The Manawatu Standard (PUBLISHED DAILY.) Suivant la verite. FRIDAY, AUGUST 31, 1883. PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES.

Manawatu Standard, Volume 4, Issue 230, 31 August 1883, Page 2

Manawatu Standard (PUBLISHED DAILY.) Suivant la verite. FRIDAY, AUGUST 31, 1883. PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES.

The representatires of the people, m Parliament assembled, at times condescend to lower their position by unseemly personal recrimination. Here is a specimen. Daring Wednesday's 1 sitting, Mr Bb acres asked the Government, if they do not deem it desirable to afford the same facilities to Southern members to bring their wives to Wellington during the sossion /as are af-> forded to Northern members ? He brought this forward to rebut an imputation of meanness made against him-self-by Mr W. M. Green, that he had tried to evade paying his wife's passage. The fact was, the Hon. Mr Oliver assured him the Cabinet had decided that the wives of Southern members should have free passage to Wellington, the same as wives of Northern members. The Union Company: did afterwards make a demand on him for his wife's passage. Hon. Mr Dick replied that the Cabinet did come to the decision which the Hon. Mr Oliver said they had done. There had been some mistake m the subsequent demand made by the Union Company m this case. Mr W. M. Gbbek at a later stage, rose to make a personal explanation as to what Mr Bracken had said during his absence from the Chamber. The effect was to repudiate what MrBracken had attributed to him, and he said that hon. member had shown him* self to be what he had, on* a previous day, described Mr Green to be. This was understood to mean "as soft as a boiled turnip. "J Mr Bracken also rose to make a personal explanation. Air Gbeen further ieplied. Air Bbaoken wanted to further retort; but the bPEAKEa stopped the personal bickering, the House being very impatient. Now, is it any wonder that the session is fruitlessly prolonged, that time is frittered away, that business doos not progress, and that Parliament loses its prestige and dignity, when such petty squabbling between members takes place. The New Zealand Parliament once had a reputation for respectability, which we fear it is rapidly losing, thus furnishing cause for regret. < -The idea of a member taking up the time of the House because he had to- pay ' his wife's passage by. steamer 1 Will he next expect the House to puy hor milliner's bill ? And then one member had said of another, that he was " as soft as a boiled turnip,'' and the other retorted, •' and so are you 1" Do all these classical imputations find their way Into Hansard, to show ttne people how their repre* sentativeß demean themselves m Parliament ? How elevating, how dignified, how very becoming. O tempora / 0 mores / Our legislators m the eatlier days would have not so far forgotten themselves.