The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News and The Echo. THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, 1928. AN IRONICAL DEBATE.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 198, 23 August 1928, Page 6

The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News and The Echo.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, 1928. AN IRONICAL DEBATE.

For the 00« m (ka( laefo For <Aa iorong that needs reaittanoi, For the future in the dietanee, And the good that w cam do.

By ono of those ironies in which the proceedings of Parliament unfortunately abound, the House last night gave a display of timewasting in a debate on its own unbusiness-like methods. With the complaint of the Leader of the Opposition we have much sympathy. As he said, no business house in New Zealand would dream of conducting its affairs on Parliament's lines. Parliament meets at the end of June, which date, as we have contended many times, is inexcusably late, and is a survival from the early days, when conditions were different. Then valuable days or weeks are taken up with a perfectly useless Address-in-Reply debate, during which the Government and how Mr. Coates must appreciate the utterly futile votes of no-confidence moved by the Opposition—prepares legislation., Towards the end of the session there is always a rush to hurry Bills through, and consequent scamping of work. Every year complaints are made about long sittings of a somnolent bored House, but nothing is done to cultn r ate better habits.

The futility of last night's debate (except for Mr. Holland's protest) was heightened by the general poverty of this session's proceedings. We doubt whether in any previous session the standard of debating has been so low, or silly personal exchanges have been so numerous. Last night's discussion was quite "in character." After paying Mr. Holland and his subject the compliment of discussing its long hours seriously for a time, the House drifted into a wrangle about sleeping on duty. An allegation by the member for Auckland Last that Reform members frequently went to sleep and snored vociferously touched Mr. Coates' followers to the quick, and they rose to protest. Of course, no one could deny that Reform members do sleep, and soundly at that, while important business is before the House, and there was much groping and fumbling for very good reasons why they should sleep on their benches at the height (or depth) of a debate. Mr. J. A. Lee and the Minister of Lands spent some time in calling each other names like little schoolboys quarrelling over an inconsequential game of marbles. The habit of exchanging futile and witless gibes seems to be growing in the House. It is only fair to say that sleeping during working hours is not confined to the Government benches. Those who designed the furniture of the House designed seats that almost invite slumber. But the very size of Reform's majority makes the temptation to commit the unpardonable military crime stronger on that side of the House than on the other. Electors may see in this another reason why an effort should be made to reduce that disparity next November.