COMING ELECTIONS CAST THEIR SHADOWS BEFORE.

Press, Volume LXIV, Issue 13131, 2 June 1908, Page 6

COMING ELECTIONS CAST THEIR SHADOWS BEFORE.

It is sometimes urged! tha. Members of Parliament should not take an active part in local government as members of Borough' Councils, Elar'bour Boards, and so forth. The argument chiefly •brought forward' in support of this contention is that a M-_r_ber of Parliament in New Zealand is unable to give proper attention to local gov•amment owing to tho fact that for about four months in tho year he ia ahsent in Wellington. There is some force in tho argument, no doirbt, but if Members of Parliament had always been excluded from local bodies in th© past, th© latter would havo been deprived of somo of their ablest and most valued members. A -much more serious

objection, to th© presence of M.P.'s on local •bodies, however, is tho tendency which seems to bo growing on th© part of some of them to ©x-ploit the local ofEc© for the piu*pose of aiding tbeir -_ectioneer_-_g campaign for th© House. The form which fchda usually takes is tho ©_hibition on tho ©ye of the General Election of an e_traor_aiia_-y amount of solicitude in regard to th© wages and hours of work of th© workmen employed by th© local body. Quit© recently, in a report of the C3_r_rtx__i_roh Domain Board, w© saw that, on the motion of Mr Witty, M.P., seconded by Mr 131, M.P., it was -resolved that tho casual labour required by the Board bo paid for at th© rat© of 8s a day. Yesterday, at tho meeting of th© Tramway Board, Mr Gray, M.P., appeared a good deal concerned' about tli© pay of tli© cleaners employed by the Board, although, as tho Chairman explained, they wero being paid in acoordianco with tan industrial agreement. It is quite possible, of oourse, that the fact that a General Election is approaching, and that the gentlemen who aro moving ill tho mattors aro prospective candidates for seats, is purely a coincidence. Th© public may bo forgiven for suspecting that the moinibers in question are endeavouring to got a littlo popularity in view of the election—a r-opularity for which, of course, the ratepayers will have to pay, in cases where the increased wages are granted. We certainly think that th© other memibers of the local ibodies affected, as trustees for tho public, should be on their guard against any attempts of the kind to exploit one public position for the purpose of securing another.

Board bo paid for at tbe rate of 8s a day. Yesterday, at tho meeting of the Tramway Board, Mr Gray, M.P., appeared a good deal concerned' about tlie pay of tlie cleaners employed by the Board, although, as tho C___r_ann explained, they were being paid in accordance with on industrial agreement. It is quite possible, of oourse, that the fact that a General Election is approaching, and that tlie gentlemen who are moving id the matters are prospective candidates for 6eats, is purely a coincidence. The public may bo forgiven for suspecting that the menaibers in question are endeavouring to got a little popularity in view of the election—a popularity for which, of course, the ratepayers will have to pay, in cases where the increased wages are granted. We certainly think that the other memibers of the local todies affected, as trustees for tho public, should be on their guard against any attempts of the kind to exploit ono public position for the purpose of securing another.