The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. MONDAY, JULY 16, 1888. THE HANSARD STAFF.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1894, 16 July 1888, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. MONDAY, JULY 16, 1888. THE HANSARD STAFF.

The " Hansard " reporting staff has come m for some lively knocks this year at the hands of the Premier as well as of other members of the House. It is openly asserted that reports as they now appear are more the reporter's than the speaker's, and whatever ideas the speaker may have the " Hansard" reporter fits them to the tune of his ovrn particular composition. Members it appears also are allowed to revise their own speeches, and m. many instances they revise them out of recognition, and when " Hansard " comes to be glanced over it is found that what a member said and what he is reported to have said are almost entirely different things; If the " Hansard " staff was above suspicion as to competency there should be no interference with its work, provided figures were not m the question. In such a case then members might compare their quoted figures with those of the reporter, or where indistinctness of utterance was the pause of a bad note being taken the reporter might have recourse to the Bpeaker fo; confirmation of his work, but to allow wholesale revision and alteration is nothing short of a scandal, Tbe idea of the Premier to do away with " Hansard " we should not like to see carried inio enecc, yriih tne abolition of " Hansard," all record of proceedings would be lost, for the country is not yet m such a flourishing or m such an advanced condition that we can expect newspapers to give such a full report of Parliamentary proceedings as to render "Hansard " unnecessary. It was, perhaps, an unwise policy to reduce the salaries of the " Hansard " staff, as it has undoubtedly been the means of driving away from New Zealand really capable men. The reduction, combined with the fact that candidates for the reporter's gallery have been chosen more by favour than qualification, has done much to throw a riharge pf jncompetency over the whole staff. The miserable elocution of a number of members of the House is not always considered when the reporters are getting rubbed up about their work, but more bad report ing is due to this cause than many would be inclined to think. Apart from this, however, it has been freely stated that even making eucU allpwances the character of the " Hansard" work hap not been what might bo expected of it, and a reform m many ways is much to be tfepired. Jf " f^ansard" is to be a faithful account of the proceeding^ JU Parliament it ought to be above suspicion, and should be so conducted ag not to be dictated to by any member. Once jthe jndependency of " Hansard " is assailed, and it js proved to be weak and unreliable, the sooner Bfyjpe are taken to institute a radical reform the better it will b© for Parliament and people. ,