PRIVILEGES OF PARLIAMENT.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 963, 2 November 1910, Page 6

PRIVILEGES OF PARLIAMENT.

We are very glad to compliment, the Prime iuinister upon , his neat way of dealing with tho Legislative Council's proiest against tne invasion lof its privileges, contained in the House message transmitting. Mr. niNu s charge -against a member of t.:e_ Council in connection with the Nai Nai purchase. The first thought of the PR.DIE minister was to express regret at the House's aggression, but upon reflection he decided that the proper coursc was merely'to acknowledge receipt of the Council's protest, in so doing he was only copying exactly the. terms of the Council's reply to a protest , by the House against the invasion of its own privileges: by the Council in connection with an amendment to the Crimes_ Bill. The Prime Minister's motion, which was carried without comment other than Mr/ Massey's _ approval of it, amounts to a dignified assertion of the essential propriety, and indeed the necessity, of tho House's action. To the public the matter may appear a per-, fectly trivial- one, but that is only because nothing has occurred, for years to recall the importance of the independent rights and privileges of the two Chambers It would have been deplorable had the House expressed regret for a microscopic and technical breach of the Council's priand we are sure that the Council, which was quite right to raise the point, will be quite satisfied with ■ the reply. The complete correctness of the action on both sides is really refreshing in a day when the ancient boundaries of the Chambers' various rig'its have been almost We should like to seo both Houses, and the Council in particular, become again active, riot only in the defence of their privileges, but in the exercise of them.