The Stratford Evening Post WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE EGMONT SETTLER. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 1913 THE STONEWALL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXVII, Issue 14, 17 September 1913, Page 4

The Stratford Evening Post WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE EGMONT SETTLER. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 1913 THE STONEWALL.

m en whole-souled admirers of {lovernuent hy Party must surely stand vghast when such episodes take place is that now being enacted in. the Pariament of New Zealand. As to the merits 'of the actual pomt in dispute vo have nothing 1 1 say at this stage, nit that it should lie possible that the ountry may he put to great cost to day such farces as that now being maeted ,is lamentable. Days aim lights of foolish talk merely to keep ip the stonewall, at the enst of about! me pound sterling for every minute i if the time spent in idle folly, is not I vliat the country wants or expects tr >ay for. But apparently until we -vr.'ve some hotter system this sort if tiling will go on. We cannot parieularly blame' the present Oppnsiion, ns a Party, for lie ir tactics, he-

■anso the present Government (though t now naturally denounces the holdip as vile obstruction) when in the cool .hades of Opposition pursued a gimiar course on more than one occasion,

and was proud of the fact. Party men will speciously argue that the circumstances in all these cases were different : that the side they favour was justified and the other side was not. It is useless to argue that point, b;

cause no agreement can be arrived at. All, however, must admit tlie wasteful cost of such proceedings and, what is even more important, the tendency they have to.lower the dignity of the House. How much longer the present outbreak is to last is not clear, for with an Opposition thirty strong the play can go on until Doomsday. Each! member is permitted to speak four times on every question, and may occupy ten minutes (at only one pound a minute cost to the country) in each outpouring of sense of stupidity—as the case may be. Frequent » amendments on every item give an al-j most limitless field for operation. It therefore appears quite plain that the Premier must bring forward the reports requested and with as good grace, as possible accept the position at once. Other Premiers with even stronger;

followings in the House than Mr Massey possesses have had to yield information when so demanded.