Cracking The Whips

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 139, 13 June 1936, Page 1 (Supplement)

Cracking The Whips

AN ASPECT OF PARTY LEGISLATION IN THE HOUSE

FREQUENTLY the House is in committee when tliere is a long niglit sitting. The Mace lias been taken off the table, and the Chairman of Committees is in charge of proceedings. Away in his private living rooms Mr. Speaker may be reading, writing or otherwise passing the time, because lie never knows when he may be called back to preside over a sitting of the House, should the Committee finish its work. Or he might be called in to settle some difficult point. He might, of course, be asleep, but, as lie is out of sight, nobody knows. It is certain that some of the members will be asleep. Don't be shocked at this, and do not judge tliem harshly. Remember that most members are not young men. They may have risen at a fairly early hour. Perhaps they were about their duties in Parliament Buildings at 9 a.m. Then perhaps they were busy on a Standing Committee from 10 o'clock till lunch, and after that there was the sitting of the House.

5 Few children see the House of Representatives J I at work in the early hours of the morning. To ■ 1 see the House in these circumstances is to see ■ ! Parliament from an unusual angle. I L -

It is now 3 a.m., and they are so tired that they cannot remain awake. So they sleep on their benches. Tlicy may nod off as they sit, or they may make themselves comfortable with rugs and cushions. One or two will be in slippers, and some may be without collar or tie. In any case the House looks anything but dignified. The Chamber may be more than half empty. Debates have been carried on with fewer than twenty members, but there is a rule that on these occasions any member may call attention to the state of the House. Attention having been called, a count is made, and if there are fewer than twenty the bells are rung, and kept ringing, till there are at least twenty present. The fact that there are not twenty present does not indicate that the remainder have gone home. There are many nooks and corners in Parliament Buildings where a member may make himself comfortable during the long night hours. _ In point of fact, members do not go home during the sitting of the House unless they make a special arrangement with their party Whip.

It is remarkable that we should have gone so far in this series on the work of Parliament without previously nientioning tlie party Whip. He is one of tlie most important people in Parliament, though he is nowhere mentioned in ollicial records or in lists of appointments. The Whip is a sort of party shepherd. Hp, keeps the party together, arranges, when necessary, who shall speak and when, makes the wishes or orders of the party leader known to the rank and file, and, if it is necessary, ho confers with tlie Whip of the other party in the House to facilitate business. One of his major functions is to arrange "pairs." There are many adults who have only the vaguest notion of what a "pair" means. It is most simply explained by stating that if two members, each belonging to an opposing party, wish to absent themselves from the House, they can arrange with their respective Whips to have their names set down opposite each other on the voting records —the division lists, as they are called. One name will go under the list of "Ayes" and the other under the "Noes," so that the two members cancel each other. On the bottom of every division list there is space for these "paired" absentees. Such is the spirit of good fellowship in the life of Parliament that it sometimes happens a member will allow his name to be set down against that of an opponent to make a "pair" even though he does not wish to be absent. This might happen in the case of a respected opponent who, for good reason, found

that it would be inconvenient to attend a sitting. Little matters like this are arranged through the party Whips. Eaeli party has a senior and a junior Whip, and, in the case of the Government party, they have scats immediately behind the bench occupied by the Prime Minister. Thus they are conveniently situated for a hurried conference during a sitting. The Whips must not bo regarded as glorified message boys, for they have to exorcise much discretion and tact in the execution of their duties. If their instructions are to keep a debate going at all costs, they have to arrange a list of speakers among their supporters, and if for any unforeseen reason someone fails to rise and the debate looks like coming to a close, it is the duty of the Whip to be on his feet at once, addressing the House or Committee. A good party Whip can speak on any subject at any time. When you read the Parliamentary debates in the "Star," you may sometimes notice that a speaker may use the phrase "When the party whips are cracking" such and such will be the case. This is a reference to the duties of the Whip, in impressing on members of the party that it is their duty, as good party men, to vote for or against the' particular measure, as the party leader may direct. It sometimes happens that a member, greatly daring, may speak against a proposal which his leader has put forward. He may criticise it, and suggest an amendment, but if the issue is closely contested he may be told by his party Whip that, * although his voice has been heard in opposition to the issue, his vote must be cast in favour of it. In such a case it might be said, with truth, that the party whips were cracking. On an all night sitting, when the Opposition is trying to wear out the patience of the Government by opposing a bill, the talk goes on and on. Opposition members may speak one after the other, and, as a rule, they say things calculated to make some Government supporter, or the Minister in charge of the bill, get up and say something in defence of the Government's proposal. If they can get a Government member to make a specch they are delighted, because his contribution to the debat© helps to keep the flow of talk going. Of course, all Government members are aware of this, and most of them will sit silent, determined not to add to the length of the debate. If you remember this, you will not be surprised on visiting Parliament Buildings during an all night sitting, to see Opposition members much more awake and alert than their opponents' on the Government benches. The necessity to talk, and keep on talking, keeps the Oppositionists awake. As the flow of talk gives signs of coming to a close, it is a favourite practice to move an amendment and call for a division. As soon as a division is called for, electric bells are set ringing throughout the buildings. Members come back to the Chamber with all speed to cast their votes. (To, be continued.)