Press and Parliament

Auckland Star, Volume XXXII, Issue 16, 19 January 1901, Page 1 (Supplement)

Press and Parliament

REMINISCENCES OF EARLY DAYS

(All Eights Reserved.)

By C. 0. MOXTROSE

PART JT

But we must hark back to our muttons. When Mr Yogel launched his ciaring- scheme of immigration and public works in 1870 it fell upon the House like a bolt out of the blue. ]U"r (later Judge) Gillies, then a prominent member of the Opposition, rose up in wrath and denounced the whole project as the dream of a madman. In a calmer mood the House recognised the merits of the new policy, though they cut it down to half its proportions. Time lms done scant justice to the. man who had the daring- and originality to conceive and launch that great policy. Parliament waded gingerly up to its knees into the golden stream of Pnctolus. It has since plunged up to its neck. Here is an incident which is now described in print for the first time. I was Vogel's sub. in the old "Daily Southern Cross" (Auckland) in 1869, during the early period of his editorship of that newspaper, and for a time we worked together in the same room. The session of Pai-liament was approaching-, and

we were discussing" arrangements necessary during- his absence as the representative of an Otago constituency. Laying down hjs pipe—he used to smoke a richly coloured meerschaum —he scanned me keenly and with an abruptness that was somewhat startling lift asked: "What amount, clio you think, New Zealand could safely borrow a year, say for the next ten years?" "For what purpose?" I asked. "Well, say for opening- up and settling the country," he replied. I was feign to confess my utter inability to express an opinion on the subject. "Do you think we could go to that extent?" he queried again, and I began to see his drift, "Yes," I said, "if the money were spent in reproductive works and settlement," and I pointed to the vast waste spaces on a map which hung on the wall. We pursued the subject no further, and Vogel relighted his pipe. I only recall this incident in proof that his original design was based on modei-ate lines. But the very people who contemptuously scouted the proposals when they were first introduced were afterwards the most active in extending their scope far beyond anything that had been intended by their author. There was much unseemly scrambinlg for expenditure, and the flloor of the House became the arena for the struggles of voracious political cormorants. Log-rolling demoralised the House, and votes became so much merchandise.

. "I'm giving up politics," remarked a Southern member, on the morningafter the Public Works Estimates had been passed. "I've got all I wanted, and I'm full up." What he had secured out of the spoil was a large vote for a water-race, in the interest of a syndicate in which he was largely interested. They had pooled a number of sluicing claims, and acquired the land through which the proposed water-race would have to run. The grim joke of the affair was that in addition to the vote for the race they also obtained compensation for damage to the land, though one of the pleas urged in favour of the waterrace was that it would be a benefit to the district at large. Up to within a few days of the Public Works Estimates being brought down, tlie member for the syndicate was an uncompromising opponent of the Government, but he had been won over in a crisis when a vote commanded a high

price. There is no blinking the fact that the scandalous struggle for a share of what was regarded as "spoil" was marked by some degree of corrup-

tion. On one occasion, in the small hours of the morning-, I witnessed the passing through all its stages, in j less than a quarter of an hour, of a ■ vote of a million pounds sterling. It : av:is en bloc, but a member with some < compunctuous visitiiigs of conscience ,; civilly asked for details. He was j crushed with the reply that in the interests of t"he State it would be in-, expedient to enlighten any further on the subject.

It would be unjust to saddle Sir Julius Yogel with the sole responsibility for this condition of things. The whole colony was mad for borrowing and spending. It was only natural, when t*he scramble was at its height, that every member who knew what it would moan to himself in the next general elections, if lie went back empty-handed to "his constituents, basing his claim to their suffrages on the ground of immaculate virtue, and contemptuous disregard for such worldly trifles ris roads and bridges 'and filthy lucre, should rush into the melee and grab as much as 'lie could lay hands on. Vogel's Frankenstein had turned upon his maker.

