A MONSTER PETITION.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 898, 18 August 1910, Page 6

A MONSTER PETITION.

' TWO HUGE EOLLS. By far the' largest petition which has been brought before Parliament this session was presented in the House by Mr, A. E. Glover, M.P. for Auckland Central. The p,rayer of the petition, which boro , 16,000 'signatures, was that the Govern- / ireut House and grounds' at 'Auckland should not be interfered with. In view of tho bulky nature of the petitiou it was presented in two rolls, each of which- -.' was about eighteen inches long'by eight inches through. When Mr. Glover entered the House ho was followed by two messengers, each of whom bore one of the rolls on .his shoulder.; In due course . the member for Auckland Central rose to:. present the petitions, but he could hardly bo seen by the Speaker as he stood behind the huge rolls which had been placed on',', his desk. ."Do you want it read?" interjected Mr. Massey. amid laughter. .'-.Mr. Glcver replied that he desired to have/ the prayer of the petition read. As ho'. wended his way down to the table-with./'.' one of the rolls in his arms there was a' chorus: "Take one under each arm." Mr. , Glover, however, again preferred to, requisition the :services'of a messenger. Recently Mr. Glover put a pointed question relative to the removal of the furniture from Government 'House at: Auckland. As he read the reply lost night his words were punctuated with the exclamations of members. "Some of the,furniture has been taken from the.-. Government, House at Auckland for use-. in - Government, House at Welling-, ton. ("Shame!"). It is not-intended to. return it to' Auckland." .("Oh! Oh!")Some' of the furniture removed, Mr.. Glover declared,- had been purchased by the citizens of Auckland on the occa-v sion of the visit of 1 , the late Duke of Edinburgh many years ago,'and if theGovernment would not retain Govern-: ment House at Auckland, this furniture, should either be returned to the citizens of Auckland, or the descendants- of the late Duke. - Some qf. the f"rniture. ho knew was. lying in a stable. ( Oh! Oh!") "Yes," said Mr. Glover. I have had-my eyes very keenly about ma since I came here,' and 1 have seen the furniture lying in a stable. /This is.an ■■ injustice tri tho people of Auckland. The Hon. R. M'Kenzie said that the position' of - Government House and furniture at Auckland was ' like Paddj s - musket, requiring a new lock,. stock, and : barrel. If the Government: House there -.: was-to.be maintained it would.-mean tie,-.-expenditure of something like £40,000 .or: '.'50,000. ; The structure in question wasin such a state of decay that'it would . soon either.have to be pulled down or.-, burned /down. It was no use taking any good, furniture there;; ._ >. "Tommyrot!" ejaculated; Mr. Glover,. . ■ Mr. M'Kenzie: I move that the. wordsbe taken down. ■•■ ■; -•- /" '■ Government members:.Oh, no! . ~ ■ Mr. M'Kenzie: I don't like to see the House turned into a bear garden. Members: Withdraw, ; Albert. .- Mr. Glover: I do so with -pleasure.... Mr. M'Kenzie:said: that; as far as the furniture was. concerned, it __. was a very small question Jo ~ the whole of the expenditure which would , be necessary if the house were .to be re--.' tained. ■ . :..•■'