FEWER MEMBERS

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXVI, Issue 3443, 15 March 1932, Page 8

FEWER MEMBERS

REDUCTION ADVOCATED. The Commission considers that for the sake of uniformity and to conform to the traditional practice of the British Parliament, that honoraria to members of the Legislature, with the exception of the salaries of the speakers of both Houses and the allowance to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, should be provided by annual appropriation rather than by permanent appropriation. It recommends that, with these exceptions, the honoraria to members of the l Legislature, with the present statutory limitation, be included in the annual appropriations, and that the relative provisions of the Civil List Act, 1920, be amended ly"We also consider that the salaries of the clerks and clerk-assistants of both Houses" should be provided by annual appropriation," states the report. "Although it is strictly not appropriate to the present item, we would mention that the expenditure under Vote, Legislative Department, in 1913-14 was £43,700, whereas for the year ended 31st March, 1931, the expenditure was approximately £99,000. The increase in the annual cost is really not as great as the figures indicate, due to changes in accounting methods.