The Wairarapa Daily MONDAY, JULY 25, 1891.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XII, Issue 3870, 27 July 1891, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily MONDAY, JULY 25, 1891.

In February last the new members made all that wis to be made out of the honorarium as established by law, and as they have sucked this orange completely dry, they are throwing it away and plucking another which is to be known as the Payment to Members Bill. M. H .B.'a are to have £240 a year. In session and out of session JB2O per month is to be paid to the lucky legislator. The Colony is to be congratulated upon the modesty of the new members, for they might have voted purely in the cause of retrenchment, fifty pounds each per month to themselves instead of twenty. Of course it was expected from the first that all the emoluments possible to be made out of a Parliamentary seat would be made by the representatives of Labour. A working man in the House wants about five pounds every week, so that he may appear to be as unlike a working man as possible. The consolation is that the greedier he becomes the more the electors of the Colony are likely to distrust him, for after all these excessive payments to members mean that additional taxation must be borne by the people.

Stonewalling is undesirable, but if ever there was a justification for the practice it was to be found last week, when the Government tried to force their land bill or robbery of freehold bill, or whatever it may be termed, through its second reading with indecent haste. The Bill provides for a first installment of land nationalisation, and under its pro visions a partial eclipse of the freehold title takes place which in time will become total. It is assumed that the verdict of the country at the late general election was in favor of leaseholds superseding freeholds, and the Crown tenant of the future supersedes the land owner of to-day. We do not believe that the Colony endorses these changes. On the contrary, many members now supporting the new land bill were returned on the assumption that they were loyal to the freehold title. Of course if the country favours the abolition of freeholds they will have to go, but it will, we believe, be bad for the Liberals if they ever have to go to the country on this question.