THE SUPERINTENDENTS.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 242, 12 October 1929, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE SUPERINTENDENTS.

RIOTOUS AUCKLAND DAYS. UPROAR IN THE COUNCIL. ALL-NIGHT SITTINGS. (By G, H. SCHOFIELD, D.G.F.R. Hist S.) The strangers, who had been locked in quite willingly when the doors were closed for the division, in the Auckland Provincial Council, now found that they could not get out because the doors could not be opened until 'the result of the division was announced. A countout was suggested, but members who tried to leave the room so that the quorum should not be present found the doors bolted against them. At length Carleton, Mer,riman and a few othere of the. leading members of the Council retired to a, small room behind the Speaker's chair and, attention having been called to the state of the House, it •was seen that there was no quorum, and the Speaker' , left the chair. At the next sitting Bartley refused to sign the minutes because they showed that there were two members present for one seat. Spying Strangers. When the Council met again a week later a new course was adopted by Jlerriman. Attention having been called to the presence of strangers, which is the formal manner of asking that the gallery be cleared, Buckland asked if all the strangers had left the hall, and indicated that Graham was a stranger. The Speaker said he certainly would not declare Graham a stranger. A division was precipitated, and a gallery full of strangers was locked up for the whole night, and the next day until 3.30 p.m. All through the night there was excitement and uproar about the building, and banter was not the only thing that entered through the window, opened for the sake of fresh air. One dead cat and sundry rotten vegetables were hurled in. When ho had sat for '24 hours on 1 end, Bartley declared he was going to leave the chair owing to exhaustion and, some members following, the sitting closed. ■ I .. • Holding the Fort. On the following day Graham' suggested that lie and Daldy should both resign their seats on condition, that Merriman did likewise. This Merriman indignantly declined to do, but on the following day, having thought tetter of it, he was prepared to accept. Meanwhile Graham's constituents had told him that if he resigned they would not support him, 60 the offer was not renewed.

When it was evident that the Council was about to settle down for a prolonged sitting there was a stampede from the strangers' gallery for the doors, and even a few membere made their timely escape. Those whey remained had made preparations for a comfortable night by bringing blankets and cushions; but the indomitable Bartley could entertain no such thoughts. Harassed by repeated points of order and questions, he had to maintain his tireless vigil throughout the night and next day. "At times," weaarte t told, "the Council chamber became a scene of absolute riot. Now. members would be running. about after apples thrown in at the windows; again ringing the division bell and calling out to divide; again banging a bench against the floor. The uproar caused inside the Council chamber was responded to by strangers outside, who had congregated in great numbers. A cat with a tin filled with turpentine made fast to her tail was thrown into the room among the lights and was immediately chased by the insiders, who succeeded in cutting away the combustible/ material. The building, a wooden one, was assailed by night with showers of stones—not, we believe, with mischievous intent, for the windows, with one exception, were epared, but to prevent the Speaker from obtaining a moment's repose. Unless our ears deceived us much, a sledge hammer was at work. Of a truth, the better and quieter portion of the community had gotten themselves into the hands of the Philistines. The evident object was to hinder the Speaker from lasting out— to shorten the period of his physical endurance. But in this they miscalculated. On the Friday afternoon he looked so fresh that there could be no doubt of his sitting, until the Sunday." At this stage the Executive had to accept defeat, and a message came down from his Honor just before S p.m., when the sitting had lasted 36 hours, proroguingthe Council. Hie Honor declared his intention, if the Council could not function, to carry on without its assistance.

A Long Conflict. ■*'~. For some months the conflict raged in the constituencies. Williamson begged the Governor to grant a dissolution as soon as the rolls had been purified, but without avail. When Daldy and Graham resigned simultaneously on July 17 it looked like a ray of light upon the darkness. But Williamson knew that writs for by-elections in those days always stated the name of the person in whose place a new member was to be elected, and this left him still face to face with the skeleton of his earlier error. He begged his Excellency for a dissolution, but Stafford,. feeling that he had not exhausted every means of ending the deadlock, advised him to get the seat refilled. Against Stafford's advice, Williamson issued two writs for the new election, one to replace Graham and the other to replace Daldy. When, on the day of the nomination, the first writ was read C. Southwell and Hu<*h Coolahan were, nominated, anrt on the eecond writ Southwell and C. &.. Harris. At the poll Coolahan' was elected on the first writ and Harris on the second, so there were again two candidate* for the one seat. The Superintendent had to abide once more by the skeleton of his error. Meanwhile, the Court had declared that the nominations were illegal, as sufficient notice had not been given. • . Poolahan was licensee of the WaitemS, Hotel, and Southwell afterwards editor of one of the Auckland newspapers.