M’S.P. AND SPECIALS.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXV, Issue 1172, 15 November 1913, Page 2

M’S.P. AND SPECIALS.

A WHARF INCIDENT,

DISCRIMINATION ALLEGED.

MESSRS ROBERTSON AND PAYNE HEAR THINGS.

Some days ago Mr J. Robertson, member for Otaki, asked a question in the House of Representatives which suggested by implication that staff officers of the Territorials had been in command of special police, and that Colonel Heard had given orders to some of them. On Thursday the Hon. J. Allen ("Minister of Defence) read a letter in the House from Colonel E. S. Heard on the subject. Following was the text of the letter :

“ With reference to a question in the House, asked by Mr Robertson as to staff officers of Territorials being in command of special constables, Mr Robertson made a statement that, in his presence, I had given orders to special constables. I wish to give this statement a direct contradiction. On the day in question I had been paying a call on the commander and officers of H.M.S. Psyche and, as I was returning, I met some friends who happened to be special constables on the wharf, and entered into conversation with them. I saw Mr Robertson and other M.P’s. there. Mr Robertson has no right to make the statement he did without verifying it. I have never given an order to any special constable. I have nothing to do with them, and I emphatically deny Mr Robertson’s statement, which was made without any foundation in fact. I beg that my denial may be given in the House.”

Mr Allen moved that the letter lie on the table, and there followed a debate which had litde to do with the letter, but which had a good deal to do with brushes between members of Parliament and special constables. Mr J. Robertson said he had no desire to misrepresent Colonel Heard, but he wished to relate what actually took place. He claimed that be had heard Colonel Heard say to a party of special constables, who were preventing him (Mr Robertson) from going along the wharf —“No one is to be allowed to pass unless he has a pass signed this morning.” He bad understood this as an instruction from Colonel Heard, and he had asked his question in perfect good faith. Complaint was made by Mr Payne, Mr Robertson, and Mr Hindmarsh that while Labour members had not been allowed to go on the wharf, Government members had beeu allowed to pass freely.

Mr G. W. Russell said he had beeu ordered off the wharf, and by a special constable who was under the influence of liquor. He would not have objected to the order to leave the wharf, except for the tact that another member of Parliament (Mr R. F. Bollard) was allowed to remain unchallenged. He declared that the special constables were “young pups, lawyers’ clerks of Wellington, who wished to insult me because I am not on the side on which they are.”

Mr G. V. Pearce said that there had been no differentiation. Members of the Government party were also stopped. Some members of the House were to blame themselves if their presence was objected to on the wharf. The member for Waimarino had called a sergeant *of special police a ‘‘b bastard. ’' Evidence could be brought to prove that the member used these words.

Mr Hindmarsh (who had been making noisy interjections, indistinguishable amid the uproar at the time) shouted : You are a disgrace to the House. a disgrace to mankind ! Mr Massey: Sir, I think this has gone far enough. ... I would ask you to remind members that they are in the Parliament of New Zealand.

Mr Speaker; I must ask honourable members to behave themselves. The behaviour of the last few minutes has been very disorderly. I must ask honourable members to restrain themselves. In the meantime the member for Waimarino came into the Chamber, and Mr Pearce repeated his accusation.

Mr J. H. Escott said he had been held up iu spite of the fact that he had shown his member’s railway pass. There had been no discrimination iu his favour, and he did not believe that any of the special constables on duty knew what side of the House he was on. The\ did not ask his name, and so far as they knew he did not know it. He explained that he bad made no charge against the member for Waimarino, never having mentioned his name. He had suggested that there ought to be an inquiry, and that in the interests of Parliament and of the special police the matter should be cleared up.

Mr F. C. Bollard said that there had been no discrimination in his favour, and he contradicted the statement that he bad been allowed to pass while the member fpr Avon was held up. He also con* tradicted the statement that the special constable referred to was under the influence of liquor. The fact was that both the member for Avon and the member fof Otakl were excited at the time. Hp, like them, had been ordered to leave, but he remained to “argue the point” with the specials. Mr H. J. H. Okey corroborated, the statement thqt the special constable referred to by Mr Russels

was not under the influence of liquor. Sir Walter Buchanan, Mr J. G. Coates, Mr J. H. Bradney, and Mr D. Buick all declared that they had been stopped when they went to the wharf, and denied that any exceptions had been made in their favour.

Mr R. W. Smith (member for Waimarino) said he wished to give an emphatic denial to what had been said by the member for Patea and the member for Pahiatua. And he felt it would have been very much fairer and nearer to playing the game if either or both of them had come to him and got his side of the story, or at least told him what they proposed to do. “I understand,” he said, “that the two members I have mentioned are anxious to uphold the dignity of Parliament. I ask is this the way to do it ?—to bring petty little squabbles into a place of this sort. There are remedies for things of this kind and they can be taken. They should not be brought in here.” He went on to give his account of the occurrence which took place near one of the wharf stores. His account 'was that he had been held up by special constables, and that one of them had threatened him by holding a baton ovsr his head. He protested against such conduct, but he did not use the words alleged. He asked the man merely what he meant by “attacking decent citizens in a dastardly way.” (This explanation was received with ironical laughter by Government members)] Then Mr Smith said another constable, a more friendly one. spoke to him, and he said to this second constable, referring to the first one, that he was “not going to be bullied by a dastard like that.” Subsequently he was hustled off the wharf, and the gate closed upon him. He went on to quote the dictionary meaning of “dastard,” with apparent satisfaction to himself.

Mr J. H. Escott said, in explanation, that he had never accused Mr Smith of having used any particular word. He had simply asked that the incident be Inquired into. He added that if the honourable gentleman had given the definition of the word aright, he was very lucky to get off without violence.

Sir Joseph Ward said he had been a member of Parliament for the last 26 years, and never before had he felt so humiliated as at the present moment. “We have come to a degrading position of things,” he said, “when some members on one side of the House regard it as part of their duty to come into this House with tales about their brother members, when upon hearsay evidence accusations are made of the lowest possible kind.” He continued his protest by saying that such accusations were beneath the dignity of Parliament, especially when Parliament had such impcrtant matters with which to concern itself.

Mr W. Noswoithy said be did not wish to say anything about the matter, but he did say that after things had gone as far as they had it was only lair to the member for Waimarino and the police that both sides should have an opportunity of clearing up the facts. The Hon. J. Allen said he. was very sorry that the debate had taken the turn it had. The letter be had read was refutation of certain charges made by a member of the House against Colonel Heard. Colonel Heard wished it to be made clear that he, as Commandant, had never mixed up with the strike. He had been most careful about keeping the military and the Territorials out of the strike. He (Mr Allen) was certain that Colonel Heard had written in the letter what he knew to be true. And he (Mr Allen) was sure the member for Olaki would accept the statement.