Ashburton Guardian Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9, 1932. MR J. N. GARNER.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 53, Issue 51, 9 December 1932, Page 4

Ashburton Guardian Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9, 1932. MR J. N. GARNER.

A striking instance of the undemocratic anomalies that are found in the Constitution of the United States is afforded by the position regarding the proposals for the repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment. The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr J. N. Garner, is reported to have said that he will not permit another vote on the question of repeal during the current session of Congress, so that the division of a few days ago, in which the House failed by six votes 10 reach the required two-thirds majority, is believed to have killed the question until the new Congress assembles. As a cabled message stated, Mr Garner, as Speaker of the House, is boss in the present " lame duck " session,vand next year, in his capacity as Vice-President of the United States, he will be presiding officer in the Senate. Therefore his attitude is of great moment, for he possesses considerable powers. Viscount Bryce has thus put the position: "In America the Speaker has immense political power, and is permitted, nay expected, to use it in the interests of his party. ... In calling upon members to speak he prefers those of his own side. He decides in their favour such points of order as are not distinctly covered by the rules. His authority over the arrangement of business is so large that he can frequently advance or postpone particular bills or motions in a way which determines their fate. A recent and much-respected Speaker went the length of intimating that he would not allow a certain bill, to which he strongly objected, to be so much as presented to the House; and this he could do by refusing to recognise the member desiring to present it." The placing of such power in the hands of the Speaker is of course a matter that affects the Americans only, so far as domestic legislation is concerned, but it assumes greater moment when matters of international scope come up for discussion. There is a serious aspect as well as a humorous one in what has been termed the "prize story" regarding the war debts problem. In an interview with the representative of a Sydney newspaper, Mr Garner, who has been one of the most uncompromising opponents of revision or postponement of the debts, admitted that he had not read the second British Note on the matter —an historic document that has made its influence felt throughout the world. Mr Garner said he had been too busy with the question of beer. It is a sad commentory on his appreciation of relative values, but it is also a disturbing indication of the reception that any foreign°"communication on the subject of war debts will receive at the hands of Congress.