PAYMENT OF MEMBERS.
[To THE EDITOR OP THE "SPECTATOR."
SIR,—There is a point connected with this question that should not be lost sight of. If a man takes a salaried job, he should do the work of his job as well as pocket " his screw." If I am to be taxed in order that Mr. X. may sit in Parlia- ment, I have a right to expect that he shall sit in the Chamber, listen to the debates, and vote according to his conscience after hearing the matter discussed. He has no right to take pay from me and then sit in the library reading briefs or spend his time chatting in the smoking-room, and merely rush in and vote as he is bidden by the Party Whip, on a matter he has not heard discussed, when a bell is rung. Directors' fees are invariably, to some extent, dependent on attention to the business of the company, and this principle applies to paid service in Parliament or anywhere else.—I am, Sir, Sm., AS OPPONENT OP THE SYSTEM.
[Our Correspondent's letter reminds us of the apocryphal story of the grocer's wife two generations ago, who said of the new minister at the Chapel, " He won't preach about Daniel and the Types, but we pays him, and he shall." We confess we do not like that way of regarding either our spiritual or our political guides, but we fear that payment of Members is pretty sure to Iead to demands of this kind—demands which cannot but impair the dignity and independence of a Member of Parliament.–ED. Spectator.]
Previous page
