THE BRYCE EPISODE.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 3112, 25 June 1892, Page 2

THE BRYCE EPISODE.

PETITION TO THE HOUSE.

The Herald's special correspondent in Wellington sent the following particulars on Thursday, in regard to the action now being taken by Mr Bryce to have the vote of censure passed upon him last session rescinded: We have not yet heard the last of the nowhistoric# Bryce episode. To the surprise of the House, Mr George Hutchison this afternoon presented a petition from Mr Bryce, praying the House to reconsider the resolution of censuro passed upon him, and also that he might be heard at the bar of the House. Mr Hutchinson was desirous of moving forthwith that Mr Bryce be accorded permission to address the House at the bar ; but the Premier objected, remarking that the matter had been sprung upon the House as a surprise. Mr Hutchison retorted that every inhabitant of the colony had a perfect right to petition the House, and that the Premier's remarks were uncalled for. He gave notico to move to-morrow that Mr Bryce's request to be heard at the bar be granted. THE PETITION. The following are the salient passages in the petition :— After citing the resolution of censure of the words taken exception to,Mr Bryce proceeds to say: "Your petitioner did not think at the time, and does not now believe, that the words taken exception to were unparliamentary when used at the proper time in the course of argument. He has never, however, disputed that the Speaker's ruling on such matters ought always to be implicity accepted and promptly obeyed. Your petitioner has always enjoined obedience to this rule, and has never violated it in the whole course of his Parliamentary career. Only ten minutes before the clearing of the galleries and on the occasion in question, your petitioner avowed in general terms his intention of accepting the Speaker's ruling, whether right or wrong— an attitude entirely eonsistent with his goneral conduct as a member of your Houourable House. If in some moment of madness your petitioner had resisted and defied the authority of the chair (as has been freely imputed), his regret would have been extreme, and he would have known no rest until his error had been atoned for by the deepest and most ample apologies. " As a matter of fact, Mr Speaker did not call on your petitioner to withdraw any words, and never in his hearing pronounced the complete words used by your petitioner to be unparliamentary. On the contrary, Mr Speaker distinctly led him to suppose that the words * for relying on a technicality ' qualified, modified, and reduced the slight degree of disorder which in Mr Speaker's opinion was contained in the first part of the sentence. It was impossible to imagine beforehand that the novel and remarkable injustice was" intended of separating the first part of the sentence from the remainder of the sentence, and impeaching your petitioner thereon. " Your petitioner thus avers that he has always been prepared to yield obedience to Mr Speaker's ruling, and to recognise that order must be maintained ; but he denies the right of a Minister of the Crown to exact tho same obedience to himself from any member of the House of Representai tives. On the occasion in question, the honourable the Premier, of his own authority, demanded the withdrawal of words which your petitioner believed then, and believes now, he had a perfect right to use, and accompanied the demand with the threatening motion. " Thatjthe words be taken down."

" Had your petitioner, from the fear of evil consequences to. himself, obeyed the dictation of the Premier, he would have done something tending to destroy that liberty of speech which is the proudest privilege of constitutional assemblies. If it had been poisible for your petitioner to have committed the constitutional crime •f admitting or allowing the right of a a Minister of the Crown to dictate to a representative of the people what he should say or leave unsaid in the House of Representatives, a sense of personal degradation would have fallen upon your petitioner which could never have been removed, and in his well-merited abasement he would have become utterly unfitted for the performance of nny public duty. _ " Hence your petitioner, in refusing to withdraw the words used by him at tho demand of the Premier, declared that lie would rather ' take the consequences.' It has never been pretended that the latter words were used more than once by your petitioner; and in view of many misstatements, it is fortunate for him that the Hansard record leaves no doubt as to when the words were used, or to whose demand they were applied. The contention, therefore, that the resolution of censure was passed in vindication of the Speaker's authority fell to the ground. No such issue was raiittid while your petitioner was permitted to remain in the chamber. Your petitioner was condemned for not obeying the Premier, although probably many members voted for the resolution deceived by the assurance that they wore thereby supposting the authority of the Chair. "Your petitioner felt, and contiuuos to feel deeply, that the infliction of such a stigma upon him m the manner described was deficient in the justice and consideration he might reasonably have expected to receive from the House of Representatives, yet your petitioner, since the occurrence, which was so painful to him, has carefully refrained from the use of words disrespectful ti) your honourable House, or discourteous to the Speaker thereof, trusting always that the time would come when the House of Representatives would not think the removal of the resolution of censure from its journal inconsistent with justice or derogatory to its own honour and dignity. "Your petitioner admits that it is not improbable that he may be over-sensitive to injustice either to himself or to others, coming from a source he has been accustomed to regard with respect. If this be so, it indicates the esteem in which he has held your honourable House. Your petitioner feelß that the true dignity of Parliament is bound up with the welfare of the colony, and he prays you to believe that he would do nothing willingly to impair it; but he is well assured that equity, truth and justice (lovely in themselves) constitute the highest dignity to which any assembly can attain, " Therefore, he praytf that you will be pleased to reconsider the resolution of your honourable House hereinbefore recited, and do theiein as justice may require; and, inasmuch as erroneous representations have been made to the grave prejudice of your petitioner, he further prays that you will be pleased to allow htm to be heard in support of the allegations and prayers of this his petition at the Bar of your honourable House." Mr McGuire (rave notice to move to-day, "That the resolution passed by the House last session referring to Mr Bryce be rescinded."