The Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR P.M. Resurrexi. THURSDAY, MAY 1, 1884.

Thames Star, Volume XV, Issue 4777, 1 May 1884, Page 2

The Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR P.M. Resurrexi. THURSDAY, MAY 1, 1884.

Payment of members has been a very much vexed question in this, as well as in the Australian colonies, and it is one which apparently allows for a large divergence of opinion amongst the people. The press of the colony has been by no means agreed on the subject, and the greatest amount of unanimity to be found on the subject, for some occult reason, appears to exist amongst only the members of the Legislature. It has been the system in the colony for some time past to make a grant of a lump sum for'every session held, and this apparently^is popular with members for many and obvious reasons. It entails no specified attendance, and the members have power to close a session and return to their respective homes whenever they so list. The placing of such power in the hands of our unselfish legislators is open to abuse, and no matter how remote the chance is that public interests would be forgotten, that our members would 'for one moment give way to any feelings with a view to personal aggrandisement, it would seem desirable that any temptation to err should not be placed in the path of even one of a number^ of singlehearted, soulful, and to>a-fault' generous, members of our Upper and Lower Houses. Although it has occurred a few times that sessions have been curtailed, and during the last few years, two sessions were actually called together in one year, and both combined only lasted over a few months. We must perhaps place such unusual events to the credit of political accidents, but still it was noticed that the whole time occupied by the two sessions would—under ordinary and honest circumstances—not have exceeded [that due to one.. Forgetting the character of selfdenial, for which the New Zealand legislator is becoming celebrated, it may have been an oversight, an accident, the' fault of officials, or one of the thousand and one reasons which are so readily produced when necessary; the two sessions were each paid for, in the way of honorarium, and members returned home rejoicing or otherwise—we fancy the former—that £420 was the result of their one year's services. In many instances the members for constituencies removed from the centre of the colony—the city of legislation—are business men, and anxious to return to their various callings as speedily as possible, and when a few months are over they are eager to close the session—as a rule they succeed in doing so. Again, there are a few members who have to provide substitutes during their absence from their various local positions, and these men are perhaps unselfish enough not to detain their substitutes too long, and endeavour to rush back and relieve them; it would appear therefore that the proposal of Mr J. Holmes, alOhristchurch M.H.U., to pay the expenses of members at the rate of £1 Is per diem seems feasible enough, and more likely to prevent the unseemly haste which characterises the close of each session in rushing work through, I and thus neglecting important business.