THE HOUSE.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1857, 17 September 1913, Page 4

THE HOUSE.

Save for an 'iilterr.ujstionvof . about three hours yigrtgrdajf.■; afternoon, when ■ serious discussion ..for theitimo'-. being displaced talking; against the'.clock,. the obstruction of :h\tsinM^;by..'thp' l Opppsi'- ■ tion paijty in theHoifso /of-Representa-tires has continued''without mtennissipn ' since "pres?. yes- • terday morning; the .early mqniing hours yesterday--th©; Opposition', varied their ta'dtics slightly. - Previously ■ they, had avoided divisions as'far ais.possible, but at frequent :interr vals afterwards,- -divisions wore calledby Opposition members, no' doubt with a view to'distnrbing'tho.rest of.Such of their opponents as had retired to snatch an hour or tivo of'sleep. At any rate that was the result attained, and the sound of tho division bells must have been very annoying to tho tired men who trooped in periodically in obedience to thoir call. ■ , ■ For tho rest tho debate ran unendingly on trivialities,' while as many members as possible forgot their troubles In sleep. The forenoon witnessed some word-spinning on topics that wore worn , its liglit and thin as cobwebs before they were fat-length, reluctantly exchanged fov something equally unimportant. The saiarj''of an'engineer at Tokamii served as a .;topic from before breakfast until 11 a.m. For the next hour tho baker and cook at tho Same institution were under review, and attendants at Tokanui, to tho unlucky number of 13, supplied'an ostensible subject of talk that was not finally disposed of 'until 7.40 p.m. There was a break during the afternoon; however. At 2.45 p.m. the Prime Minister announced that threer Departmental reports for which, the; Opposition had l>oen clamouring, were available. It was admitted) by the party of obstruction that this was satisfactory so frlr as ito v <;nt, but they fell back upon'; an argument that, although the reports could be read by any member and could be discussed as freely as they could be under, any circumstances, ou the. Estimates, they wero not really presented to the House, and would not be until they had been laid on tho table.' As this can only bo done when the Speaker is in the_ Chair a doadlock arose; which was still unsolved when , the Committee ran into a debate on tho subject of tho respective powers of Parliament, and tho Public Service Commis- , sionere in fixing the salaries of publio servants. -ghia

