The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1910-09-24
NEAPoL1s MINI, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER "a, 1910

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such subscriptions. One would have
thought that the trade lnionisls OF
England, like the socialists of Ger
many, or the nationalists OF Ireland
would not. have found any insur-
mountable difficulty even after such
decision. But for some reason or 9th
or the English worllngman has not
learned the art Of free giving to those
who fight for him.
A voluntary subscription was tried,
but failed. Thus the Labor party
found itself in the position of having
All army without war chest even for
it's leading officers.
The ministry proposes to meet the
difficulty, as is known. by passing
measure for the payment of members
1t is strange that such measure
should have remained so long delayed,
seeing that there are now so few
countries that do not give a salary to
their parliamentary representatives.
There is not, for instance, q single
British colony in which the parlia-
mentary members are not paid a SAL
AIRY. l have been for more than 80
years a member of the House Of Com.
mons, and l have not during that time
received one penny of public money.
II is necessary to repeat again and
! again that there is no remuneration
| for the British member OF parliament
because in America. and even in Eng
land itself there is still the idea that
legislators do not work for nothing.
Few Get Pensions.
! Others believe that there are pom
sions for the members after a certain
period of service has passed, when. as
a. matter of fact. there are only about
eight or ten pensions all told. And
these are confined only to those who
have held office as ministers a certain
length of time.
This Rratuitous service in parl'a-
ment has often inflicted severe strain
on men Of small 5n1eaps.
! have known gases, where poor
member was -,aKen home each night
by another member who happened to
be tri1e better off in worldly goods.
And now and then private subscrip-
tons are raised among members of the
various parties to get some fellow
member out Of n financial scrape into
which his neglect for his own bust
ness in his zeal for the public affairs
had plunged him. ...
has been put off from time to time
though, nominally, it is one of the
planks of the Liberal party platform
One of the last objections to it's taxi
ing place was the hostility of Glad.
stone, who was old ia shioned, and who
had survived from the time when
young men like himself and been abb,
to begin parliamentary careers in their
first youth, for the reason that many
then nomination boroughs of the aris-
tocrat who happened to control them
When Gladstone was returned at 2c
years Of age from Newark, the Duke
of Newcastle practically made him 2
present Of that seat. But, in the end
Gladstone went so far as to agree tha.
members Of parliament should be en-.
titled, if they so pleased to make de.
mand for subsidy on the ground ot
their poverty, but that others who
were not poor should not have the
right to do 80.
This distinction between one class
of members and another did not rec.
ommend itself very strongly to the
House, and ultimately payment o.
members was agreed to without an,
such distinction on the present pla;,
form.
1t would have carried quite easil,
In the last House OF Commons wer,
1t not that a new difficulty arose an,
; from an unexpected quarter.
The amount that the Irish member.
receive each session from the Irisl
party fund is $3.50, not magnficen
sum, truly. However. do not thinl
that the Irish party feels called upor
. to oppose a program which was con
sidered by the progressive forces /,
England necessary for. the progressiv,
cause.
. Finally, there is difference q
opinion among other Liberals as to tn,
figure at which the stipend should b,
fixed. Winston Churchill thinks tha
it ought to be $500 year. smalle
than the United States and smalle
than the payment Of the French cham
ber
. On the other hand, I think that tn
figures usually fixed by those VIII
have studied the matter out is abou
! n \ &,