Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-03-23 00:00:00

against it ; and at this very moment, they are actually
maintaining scouts there for the purpose
.of perverting
the minds of the Cubans, and inciting them to throw
off their allegiance to Spain, and go over to the United
States. And yet the American Minister can coolly
assure the Queen of Spain that " the general desire of
the population of the United States is to retain the
old friendship !" Could there well be a piece of
grosser dissimulation than this ? " Get not your
friends .by base compliments," says an ancient sage,
" but by giving them sensible tokens of your love."
And this will apply even to President BUCHANAN
himself ; for he has shown a most eager covetous-
ness of Cuba, regardless altogether of any friendly
considerations towards the Queen of Spain, or any
respect whatever for the interests of the Spanish
nation.

One's disgust at such political hypocrisy as this is
certainly not diminished in the slightest degree by
the reply which the Queen of Spain was advised to
make to it. Only the other day, it will be remem-
bered, her Ministers expressed their indignation at
the insolent manner in which the retention of Cuba
by Spain, and the proposal for its acquisition by the
United States, was spoken of in the President's
Message to Congress. Yet now they advise their
Royal Mistress to declare her belief that friendship
towards Spain is " the desire of the population of the
United States "—that by observing the line of conduct
they intend to follow, she has confidence that it will
be easy for them to contribute to preserve the
friendship and good harmony which ought to
exist between the two peoples—and that she takes
pleasure in believing that their personal qualities
will facilitate the realisation of this noble object !
More glaring, more disgusting dissimulation than
this, we say, could scarcely have been conceived.
No wonder we have wars, when so full of falsehood
and hypocrisy is the diplomatic intercourse between
Christian nations. We know who is the greatest
and most accomplished, and most successful of
dissemblers. And when Satan is taken as the
model of diplomacy, what can one expect ?

OUR CANADIAN PARLIAMENT MEN,

It is becoming more and more evident, that in
proportion as the Canadian Parliament adopts the
republican principles of its neighbour, the United
States' Congress, does it become more and more un-
manageable as a Constitutional Assembly. And of
all such principles, its adoption , of which has made
its degeneracy so manifest, there is not one, perhaps,
that has operated more banefully than that of paying
its members. And yet has it just aggravated the
mischief by increasing the rate of such payment. On
the 28th of last month, we learn, the House of
Assembly at Toronto resolved, by a vote of 43 to 16,
that the per diem of members should be increased
from 4 dols: to 6 dols.,—an act which even the demo-
cratic Globe of that city, we find, denounces as being
" to the shame of the Government," and " as disap-
pointing all hopes," it declares, "of even ordinary
retrenchment in the present session." It appears to
be a gross job,—the object plainly being to put
money into the pockets of the members. It is an
amount to which their pay has been increased, that
is much beyond what their actual expenses can
possibly be. Six dollars are twenty-five shillings
a-day, or seven pounds ten shillings a-week. And
for two dollars and a-half a day, or less perhaps by
the week, they can get board and lodging at the
first-class hotels in Toronto. So that it is not for
payment of their expenses, simply,—it is something
more, and something worse. No wonder the
members, thus extravagantly salaried, are fond of

frittering away the time of their sitting, and making
the session as lengthy as possible. ' And to the same
cause, no doubt, may it be attributed, that they are
so glad to take advantage of any opportunity of
varying their legislative sojourns,—meeting one
session at Quebec, another at Montreal, and
another at Toronto,—removals which, it appears,
have cost in the aggregate upwards of £400,000
during the last eight or nine years. Two more
removals, it seems, are at this time in prospect.
Ottawa is to be the eventual capital—that point is
settled : but while Ottawa is getting ready, the
Government will leave Toronto, and make a tempo-
rary settlement in Quebec. And where the
Government is, of course the House of Assembly

must be also. No doubt their movings about are
pleasant to the well-paid members,—the very fact of
their being paid encouraging in their minds the
notion, that it is more their own personal pleasure
and advantage, than their public duty, and the
interests of the country, that are to be considered.

This payment of members is a practice that has
given a great deal of trouble, and has been the source

of a great deal of corruption, in the United States.
They call it compensation,—a word which, strictly
speaking, means some equivalent, recompense, or
repayment ; implying, of course, that expenses were
incurred which it was intended to reimburse. Its
first object, therefore, is to repay the travelling
expenses, which is done by granting a mileage of
eight dollars for every twenty-miles of travel in the
usual road, in going to and returning from the seat
of government. Then there is a sum for each
Congress payable as follows,—on the first day of
each regular session, the mileage, and the pay then
due from the beginning of the term, at the rate of
250 doll. a month, and, during the session, compen-
sation at the same rate ; and on the first day of each
subsequent session, mileage, and pay at the same
rate that has accrued since the adjournment, and
during the session at the same rate. Members
dying before the commencement of the first session
receive no pay or mileage ; dying afterwards, their
representatives receive what is then due to them.
Deductions are made for each day's absence from
duty, unless for sufficient cause. These regulations
have been rendered necessary by the abuse there
used to be under a looser system. But still the
practice, though thus regulated, is full of evil. It is
much to be regretted, therefore, that it should ever
have been adopted in Canada,—much more so, that
they should have increased the amount of payment.
It is true, the amount is still not so high as in the
United States. But the principle is a vicious one;
and the more it is extended, the worse it becomes.
We have no doubt that instances without end could
be adduced, did one know all about it, of the
mischiefs which result from it in Canada ; and it is
more than probable that the introduction into the
House of Assembly of so many trading politicians, is
attributable to the practice of paying them
.; for, their
attendance, rather than to any other immediate
cause. It is the remark of Dr. FRANKLIN, that
" we assemble Parliaments and Councils, to have the
benefit of their collected wisdom: but we necessarily
have, at the same time, the inconveniences of their
collected passions, prejudices, and private interests."
And what private interest can be more positive, or
more direct, than that which is involved in a money
payment of so much per day, as long as they choose