time being at 4.43 p.m., and then the weary drift of tho obstruction debate set in again. Just before tho adjournment at 5.30 p.m. Mr. Parata was' being called to order for expressing a hope that tho Opposition would light to a finish t'he contest, in progress. Two outstanding features of the proceedings during the day were the number of occasions on which the Chairman had to call speakers to order for tedious ropotition or for irrelevance, and the sparso attendance of 'Opposition members. On one occasion n'hen Mr. Witty called the attention of the Chairman to tho stijto of the Houso there wcro only five Oppositionists in sight, though possibly one or two others were lying • down on their benches. In the evening members were les3 frequently .called to account by the Chairman, This was not duo to any improvement in the standard of talk, but to the fact that an .amendment proposing to reduce the total Porirua vote afforded wide scope for random talk. Tho galleries and other seating space for strangers wero filled during the oven-, ing sitting, and tho air of tlie'ro.oin in which the business of the country is transacted when tho Opposition aro not obstructing became extremely heavy and unwholesome. Most of tho members present wero lying down or leaning back in their scat 3. Tho talk of tho average speaker was a slow, monotonous drawl provocative of sleep. -These conditions continued with littlo change, savo that tho number of -spectators diminished as time went on. Only about half of those who had attended during the evening remained after tho' supper adjournment. 1 , ■ 1 ( Weary Hours. ■ Weary hours botween 2.30 p.m. on Monday until 4.23 a.m. on Tuesday wero spent in discussing tho salaries anil other minor dotails, apart from policy, involved itii tho control of the Auckland Mental Hospital. It was an unutterably dreary, pointless talo A comparatively small -team of Oppositionists kept up tho fight through the night, those in the Houso being Messrs. MacDonald, Witty, Isitt, AtmoT6, Seddon, Poland, Payne, and Hobortson. t Tho amendment which gave rise to all ■the pointless talk was that of Mr. G.' Witty, moved at 2.30 p.m. on.Monday, 'iirid it was disposed'of at 4.23 a.m. on Tuesday.- It proposed that tho item on thp Estimates,. "Auckland Mental Hospital, £10,073," be reduced by £100. The discussion was necessarily confined Vvith;in' very.. narro>w ; limits, and. .'as. it . went on houTß:;.of \|sittmg time,'., it- may Vreadily be imagined ."that no triviality was ,too small to, be made use; of- as a subject ; of talk to fill '.up tifti6. The amendment was defeated, by 28' votes to 10. . ■ ■ •. Sir Joseph Ward,",tho Leader of tho : Opposition, did not appear, in tho Chamber after 11 p.m. until the dreary night was 'over. The Primo Minister Was -in the House for all but a very few hours, and in those few hours, all before 3 aim., he was resting in his own room in tho building. The Report Demanded. "'After'tho amendment wa.: defoated, Mr; G. Witty (at 4.30 a.m.) moved to report progress. Ho urged that it was time that tho Houso gave up consideration of tho Estimates for tne present, and that tho Government should present tho report. Ho upbraided the Government members on their failure to, got up to defend tho Estimates, or to seek to influence tho Ministers to produce the report. -Members on the Opposition side had .been toiling while Government members slept. - Mr. Nosworthy: Claptrap, claptrap. Mr. Thomson: Tomfoolery. Mr. Witty : If there's anybody plays tho tomfool in this House, it is you. The words "tomfool" and "tomfoolory" wero declared unparliamentary by t'ho Chairman, and they were withdrawn. Mr. Witty finally declared that the '-■Opposition side, would not allow tho "Estimates to go through until'tho reports demanded wero supplied. ' Mr. Isitt argued in similar strain in favour of reporting progress. Ho protested against any endeavour to • forco tho Estimates through before the report camo down. Mr. Mac Donald also Buptho motion, and complained of th'S'-Minister's sullenriess in refusing to answeiyquestions. Tho'Hon. W. F. Massey roso to defend the Minister. It had ,been stated, ho said, that tho Minister in charge of tho Estimates had not been courteous and had refused to answer questions. No more* Courteous 'Minister' had ever sat on the Treasury.-benches than tho Minister :in charge of. tho Estimates (the Hon. 11. H; Rhodes). No Minister had ever tried harder to do his duty in con-trol-of ; 'his Department, and in giving information:;to, the,, House. As for his ■alleged refusal to answer questions, he had answerod 1 evory .intelligent question put to him. Tho Minister had as soon as possible furnished members with a proof copy of tho report, and ho (Mr. Massey) believad that tho reports were how almost prepared. He did think there should bo fewer reflections on tho Minister. - Mr. L. M. Isitt said that ho had never insinuated any lack of courtesy on tho part of the Minister. Mr. Fisher: You said ho waß sullen. Mr. Isitt: I never said ho was sullen. Mr. Fisher: Don't back down. Tho Hon. R. H. Rhodes repeated that tlie report was not confidential, and that ho had never informod members that they must not quoto from it._ Ho had asked mombors to take no notice of incorrect spelling, owing to tho fact that the proofs nad not been revised. No Coercion. . Then tho debate as to whethor pro- j gross .ought to bo reported was continued on exactly the samo linos, as on Saturday night. Thero wero the samo accusations against tho Primo Minister of.endeavouring to coerce the House. The Hon. W. F. Massey said there had not- beea tho slightest attempt on his part at coercion. Tho position ho had taken up with regard to the report was that the information would bo supplied at tho earliest possible moment, but ho could not do impossibilities. Mr. Isitt: Was it reasonable to ask us to put through tho whole of the Department of Internal Affairs voto in ono night P • . Mr. Massoy: Oil, yes, considering that you put through six classes, including Internal Affairs, in ono night last year. I liavo seen nearly tho whole of these Estimates put through in ono night since I liavo been a member of the House. He added that he had never'attempted anything like coercion, and the proof of this was that the Houso had never had such easy hourß as it bad sinco ho had , been on tho Treasury benchoa.