]n the role of a newspaper proprietor or editor, Vogel's liberality and consideration for his employers, and his discrimination as to the vain? of literary work, are still held in grateful remembrance by many reporters and printers, 'who were associated with him in days of yore. Rut in respect to liis handwriting he was an exasperating failure. It was like the traces left by a squirming spid r, after a narrow escape from drowning in tin ink-bottle. The printer who could decipher Yokel's "copy" was in a fair way to amass a moderate fortune. The rale was one and a half, or double the ordinary one of 1/4 per 1000 cms.

Sir John Hal] was a fluent speaker, a level-headed, practical hard worker, ami flic champion of the squalor-racy ami vested interests. At one period of his term as Premier lie gave Mr Unu< Marten a complete monopoly of the official news. Marten supplied a string of Conservative organs with such exclusive tit-bits «s proceeding's in Cabinet and Select Committees, and advance copies of important Bills and reports. It was galling to us poor literary Ouitlanders to find day aftei day that we were hopelessly distanced by a man who had emerged' from some obscure place in Southland and, sprung all at once into the position of a leading journalist and confidant of the Premier. Our editorial chiefs turned a deaf ear to excuses. It was our business to get news, '"per fas e t nefas."

We cast about for a remedy, and some half-dozen of us, representing Opposition journals, formed an alliance offensive and defensive," subscribed the sinews of war (which we charged to our principals under the general term of expenses), and then the campaign was opened. I am not going to make any confession as to 'now the fund was distributed. Suffice it to say that it proved a reproductive investment, and the process worked like a charm. We beat Rons Marten clean out of the field. Sometimes we had news of things before they were known to the Premier.

Matters reached a climax when a leading Ministerial supporter rose in his place in the House and asked whether the Government could enlighten hou. members as to how reports of committees, abstracts of Government measures, returns and reports were obtained by certain Opposition journals before they were laid on the table of the House. Sir John replied, in tones of extreme gravity, that his attention had been already drawn to those scandalous breaches of the privileges of that honourable House, but he regretted to inform the hon. gentleman that all attempts to solve the mystery had failed, but the Government would be thankful to any hon. member who could throw any light on the subject. Whereat we, who were in the secret, laughed in our sleeves. But a modus vivendi was found. Sir John invited us to discuss the situation, with the result that a treaty of peace was arranged, the main article of which was that twice a clay, morning and evening, an abstract of such official information as it was deemed expedient to supply to the press was made available to the representatives of all the newspapers, irrespective of political colour.

We have grown more scrupulous in our methods, and I fear it may shock the fastidious reader if I teTl the story of M.B. and the great caucus of the "Middle Party." It was at a time when the fate of a Ministry trembled in the balance. The "Middle Party" controlled the situation, holding the counterpoise between the Ministerialists and the Opposition. Victory must belong to whichever side of the House on which they threw their voting power. We had a parallel case in the Left Wing- in the last Parliament, when the Government was only saved from defeat by the Maori vote. The "Middle Party" held their ineeting-s with locked doors, and they were solemnly sworn to secrecy. Beyond knowing the names and number of the party we were completely in the dark as to their programme.

One day si daring "special" slipped into the caucus with the crowd, but he was quickly discovered and ig~nominiqusly ejected. The precautions were afterwards redoubled, and a messenger was posted on guard outside the door. But the enterprising reporter, like love, laughs at bolts and bars. Very cautiously the janitor was approached by M.8., but was found indifferent to the influence of current coin of the realm. A caucus of the Middle Party was announced for 10 o'clock next morning, at which the programme was to be definitely settled. Some time before the appointed hour M.B. mysteriously disappeared. Shortly after 1 o'clock the caucus adjourned for luncheon, and when the coast was clear a ladder was erected up to a manhole in the ceiling of the room in which the caucus was held, and M.B. climbed down, covered with dust and cobwebs and half choked. We .revived him with a whisky and dusted him down, and then fell to work on th<_ shorthand notes which he had taken by the light of a dark lantern, such as burglars use. That was how it came to pass that three evening newspapers came out that day with nearly two columns of a report of the discussion at the great caucus, together with a copy of the no-confidence^. motion, which was not to be tabled until next day. What a sensation it created, and what a row there was among the party, each accusing the other of betraying confidence. I believe it came near to breaking up the party. But throughout it all M.B.s face wore a sphinxlike expression of profound innocence. The secret was well kept.

