M.P.s' Payment The minority of r7 who voted against the
payment of Members of Parliament on Tuesday would, no doubt, have been larger if the Whips had been taken off, as they well might have been. On the other hand it was reasonable for the Government to feel that once it had convinced itself of the need for the increase it ought to take full responsibility for it. This is obviously a case in which there are good argu- ments on both sides. Though it may be true, as Mr. Lees Smith said, that the House could not do its work (much of which has to be done by committees, which sit in the morning) unless something over a third of its members gave their full time to it, no sensible man wants to see a class of purely professional politicians created. But still less does anyone want to see good men whom -the House needs kept out of it by lack of means. Lord Baldwin, Mr. Chamberlain and Sir John Simon have all convinced .themselves, on the basis of confidential information that had been laid before them, that many members find the present £400 gravely inadequate, and on the whole the public will be content to agree that if L400 was a reasonable allowance in 1911 1.600 is not an unreasonable allowance today—even though M.P.'s are now given free travel vouchers, and part of their election expenses • is borne by the State.
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