LORDS AND MASTERS

New Zealand Listener, Volume 17, Issue 431, 26 September 1947, Page 20

LORDS AND MASTERS

PARLIAMENT IN NEW ZEALAND. By F. A. Simpson. A. H. & A. W. Reed. RICHARD JOHN SEDDON was said to have maintained his ascendancy over the House of Representatives \to a great extent through his intimate knowledge of parliamentary procedure and the standing rules of the House: in this book at least the rudiments of the processes by which policy becomes law ate stated for the benefit of present and future Seddons. Here in fact is the machinery of democracy in action, But political machinery represents political philosophy; Mr. Simpson’s glances at these larger issues are brief and cursory and the historical sketch is so compressed as to have been better omitted. One of the stated objects of this short study is to acquaint ordinary listeners with enough information about Parliament to understand more clearly the debates heard over the air. It should succeed in this. As well as summarising a great deal of useful information it casts interesting sidelights on many points which will delight the curious and the lover of paradox. It is pleasant to imagine a United States Senate "filibuster" in our Legislative Council, where spe@ches are not limited for length, although the Speaker may close a speech for "continued -irrelevance and tedious repetition." Unless the term "contractor to the Public Service" is very narrowly defined, an increasing number of citizens may find themselves ineligible to stand for Parliament. And is the ineligibility of undischarged bankrupts consonant with the principle on which payment of members is based? However, it is one of the privileges of Parliament that "the most favourable construction may be put on all our proceedings." The taxpayer should remember that maxim, This short book does show clearly the quality of parliamentary life, the unique combination of dignity, informality, and despatch in our parliamentary procedure. It shows too the necessity for strict rules of procedure which are designed, not to preserve ancient traditions for the sake of a finicking antiquarianism, but to carry on public business with as much celerity as is (continued on next page)

(continued from previous page) consistent with freedom of speech and the hearing of all expressions of opinion. Parliament, which rules the country, first rules itself.