PARLIAMENTARY

Feilding Star, Volume XV, Issue 346, 22 June 1894, Page 2

PARLIAMENTARY

[Per Press Association.! Wellington. June 21. j The first session of the twelfth Parlia- \ tnent -was opened to-day by commission, I the Commissioners being Hon. Mr Miller (Speaker of the Legislative Council), Sir Patrick Buckley and Hons. . Montgomery and Baillie. About twenty members of the Council were present, ' \ the attendance of the public being con- ' fined to a few ladies. , ! On the members of the House being summoned to the Council Chamber, \ about forty appeared headed by the x Premier and Minister?. The commission was then read by Mr Miller, and ! the letters patent by the Clerk of Coun- ] cil. Mr Miller then stated His Excel- j lency would be pleased to attend the chamber at 2.30 p.m. to-morrow, to ! deliver his speech. In his name he directed the representatives to return to . their chambers and proceed to the election of Speaker, having chosen him, ' to attend at Government House at 12 ' noon to-morrow, there to present their choice for His Excellency's approval. ! The members of the Lower House then withdrew to their Chamber, where ' they were sworn in in batches of four ' by Mr Friend, Clerk to the House, in the presence of crowded galleries. The ' swearing-in ceremony having concluded, the House proceeded to the . ' ELECTION OF SPEAKER. Mr Saundors said he had been un- ; expectedly called upon to propose the ' Speaker, and, as the oldest surviving member who had entered the House ' with Sir Maurice O'Rorke, he begged to ' propose that hon. member for the position. He had sat under all the Speakers who had filled the chair since Sir Chas. Clifford, but no one had shown such natural fitness for the office as Sir Maurice O'Rorke. Mr W. Kelly (Bay of Penty) seconded the motion. Mr Hall- Jones moved as an amendment, that Mr W. J. Steward (the late Speaker) be elected to the position. Mr Earnshaw seconded the amendment* The Hon. Mr Seddon had great pleasure in supporting the election of Sir Maurice O'Rorke, whom he welcomed back to the Council of the nation. Had Sir Maurice been in the last Parliament there would not to-day be two aspirants for the office, for it was admitted throughout the Australian colonies that the great credit attaching to the New Zealand Legislature for the admirable manner in which it conducted business was due to the exertions of Sir Maurice O'Rorke in the chair. He had no wish to detract from the services of the late Speaker, but on the ground of seniority and fitness for the position he must support Mr Saunders' motion. Sir Maurice O'Rorke, speaking for the sixth time on the election of Speaker, said that whatever the result might be he hoped no bitterness would be caused by this election contest. Considering his past services both as Chairman of Committees and Speaker of the House, he hoped he would not be thought too ambitious in aspiring, perttaps for the last time, to the high position of Speaker. Mr Stewart, in the course of a few remarks, said it was only human to err, and for any errors he had committed during his term of office last Parliament, he was sorry. It would be admitted, however, that he had done his best to uphold the high traditions of the chair, and had left it without any stains upon its credit. On division, Sir Maurice O'Rorke was elected by 45 to 19Following is the division list on Mr Saunders' motion : — Ayes (45) Buchanan, Buick, Button, Cad in an, Caracross, Carnell, Carroll, Collins, Crowther, Dnthie, Graham, Guinness, Hall, Harris, Hogg, Houston, Kelly J. W. (Invercargill), Kelly W. (Bay of Plenty), Lang, Mackenzie T. (Clutha), Mackintosh, Massey, McGowan, MeGuire, McKenzie J. (Waihemo), McKenzie (Buller), McLachlan, Meredith, Millar, Mills, Montgomery, O'Regan, Morrison, Parata, Pinkerton, Reeves, Russell G. (Riccarton), Russell Capt. (Hawke's Bay), Saunders, Seddon, Stovens, Steward, Willis, Wilson. Noes (19)— Allen, Bell, Bnddo, Duncan, Earnshaw, Flatman, Hall-Jones, Hutchison G. (Pa tea), Joyce, Maslin, McNab Newman, O'Rourke, Pirani, Smith E. M. (New Plymouth), Smith G. (City of Cluistchurch), Stout, Tanner, Te Ao. No pairs were recorded. Sir Maurice O'Rorke was then conduced to the chair by his mover and seconder, and briefly returned thanks, referring to the fact that a whole generation had passed since he and Mr Saunders entered the House together in 1861. The Hon Mr Seddon congratulated Sir Maurice O'Rorke on his election, and alluded to the friendly spirit in which the contest had been conducted, He felt sure Sir Maurice would do his duty, and that he would receive the moral support of all members in conducting the proceedings of the House from the chair. Captain Russell also offered his congratulations to the new Speaker, than whom no man was more fitted in every way to fill the position. The Hon. Mr Seddon then moved that the House adjourn till 2.15 p.m. tomorrow, when His Excellency would open Parliament in person. — Agreed to. The House rose at 4.15 p.m. It was reported in town last evening that Mr Stewart would be made Chairman of Committees, but that gentleman informed me that he would not accept that position. He was always a consist' ent supporter of Mr Seddon, and he naturally feels sore that the Premier should have endeavoured to influence his supporters one way or the other over the election of Speaker. — Own correspondent.