LOBBY GOSSIP

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2197, 9 July 1914, Page 7

LOBBY GOSSIP

r y- ■ , AND POINTS FROM DEBATES t DAILY SUMMARY ' Formal business was disposed of in a quarter of an hour in tho Houso of Kepiesontatives yesterdaj Tlio Haibours Amendment Bill (in charge ol the ; Hon F 31. B Fisher) Has read a lust time Jliniaters' ieph*> to questions tteie circulated, but could not ha discussed on account of the No Confidence } An<endmont before the House Mi G M Thomson lose to cany on Uio No Confidence Debate at 2 45 p m Ho opened his speech with a serioj of sitiudnl leforonces to the Opposition which pilpiblj got home, and went on to dejl_ interestingly with questions of agriculture, foicstiv, and cost of hung Air, J 0 Thomson, who folldned, did }iot bical any new ground, and when he'sat down the Government left jt to , theu opponents to carry on the debate it they felt so inclined Tho Speaker got as fai as to ask tor "Ajes on tho amendment, but 3lr Hamii ioso in the , nick of time Evident!,, the Oppositon Wcie not 3 t_t prepircd to go to a illusion, • r ' The d-bato was continued in tho even bj Mr G J Vndcrson, and lpoked like going on but the end came suddenly ' At 8 37 p m tho Speaker was allowed to put the question, and declared the 'amendment lost on the voices 'Ihe Opposition immediatolj challenged o dm sion, and it resulted Against the intendment, 39, foi tho amendment, 81 f "The lesult was greeted with applauso bj tno Opposition, s and with laughtei Irom tho Government benches. Afterwards the Address in-Replv derammed by Mi. J V i Biown ' Tho last spoiker of,the evening" v,as Mr, C A Wilkinson, who directed a nie pf criticism at the Opposition, undei V<jk ™y V,CIC eitiemely restive Tire 'debate was adiourncd, on the notion of Mr J M'Combs, and tho Houso ioso at H 20 pin/ THE STATE OF PARTIES. VOTING IN THE NO-CONFIDENCE DIVISION' Taken at its face value, the result of the division taken in tho no-conh-deilce div ision in the Houso of Representatives last evening is a little misleading 'Jlieio was some misundeistanding about the pan granted to Jir Ngata J lid" Government had agreed to keep hmi" i cdv<.icd with an absentee from their own side, and in the first lustanco Mi llmo was paued against him, then Jli Bell, 1 and latfcilj Mi l Clark Mr Clark liad to leave on Tuesday night with > a sick friend bound foi Kotorua The Opposition, however, objected to ' Jli,, Claik being paired against Mr Ngata, and so when the duision was (Jailed Mi Bell had to leave bci,,to movent the possibility of its bo ingfSiid that*there had bten a breach ofjaith Mi. Jlillar, who is in lather -v t popi. jUst ( now, was not present when the division was'taken, so, his vote as well as Mi Clark's, was lost tojtiic Government m the division Had these votes been available, the Government's inajoatj would have been seven Taking the spoakci into, 'account, , the strength of paities is — *"' , Government , .44 ... , S1 < i 30 , Labour " ..i 6 i giving the Government a clear majority of oii?ht over Wardists and Labbur combined , ' V ' MR. PAYNE'AGAIN.' Jlr. was on Tuesday sus-' ponded foi having made an offensive lemark concerning,, Minister, ' and< for reusing to. vvjthdrjitt it, has given notice to ask the Prime Minister, 1 1 "Whether he will movo to have tho Standing Orders so amended as to allow any member of *ke Housj to'nvake t> direct charge of bribery and corruption against a 31inister or Ministers oi against tho Government ,as a whdle without being liablo to the censure of the House, it being left open to the paity or pirtios subject to i charge of bribery and corruption to take such action ,as may be deemed necessary to ciusc any inquiry to be made into such chaiges'" i t "REAL FINE DAFFIN'." A little "good fooling," to use a phrase of his own, was indulged ir f bv Mr G 31 Thomson m the House of Ropiescntatives vosteiday The otherday Jlr Isitt quoted—in actual fact-he misquoted— the line of Shakespeare, "Sans teeth, sans eves, flans taste,' sans everything" Mi Isitt said "sans eyes, sans ears," and then broke down Also l.e pronounced "sans" as an English word, m winch lesueet lie merely used .the pronunciation used by many people of sckohrship ;' But Jlr Thomson, took him to task "I-wish that membeis of the Houso would refrain from quoting Trench unless they are prepared to pronounce it propeily I often see tho PostmastciGeneral squirm when Frerch is badly mispronounced by tho member for Christcluirch North, and othei Oppositionists And no wondei'" Mr Isitt I was ouoting SlnkLspcirc Mi Thomson But I am quite sure that Shakcneare spoko French and pronounced it corrects , I was , almost inclined to quote a littlo Latin to them, but I don't know whether I should < Mr Mien Let them have it Jlr Thomson• It is a very well-known quotation No doubt the member for Avon knows it, among those many quotations that'he digs out up tf'cro m a , corner of the libraiv It is fr*m Horace "Dulce est desipere m loio," winch a comoatnot of mine has tianslatcd "ical fine daffin' " Opposition members What? Jrr Thomson- Real fine damn'—good fooling no went on with his "daffin' " bv giving a local amplication to a little passage from Macbeth HIV" TO BUY CHEAPLY. "I believo 1 that if people would icvert o in old custom nnd do their own niai<c«tmg they would teduce tho tost of \ hung a good deal" said Mr G JI, Thomson in tho House of Representitives vesterdav "liven in thocotintiv districtb people now insist on having then, necessities brought to then own doors and so thev ire increasing pnorEioush th" cost of distribution I have noticed in Diinodm the very large number of uis.li shops that havo sprung up latclv, osnr-rnlly butchers' sliops, and , people who do then own marketing must find in enormous/reduction in the cost of living" \ '\ , l WHERE LABOUR SQUEEZES. Speaking of the cost of In nig and the finding of the Commission of two veins ago against whit were formed combines, Mr. G Jf Thompon <!aid "Sir I know of no combines which aio c o oppicssivo i as combinitions of working peonlo igiiiT-t oiip "mother I lnve hid a "nso brought before me—probiblj eiorv menibei of the House kliov s of it — which sl'ows how woikers have combined to TrcA prices out of grocers i ith the result tint thev are fqueci'iw somn of the snHler men out of business " Tliese m*n hid little thought he" decl"Ted, for tho welfare of Others in their scheming to reduce the cost of 1»ing for themselves.- , ONE IN A MINORITY. "Tho Got eminent have intiodueetl ••epres'-ntntioti in the t T pper Ftr,ii«"," will Mr G 4 Vmlerfion in Hie House of Beitesentnti\'e<, Innl mclit in j«ph lo in <iccus"tion uj Air ilinnn | that Air Jfisscy had gone back on his former piofcisions ill favour of proportinnnl rcpicsontntion Mi Russol' Not yetl Mr Anderson linless the honouiable