The Coramittco went to a division on the motion at 6 a.m.', shortly after a fresh Opposition relay, Messrs. Buddo, Russell, and liiown, had arrived in the House. The motion was defeated by '4i votes t-o 13. " 1 j\lr. Ngata asked whethor ho would bo in • order in moving that the vote Auckland Mental Hospital £10,073 bo reduced by £90. ■ Mr. Hino (Acting-Chairman) ruled tfiat ho would not, and that ho must oonfino' himself to tho particular items. More Amendments. Mr. Ngata moved that tho salary of tho medical superintendent at Tokanui (£600) bo reduced by £o, and then ho proceeded to discuss tho administration 'of TokaUui. Upon a division at 7 a.m. tho amendment was defeated by 28 votes to 11. Tho Hon. D. Buddo then moved a reduction of. £1 •in tho salary of the farm manager at Tokanui (£120), as an indication that the salary was too low. This" was defoated on a division at 7.55 a.m. by 27 votes to 13. Tho division list included tho nam© of Sir . Joseph Ward, who liad just como into tho Chamber, t _ Mr. O. Parata at onco moved an amendment to reduce tho salary of tho engineer at Tokanui (£150), by £1. At 8.4 a.m. tho Committee adjourned until 9.30 a.m. for breakfast.-

After-Breakfast Speeches. Fresh relays of members put in an appearanco at 9.30 a.m., most of them, to appearanco, had enjoyed a good night's rest. One or two of the members who hud caxricd on - tho allnight sitting still remained in tho House, looking haggard and weary, but tho last of them soon departed. Mr. Lee was in the Chair for a time, but Mr. Malcolm arrived at .ton o'clock, and resumed his duties.' Tho Leader oi tho Opposition (Sir Joseph Ward) put in an appearanco at 10.30 a.m. Mr. J. V. Brown carried on the debate in a. quiet monotone, although protests of not being able to hear were made: .. When Mr. Laurenson was speaking, Mr. Anderson again complained that he could not hear. He said that he could hardly hear a word that was said, and when ho did hear Mr. Laurenson seemed to bo nufmbling along like a streets preacher with some affliction. Tho Chairman said that ho would himself liko to hear tho hon. gently man. , , . ' Mr. Laurenson continued to speak m much tho samo tone as he had previously used. ■ Soon afterwards Mr. Laurenson was warned by the Chairman _ that he was indulging in tedious repetition. Mr. Anderson: A tedious bray I Tedious Repetltipn. As tho forenoon wore on the Chairman repeatedly found it necessary to. caution members for employing tedious repetition and some of them were ordered to resume their seats. In taking the latter, course with Mr. Wilford the Chairman said that lie had no .desire to limit discussion, but that lion, members would recogniso that discussion of a trivial character and unworthy of tlie Houso must not be tolerated'. Ho was the sole judgo of that. At 11 a.m. a .division was taken upon the motion to rediico the salary of the engineer at Tokanui by £1, and it was negatived by 30 votes to 13. , Mr. 6. W. Russell then moved that the salary of tho baker and cook at Tokanui be .reduced by £5.' Mr. Massey: Do you think he is getting too much? . ■Mr. Russell: No, as an' indication that' a ; man holding this responsible position should receive more than the Government is prepared to give Jum:

,-,i t Stateof tho .House, .'v-i'.-"At noon Mr. Buddo drew tho. Chairman's attention to tho state of tho House/ Sleeping members were awakened, and others hurried ill, but they were sent back by-tho-Whips,' for thoro was easily a. quorum present. ' Twenty minutes lator' Mr.-' Witty called ; attention to tho state of'the Houso. Again there was easily a,quorum. s Tho Opposition members who wero present at tho timo numbered just five. A division- was' taken at 12.30 p.m. on tho proposal to reduce the salary of the cook and baker at and it was negatived by 30 votes to 10. Mr. Poland then moved to roduce the total: vote for the Tokanui Hospital, £2699, by £5. . „' Tho Acting-Chairman (Mr. Bell) declined to accept this amendment. He rulod thati it was out of order to move a reduction in any sub-total vote, although members might move to reduce any single item. This decision, Mr. Bell stated, was in accord with the considered opinion of the permanent Chairman (Mr. Malcolm), although the latter had inadvertently accepted an amendment to reduce a sub-total voto at an earlier stage in tlie debate. •Mr Poland then moved to reduce an item," "attendants (Tokanui) £1193 by £5 n • Mr. Malcolm resumed tho Chair at 12.50 p.m. At 1 p.m. the Committee adjourned until 2.30 p.m.