REPORT OF THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON THE ESTIMATES FOR THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

Votes and Proceedings of the House of Representatives, 1854 Session I-II

REPORT OF THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON THE ESTIMATES FOR THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

Notwithstanding the pressure of business, your Committee have met four times nd have very fully considered the matter referred to them. According to their conclusions the Estimate will stand as follows :—. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. £ s. d. Clerk 200 0 0 Messenger, at 6s. per diem, when employed 75 0 0 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. £ s. d. Clerk.. .. .. .. ~ 250 0 0 Assistant ditto ... .. .. 200 0 0 Chairman of Committees ... .. 100 0 0 Sergeant-at-Arms .. . .. ]50 0 0 Messengers, at 6s per diem whilst employed .. .. .. 75 0 0 Expenses of Members Passages of Members of both Houses 550 0 0 Printing, Stationery, and Contingencies .. .. .. 1000 0 0 Building and Furniture .. .. 3100 0 0 Your Committee regret that the more important of their decisions were not unanimous. Certain Resolutions which were agreed to, some unanimously, some only by a majority, will best explain the views of the Committee, who therefore present the same to the House as part of their Report. At their first Meeting, the Committee, six in number being present, agreed ncrn. con to the following Resolution " That considering the desirable character of the office of Speaker, in either House qf the Legislature, as a highly honorable distinction, and the inadequacy of the salaries of most of the inferior but laborious officers of the General Government for which it behoves the House to afford a remedy by all available raenns, the Committee are of opinion that, on the present occasion, it is ex • pedient that no salary should be voted for either Speaker, but that both should be on the same footing as other Members with regard to their expenses." At a subsequent meeting, the following Resolution on the same subject was proposed and rejected :— " That the salary of Speaker of the House of Representatives be filled up at £'400 per annum ; that the salary of Speaker of the Legislative Council be filled up at the like sum, but so long as the office is filled by the Attorney-General the aggregate salary of the two offices do not exceed £800." With regard to the expenses of Members of both Houses, the following Resolutions, as passed, with the amendments rejected, show the mind of the Committee on the principal branches of the subject:— " That it is inexpedient to fill up the blank left for the expenses of the Members of the Legislative Council, because the distinction of performing their duties at their own expense is one which rightly belongs to the Members of a Legislative body not elected by the people for their service, but intended to occupy a position and to perform functions in the Legislature which require that its members should be independent both of Executive influenee anh of pecuniary obligation to the people, a double independence, whereof an essential condition is that the_"persons in question should have sufficient private property to render the pay-

ment of their expenses as Members of the Legislature a matter of no importance to them ; whilst, at the sama time, it is desirable, with a view to the people's estimation of them, that the important duties which the Constitution assigns to them as one of the co-ordinate branches of the Legislature should be performed gratuitously." The following amendment was rejected :— " That in order to secure the various Provinces equally the attendance of Members summoned to the Legislative Council, it is expedient that provision be made for their expenses in attending the meetini of the Assembly on the same »cale as Members of the House of Representatives." The following Resolution passed nem. con.— " Chat in all cases of Members of the Legislative Council being summoned to attend the General Assembly, it is the duty of the Government to provide them with a sea passage to and from the port nearest to their homes." The following Resolution passed nem. con : '• That in order to afford to the people the utmost freedom in the choice of their Representatives, and especially to the end that they may not be limited in their selection to persons of independent private property, itis expedient that the expenses of the Members ot this House, as incurred by themin the performance of their legislative duties, should be reasonably provided for on a liberal rather than on a parsimonious scale." The following Resolution was carried nem. con. " That the expenses of Members of the House of Representatives should be paid at the following rate : — " The actual and necessary travelling expenses incurred in coming from aud returning to their homes, calculated and audited in the usual manner, in which such expenses are calculated in respect to persons in the Government service, i "° P erson ® ha ' l be paid travelling expenses to his home who shall have left before the end of the Session without obtaining leave from the House. c ■" V a !i tW £ nty Sh , ll i mgs a , ? ay * c f lcu 'ated from the day of the opening of the Session of the General Assembly to the day of the closing of the same, beallowed to every member towards defraying such expenses." And lastly— " Th . a t as a general principle for adoption at a future time, it is desirable that all provision for the expenses of Members of the Legislature should be made by way of permanent Act, and not by vote of annual appropriation. 7 James Mack ay, House of Representatives, Chairman. Auckland, Sept. 12, 1854.