gentleman's suppot ters in that Chamber vote it out again it w ( ill be. I beliovo in piopoitioiial lepresentation I would' have is in this House, but I am only one m a minority. I doubt if the membei foi Invc-caigill would support propjitional lopiesentation for this i Chamber. I think ho would bo found | in the lobby voting against it. I doubt whether tne Bight Honouiable the Laadoi of the Opposition would support it." > THE TRACIC OPPOSITION. ' MR. THOMSON'S SATIRE. Mi. G M Thomson drew upon "Macbeth" yesterday in order to give pointed oxpiession to his opinion of the Opposition, and bome or its piominent membeis lie submitted to the House the following plajlct, which was listened to with evident mteiest and amusement. "THE AVITCHES' CAULDRON" "H.M Roval Comic Opera House, "Pailiameut Buildings, Wellington. ' Fust Witch (Right Hon ,Sir J G. Ward). "Here's the blood of a bat." Choi us (The Opposition). "Oh, put in that! Put in that!" Second Witch (Member ' for Avon): "Here's lizards' brain." Chorus: "Put in a giain " , Third Witch (Membei for Chiistohiiroh Noith): "Here's juice of toad! Here's oil of addei, which will make the chaim glow madder." ( Chorus "Put'in all these! Put m all these! 'Twill raise the stench l " At this point Mr Thomson was mtenupted in his reading by Mi. G W Russell with the polite mquirj "When did vou get jour bead read last 0 " Mr. Thomson) did not say. He went on to read:

Hecate (Member for Hutt—up a tice) "Holdl Here's tlueo ounces oi a red-haired wench I" J

Chorus. "Round I Around 1 About I About! All ill come 'in; all good keep out I" 1

"What good can we expect," asked Mr Thomson, "out or this hell-broth, it I may call'it so?" ' N

Mr. Isitt linmentary ?" ' Mr'. Thomson: "ItisShakespeaiean."