Crowded public galleries were the exception at the end of the sixties and in the seventies. The ladies* gallery was nearly empty except on the rare occasions of a Budget speech or a want-of-eonfidenee debate. How industrious the dear creatures were, and how deftly they plied their nimble needles on those mysterious articles of apparel! 1 don't think the ladies are so industrious since they have got the franchise, but perhaps their minds are more intent upon politics. One familiar figure was always visible in the middle of the ladies' gallery, facing the Speaker's chair, .Mrs. I!., a most sedulous student of Parliamentary proceedings; whom no wind or weather could hind(?r from sitting in her accustomed place. 11 used to be said of her that she was more profoundly versed ii» the rules of debate and constitutional precedents than Ihe oldest Paiiiamenlarian of them all. and that member* frequently consulted her in matters of moment. Nowadays all the women are acquiring a smattering of political education, and when Mr. 0. W. KuKsell contrives to get his little Bill placed on the Statute Hook we may look for some startling developments. When the ladies get into Parliament, and the men are elbowed out, we may have a new version of Darwin's "Descent of 'Man." When the sex change places,and the men become mere spectators of Parliamentary proceedings, occupying their time in the gallery in patching their unmentionables and drinking tea, it will he borne in upon us that man has become a mere excrescence on the face of the earth.

Looking back upon the seventies it appears to me that the social amenities were more generally cultivated than nowadays. The session used to be one round of dinners, balls and parties.

'"The ruling families." as someone called them, were hospitable on a liberal scale. Most of the old families and sets have been broken up by deaths, or the young ones have left the parental nests and gone out into the world. Besides people are more absorbed iv money getting than they were, in the old pioneer times, when people wore more thrown upon mutual sympathy and aid. The social courtesies are now restricted t.o a comparatively lew families. In the -day* when the colony was young members combined pleasure with duty. They worked less than the moderns, but they turned out better legislation. In these times members are in a constant fever of industry, but their work is sometimes scamped.

Speaking of balls and parties reminds me of an extremely ludicrous incident which occurred at the Metropolitan (then better kpovvn as "Osgood's") Hotel. At that time it was the favourite abode of the members of Parliament, and on this account its pretensions were of an extremely select, if not aristocratic, character. At the time of my story the hotel was full of distinguished legislators, amogg whom was a little corpulent gentleman representing an up-country electorate in Otago. Thereowas a fancy dress ball, to which all the beauty and boa ton of Wellington were invited, including the hon. member referred to. He determined t!o create a sensation, and with this view borrowed from the leading actor of a dramatic company which w&s playing for a short seasoi: in the Empire City a suit of chair* armour and a long sword. -AssisteC by the "Boots" of the hotel he managed with some difficulty and pinching to get inside of the warlike covering, which was a, networkof elastic material overlaid with silver scales* like Some big fl?h out of water. In this martial array he was conveyed in a cab to the scene of the revels, where he burst on the admiring gaze of the company, refulgent under the brilliant glare of the chandeliers. All went merry as a marriage bell. The "Knight of the Silver Armour" strutted about the ball room with the stately deportment of a cavalier of mediaeval times, the admiration of his friends and the envy of his rivals.

About two o'clock in the morning the boarders at the hotel were rudely roused from their slumbers by a most unearthly din. From the apartment occupied by the knig-ht resounded blood-curdling groans, mingled _with language of a most un-Parliamentary character, a noise as of the clashing ot chains, as though some savage animal had escaped from a menagerie. ■- At* tired in their robes de nuit and carrying lighted candles, which shook -in their trembling hands, the lodgers,

some of them armed with -walking sticks, ximbrellas and pokers, •' rushed into the passage, thinking ,the house was on fire. Sometone bolder than the rest threw open the door of the ropni. whence the demoniac din resounded, and there on the floor lay Sir-Knight, Struggling desperately to rid himselJ iof the armour. He was-released-from the toils by the combined efforts .of two strong men. That was. how it came to be understood that any reference to fancy dress balls was strictly tabooed in his hearing. ;