with an accident, or become sick, and be compelled to go into the hospital, he is hunted to death to make him pay any liability he may incur there. Mr Seed and Mr Bathkin retired from the public service the other day on a pension of £6OO a year each. They have had nice easy billets and very high salaries all their lives, and now they retire ®n a pension of £6OO a year ! We hear no one complaining of this, but we hear them complaining of poor working men who cannot pay their liabilities to the I'imaru Hospital, It is thus men are treated—one gets more than enough : the other is allowed to starve—but is it not time an effort was made to 1 change such an unfair system ?