194 THE BRITISH APPROACH TO POLITICS

constituents asking for his advice about pensions, rents, unemploy-
ment assistance—all the points at which the citizen comes into
contact with the law. If the Member is well-known and respected,
he may even be asked to reconcile husbands and wives. By
diligent attention to these individual requests he may win such
a hold on his constituents as will stand him in good stead even
when opinion is unfavourable to his party. When Parliament is
sitting, two or perhaps more mornings a week will be occupied
by committee work, and for the rest of the day the Member will
be either in the Chamber or elsewhere in the House at the
disposal of the Whips. At the week-end, and during the Parlia-
mentary recesses, his constituents will expect to see him at
local functions and party meetings. The House is thus far less
of a club than formerly; membership of it has become very
nearly a full-time job, though many MJP.s still do some outside
work. This is possible for lawyers, journalists, company directors
and others who can, at need, vary the amount of work they do.
If the reform suggested in Chapter X were carried out the tendency
towards full-time employment in -political work would be
strengthened. Payment of M.P.S is therefore essential if the
House is not to be composed predominantly of wealthy people.
A yearly salary of £400 was first granted in 1911; this was increased
in 1937 to £600 which was not unreasonable, in view of the
general rise in prices. The Member has also the privilege of free
railway travel between the House and his constituency; otherwise
the Member for Inverness would be at a hopeless disadvantage
compared with the Member for the Abbey Division of
Westminster. Once elected, the Member cannot resign his seat,
but if he accepts a salaried office from the Crown, other than a
position in the Ministry, he is automatically disqualified and
ceases to be a Member. Those who wish to resign, apply for the
office of Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds, of of another Crown
estate, the Manor of Northstead. These posts involve* no work,
and the newly appointed Steward, freed from the Commons,
resigns his Stewardship next day. Vacancies also occur when