BREACH OF PRIVILEGE.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume IX, Issue 191, 13 August 1874, Page 2

BREACH OF PRIVILEGE.

(From the N.Z. Times) The Chairman of the Privilege Committee having brought up tbe report:-— The Speaker said: If the hon. member (Mrliiickie) "desires to make any -statement or explanation, be can do so, and then withdraw, in order that tbe Houae may consider such statement. Mr Luckie: As it has been decided by tbe Joint Committee of the two Houses of Assembly that, the publication of the evidence given before another Committee is a breach of privilege; and, as I mentioned to yourself. Sir, snd to tbe Committee that I was the person who. transmitted the information; and as a member of tbis House, entertaining a due respect for the forms,- rights, and privileges of Parliament, I feel that 1 only one course is open to me. I adopt that course, and beg to tender an apology -.for, having committed such breach of privilege. I may at the same time Bay that my position and tbat of this Houae in ' connection with the matter are greatly simplified by the very; handsome and frank manner in which the gentleman from whom I received the information (Mr Ward) came forward, and told me to name him as being tbe source whence I derived my information. ;I trust that, having offered these observations and such apology aa may be necessary to tbe maintenance of tbe forms and dignity of this House, tbey will be accepted with the same frankness in which they are offered. (Hear, bear.) On Mr Luckie withdrawing, Mr O'Rorke said he trusted the Houae would not proceed any further with tbe matter, but accept Mr. Luckie's apology as satisfactory, (Hear.) Ho believed that it would be in accordance with parliamentary practice at Home, where tbe offence was of a trivial nature, not to proceed further with the matter, r .He had drawn up the following resolution, which he would place iv Mr Speaker's hands :-m" That in the

matter of breach of privilege that has arisen through tiie publication of the purport of certain evidence given before the Ward-Chapman Inquiry Committee the House having considered the report of the Select Committee, accepts as satisfactory to this House the apology of Mr Luckie for having been tbe means of publishing this evidence, and the expression of regret made by Mr Ward before the Select Committee for divulging his evidence, and this House resolves to proceed no further with the matter ." Mr Sheehan was quite willing io extend the fullest possible mercy to the hon. m .mber for Nelson City for the serious crime of which he had been guilty. He trusted that our constitutional liberty would not be endangered, nor the progress of the Colony be impeded for a moment by the serious offence that had been committed. (Laughter.) He could not refrain from \ expressing hia belief that there was | semeihing absura^riear, and cries of % 'oh.") — and something absolutely laughable in tbe way that tho business of both Houses had been stopped for over an hour in order that a number of respectable gentlemen might come to! what he would characterise as an absurd conclusion. (Laughter). Why, a Committee of the House was nothing more nor Jess than the House itself in an abridged form, and to surround its proceedings with such an absurd restriction, and go to the aiinoyaDce and trouble of bringing up breaches of privilege was. simply. a. .waste, of time. I They were the representatives of the people; why not have these Committees open to the public in the samo way that trials in courts of justice were. It was highly desirable that the proceedings of 1 Committees should be public, and that the public ehould know what., was going on in Committee just as well aa members of Commute, s. He had as high a respect as anyone for the forms of the House when they were in accordance with what he believed to be right and proper, but those relating to breaches of privilege were useless and ridiculous. In this respect they certainly required some amendment, and he hoped the commission of this very grave offence would lead to that being done, so that the House might not be called upon to impose serious penalties in tbe case of other offenders. fLau o liter ) The Sergeant-at-Arma was then instructed to summon the attendance of Mr Luckie, who, on taking his scat, was informed by the Speaker of the resolution the Hou_e bad come to. Mr Luckie: I should like to remark that I omitted to say that the publication, through my instrumentality, was tbe result of misapprehension on my part, from my separating the two characters of a member of this House aod a witness before a Committee. I should not have thought of divulging: information obtained from a member of the House, but I thought a witness was under no formal obligation to maintain silence respecting hia own evidence. The subject then dropped.