New-York tribune., 1906-03-23


| the democratic movement. Certainly the Prime
Minister was justified in ridiculing the spirit
| Of exaggeration with which the payment of
legislative salaries treated as a breach of
trust and the voting of them by the members
themselves as little less than felony In view
OF the experience Of all the self-gOvernng colo
MES and Of America and other countries with
sdlaried legislative assemblies, the CONSERVATION
among Tories caused by the governments frank
acceptance Of the principle that a public ser
want deserves his living expenses, If not good
wages, seems highty. II members of Parlia-
neht are 70 be paid for their services. the money
should come from the national eXChequer rather
tnan from trade union leVies and similar funds.
The servant Of the nation who has a living wage
is more dignified and self-respeCting parsonage
Than the paid representative even of so large
and useful class as combined orga niZed labor.
Yet so loud is the lamentatiOn so dismal the
Croaking, over the bare proposal of a paid Par
Lament and the degradation of the best club
In London that one wonders whether Macaulays
New Zealander has come at last to gaze upon
the ruined bridge Of Westminster and the big
rubbish heap between 1t and the Abbey.
one of the arguments used against the sug-
geston of a salaried Commons may prove
boomerang to help 1t along. This is the conten-
tOn that there must be no discrimination be
tween the two houses Of Parliament, and that
deserving peers well the trade union walk
Ing delegates shall be paid moderate wages.
The services rendered by the upper house are
Ilkey 10 oecome more arduous when there is n
progressive lower chamber. astir with demo-
cratic impulses. and it is urged more or less
seriously that every peer Is now in the way OF
earning his living and ought to have at least,
an enabling salary large enough for meeting
can GareS ana sandwiches at the bar, II not suHl-
GENTLY remunerative TO compensate him for his
time and trouble in safeguarding the empire
against Radicalisn and Revolution. The Lib
eral benches We're in an uproar OF meTriment
when living wage for the peers was proposed
as good sauce for the gander. one brutal Radi-
cal. recalling the strange spectacle when the
Lords rallied i'm force to vote down Mr.. Glad
stones Home Rule bill, shouted. PAY them to
stay away" and there another guffaw of
merrlment. There was a change OF tone when
the interruption was commented upon in the
smoking room. Advanced Radicals were dis
posed TO think It would be true economy TO pay
the Lords in regular attendance and to exclude
absentees from the benefit. In this way limita-
tiOns could he set upon the number Of peers
available for legislative functions, and the power
Of the privileged house he largely reduced,
The democratic leaven is working but it will
be long before the whole lump Is leavened.
Payment Of members will be deferred In both
houses for many day, along with old age pen
sions and for the reason-the money can
not be found for it. This is more convincing
reason than Sir William Harcourt's aphorism,
once pay q member for his votes collectively
and he will very soon make a market for his in
dividual votes; or than Mr.. Gladstones strong
preference for Eratuitous service in Westminster
in municipal council; than Mr. James
Bryce's comment on salaried legislators in The
keep up a class Of professional politicians, for
the salary. though small compared with the in
comes earned by successful merchants and law
yers is prize to men Of the class whence pro-
fessional politicians usually come" The scale
of expenditure has been brOadened in admin
istrative business until it is impraCticable TO
establish precedent for dispensing with
paid work in county and borough councils,
boards of guardians, benches of magistrates,
royal commissions and other bodies There must
be retrenChment rather than expansion of ex-
penditures. or every member Of the government
benches will have to explain to his constituents
a breach Of public faith.
Yet the way of Tetrenchment is neither easy
nor smooth. For ten years Liberals have been
the War Office under Lord LansdOwne, Mr..
BrodriCk and Mr. Arnold Forster and this week
they have heard confession from their own
War Minister that he has been forced TO con-
tent himself with beggarly reduction Of FL 600
in the military estimates. II most
brilliant speech. remarkable for breadth of view
lucdtty of exposition and soundness of judg-
ment Mr.. Haldane, after being for a few weeks
in the War Office, has mastered details and con-
CSHOd dIeu upon IHe CoIHpleA pIOblelns OF the
service tremendous power Of clear thinking
and logical analysis. He promises to become as
great War Minister Mr.. CardweH was a
generation ago, and already he has only one
rival in the government for administrative eff
cheney Yet when this capable Minister at
tempts to cut down expenses he has little sue
cess. hundred men will be withdrawn from
st. Helena, several colonial garrisOus will be re-
called three hundred useless guns viii be
dropped from coast QeIenCe, the native regiment
at Wei-Hai-Wei will be disbanded, stOrehOuses
IF ammunition provided for the defence of the
metropolis will be broken up and other small
economies viii be effected. When the blue water
theory has been carried TO the remOtest reach
and England pronounced absolutely secure
against attack. the military budget has been left
virtually rs IL was. Retrenchment is admitted
to be a sheer impOSsibility without destruction
of the army itself, and the best thing that Lib
erals can say is that after there have been four
costly and wasteful military policies in the
course of half century there will not be an
other one at once. Economy is not likely to be
one Of the elements in the democratic leaven.