WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Hokitika Guardian, 15 October 1920, Page 4

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

THE GAMING BILE. A SUCCESSFUL STONEWALL. (Our Special Correspondent). ' WELLINGTON, Oct. 13 The successful stone-walling of Mr George Hunter’s Gaming Bill in the House of Representatives through the whole length of Monday night will not he remembered as a very edifying incident in the history of Parliament even by people who sympathise with the purpose of the stone-w alters. It was an exercise of brute force by a minority consisting largely of members who on occasions are loudest in their demand for majority rule. They did not pretend to have as much as one-third of the voting strength of the House on their side and vet they held up to the bitter end a piece of legislation which they knew two-thirds of the members desired. Of course this is not the first instance of minority obstruction, but the precedents being quoted by the stone-wallers’ apologies aro drawn from a period when Parliament did not rest on its present democratic basis. THE STANDING ORDERS. One good purpose will ho served by the incident in emphasising the need for a further revision of the Standing Orders. The “New Zealand Times,” after roundly denouncing the stonewallers, stresses this point. “The peculiar combination of undesirable qualities,” it says, “obtained the encouragement of victory. That basely won victory reveals the weakness of the Standing Orders of the. House. It shows them to lie not the safeguard of dis : cussion they were intended to he, hut an instrument of the arbitrary despotism they were devised to make impossible. The framers have ample latitude, relying on the honesty, rair play and broadmindedness of the members to play the game decently. Monday night’s revelation shows how wrong was this generosity of latitude by providing instances of flagrant disregard of everything but selfish opinion.” The Prime Minister expressed himself much to the same effect when lie intervened on Tuesday morning with his suggestion for the appointment of a commission to review the subject of the Bill. THE GOVERNMENT’S ATTITUDE.

But while responsibility for the persistent obstruction must rest upon the stone-wallers alone, it has to be admitted that the friends of . the measure were not well treated by the Government. The Bill was kept at the bottom of the Order Paper till the high pressure period of the session bad begun and then it was given its opportunity only on the express stipulation that it must pass through all its stages at a single sitting. This condition, as was demonstrated in the event, made it easy for the obstructionists to keep all their, forces in -the front line and to stay the progress of the measure at a hundred points. Mr Hunter got no assistance from the Government, rather hindrance, and the Minister of Internal Affairs actually joined hands with the Opposition. The member for Wnipawa was not given the “fair run” he had been promised. POPULAR, OPINION. But apart from all this, which has to do with Parliament and politicians, rather than with the public there is not a great deal to regret in the early demise of the Bill. The popular opinion here is that there are quite enough totalisator licenses issued in the country and that a revision of their distribution would meet all the needs of the case. The revision, however, would he a very disagreeable task for either the Government or the Racing Conference to undertake and it .will not be attempted unless the commission promised hv Mr Massey gives the Cabinet: an authoritative and very definite lead. Hard things were said about the Racing Conference during the continuous stream of talk on Monday night', and its constitution may be open to criticism, but among people who know it still is regarded ns a safer guide in this matter than would be the politicians.