LIVES OF PLEASURE.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 12814, 13 July 1912, Page 2 (Supplement)

LIVES OF PLEASURE.

ATTACK BY SIR R. PERKS

SUNDAY GOLFING AND RACING. LONDON, June 1 Sir Robert Perks, who described his twenty years m Parliamerit as twenty I wasted years, discussed on Saturday, the». change m tlie tone of political lif& . which he had remarked m his long ex.periencc.. "Expediencey and opportunism," he» said, "are becoming dominant factors of\ parliamentary life. , The. House of Cdmmoris is borrowing the atmosphere of the^ Stock Exchange. It does not look I^kJyond the needs, of the moment and "npt> content to tinker .at the problems that confront it m any way that ■ will patch . them up for the moment. "The motives that guided Bright and ', Gladstone are forgotten. In the twenty years J. was m the House I heard no. appeal to Divine law, nOr to the prin.7 ciples of' right and wrong. In the discussion of Welsh disestablishment, for instance, it is not religious arguments that are most prominent, but '..cohsidera- A tions of political expediency and social reiorm. "A parrallel change is apparent m the leaders of the public life of the country. Is it possible to imagine Gladstone and Bright spending their Sundays on racecourses m France, golfing, or attending flying meetings? AUTOMATON MEMBERS. . "The quality and moral tone of tha leaders of politics are to-day Of greater importance to the nation than ever before, for the high organisation of the> machine of party government has taken away the power of governing the country from thte representativjes of the people, and placed it m the, hand of a small executive clique. • The '» ordinary member of Parliament •is an automaton ; , his opportunities of political work aro ; infinitesimal. He goes home at midnight at the end of an: eight or.-ten-hours' day spent. at the House \of Com-: mons m *the - smoke-room, the library, the lobbies, and when he. asks himself, ■What have I done to-day?' the-inevi-table answer is, 'Nothing.' "The Government recognises that the ordinary member has no. real work to do at the House of Commons, and ac% v cordingly adds constantly to his facili- A ties for amusement at Westminster. There are rooms set apart for chess and. draughts; there are hair-cutting saloons, and bathrooms; suites for entertaining, friends and giving public dinner parties; there is a sort of political Ranelagb Gardens on the Terrace at tea-time. "It is easy to see by what means tho . party Whip has reduced the, ordinary member to this condition of nonentity." A large percentage of members are m acondition of obligation to the Government or their own party. There are: ; 1. The Ministers, their parliamentary private secretaries, and members who expect to enter one of these classes. 2. 'Members who are employed by the Government: (a) By being briefed as. barristers by tlie Government departments. (b) By being riUbsidied by the Whips for political lectures. 3. Members whose election expenses have been paid out of party funds. 4. Members are owners of provincial journals subsidised by theparty. 5. Manufacturers whose limited liability companies are indebted to the Government for business. '••-..', • ' •_; A-. "The number of members Outside these categories who are free agent* {■ thus comparatively small, and it is this fact that makes the personality of the - leaders who work the, machine a question of immense importance to the. nation."