"Jlr. Spcakei, is that Par

.., THE COVERNMEKT AND > WORKERS.

The nsseition made by Mr W. A Yeitch, member toi A\ anganui, last week, that the piesent Government's policy is hostile to tilt inteiests ol tlio woikers is bung vigorously combated b) a numbei of working men at Ngai ua«ahia, in the Waikato distuct Tho day I after Mi.'Veitch's speech, Mi J A. Young, mcmbci for Waikato, leccived I a telogiam signed b3 nine employes of the N Z i Dauj Asstciation's factoij at Ngamawahia, stating that Ah'. VeiVh's statement vat "simply bosh" On the following oaj Mi. J Robeitson (Otiki) TCad another telegram w Inch ho said had been leceivbd bj Mr v Veitcli from some woJcis at the same fictoiy, confiiming Mi Veitch's Mew, and insinuating that tho inessige tint had been sent to Mr Young was n joke 1 Mr, Robertson did not load tho signatures to this jtclcgiam, hut he said that'they were no doubt the iignatuios of tho same woikers wlio had sent tho

telegiam to Mi. Young ' ,Mi. Robertson's statement led to se\-' 01 al fihthei telegrams from Ngmuawahia being sent to Mi Young on tint day, but'owing to his absence m his constituency dunng the week-emihhe rl'd not recenc them until Monday. These messages dispose of tho "joke," ston, and show that'Mrj Veitch's state'ments have met with vcij strong opposition from a large number of the porkers at Ngamawahia. Mr. E J.,Mbffi't!tyynho;'liad pT6\iduslyi( tdetrraphed Mr Young'combating Mr* Veitch's statement, stated in'n furthei message on "I load tho import of Mr Veitch's speech to the bnnds, and I asked 'Was it correct? ' They stated, 'No,' and I suggested t|iaf should wire a\\ . Mr Mvloi wrote the telegram. Tlio hands siined their own names There was no joke " Messrs M-\les, fitness Bros , and V Lucas also tolegraplicd confiiming Mr i Mrfhtt's statement j The following message was also amongst "the batch leccived In Mi Aomi" o'« Mond'n —"We Central Factor* woikcis congratulate *ou on }om ieph to Mr Vcitch " This is fiuned I>l W Fitness A lutnoss, \ Chalmers, T GillanJei H C 761018011 H Goodwin, F, J Moflitt, jun , and E J Mof- i htt, sen ' |

notes in brief.

"I have not had time to get figures," said Mi J V Brown ill tho House of Representatives last night ivlion dealing with certain land matters during the course of the debate on the Address-in-Roply "No," he continued "I did not hate the time When *ou had this lovelv diusion this evening I was asked, m a burn i to got up -Mid say something to you " (Laughter) Mi G J \nderson recalled last evening 'ho interesting fact that twentv years ago, when tho Stiiiding Orders of the House of Representatives wore being icvised/Sir Joseph Wftrd ?nd Sn' James Cinoll \oted for tho 7ntroductiou of the closure

"If motor-cirs were taxed at tho same rates as tobacco, thev "would brine; in a revenue of ono and a half millions And I maintain that motorcais aie just as much a luxury as tobacco" —Mi C A Wilkinson on tanff anomalies in the House yesterday Mr Hunter is to ask tho Minister ot Justice whether he will make pro- \ ision foi the erection of a Courthouse at Waipukurau Sittings of the Court aie now lipid at Waipukurau on fom days a week m a Toom attached to tho Public Library, and under inconvenient and unsuitable conditions

Ml. Seddon suggested to tho Government (bj waj of a question) tnat in order to avoid confusion an interim electoral roll should be compiled pending the completion Of tho main roll

The Prime Minister infoimod Mr M*ers *esteida\ that a Bill would bo submitted to Parliament"-this session dealing with the wholo question of roads and bridges and tho maintenance of main roads