NOTES OF THE DAY

Dominion, Volume 30, Issue 156, 30 March 1937, Page 8

NOTES OF THE DAY

Mr. Mackenzie King’s view that it is doubtful if Great Britain, much less the Dominions, will ever again send an expeditionary force to Europe, is no more than an echo of opinions expressed by British statesmen. The more significant part of the Canadian Prime Minister’s references to defence in the Dominion House of Commons was that which visualised co-operation between Canada and Australia in the event of war in the Pacific. There is much less apparent danger of war in the Pacific than of war on the Continent of Europe, but British foreign and naval policy cannot, and does not, allow itself to be limited by the needs of the moment in Europe. The establishment of a naval and air base at Singapore, and the recently-declared intention of maintaining in Eastern waters a fleet of equal strength to the Home Fleet and the Mediterranean Fleet, brings Empire defence to the back door of Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Moreover, these considerations raise the question of the likely attitude of the United States of America in the event of conflict in this ocean. It betokens no weakening of the Imperial tie to say that friendship for and co-operation with the United States ought to be a cardinal point in the defence policy of every one of the British Dominions having interests in the Pacific.

The introduction in the House of Commons of a Bill to double the salary of the Prime Minister may be taken as proof positive that Mr. Baldwin does not intend to remain much longer in that office, and that with his personal resignation he will tender also those of his colleagues, leaving to his successor a completely free hand. Otherwise the Government would not be sponsoring a measure the passing of which will confer substantial benefits upon some of its own members. None will dispute, however, that the benefits are well-deserved, and the uniformity of Cabinet salaries now proposed an overdue reform. The position of Prime Minister of Great Britain is one of the most arduous in the modern world, and also one the occupancy of which demands a heavy personal expenditure. Hitherto, when measured by British professional and commercial standards, it has been seriously underpaid; and the remuneration of other Cabinet Ministers has been governed rather by historical precedent than by the weight of work or responsibility attaching to the portfolios held. The Minister of Health, for instance, has been receiving £5OOO a year, and the President of the Board of Education (equivalent to our Minister of Education), an office of equal if not greater importance, only £2OOO. The Bill proposes that all Cabinet Ministers shall receive £5000; that the salaries of junior Ministers shall be graded in accordance with those of their chiefs; that the Leader of the Opposition shall receive £2000; and that there shall be a pension of £2OOO a year for past Prime Ministers. It is interesting to note that in icspeit of a payment to the Leader of the Opposition, New Zealand has led the United Kingdom.