FROM THE LADIES' GALLERY.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 657, 6 November 1909, Page 11

FROM THE LADIES' GALLERY.

: " JBNMfY WEEN "IN PABLIAMENT. 'v Parliament this week has heon "one •• long : dreary; period of umitterable dullness With not one saving , gleam of interest (sare on Wednesday, afternoon and Friday night) to prevent 'the'.hapless frequenter, oftho ; Houso-from ,fad- ; ,ing info an early grave from' sheer boredom and - melancholy.' rifembefsVithemselves .. seem rto have: been .awaie' of it and,'from time to time, ' an attempt ihas !been made' to .lighten the darkness mih a few facetious remarks, the brilliancy of! whioh, however," has to be keenly searched for, and vrith light, or rather pondering skirmishes, that • have failed to arouse any excitement or •> warlike ', feeling, flickering,-but feebly, and soon dying out. NovV". ■jy.;!"■■■ :j.j J "

body .really .;sefcms to' have been interested in any of the measures that have been discussed, but all';have gone on agreeing, or/disagreeing as;the case might be, merely as. a:'matter I of duty,: some 'acting on., the .principle that, as it.was an Opposition, speaker that spoke- last, they were bound to bring up arguments against his assertions, .and vice versa." There, is a large amount of:.'.' cussedne'ss" to be, found in the. representatives; of the people. One cannot help; feeling a great admiration "for someof the member's'wives—they come night .after night, working diligently, at fancy work, nobly giving 'their, husbands the encouragement, of their, presence' to the last,, while: those-who have-no .such incentive 'to...duty, steal Quietly and thankfully'.into the, darkness of- the night as soon as they' feel endurance giving out. As a -cure, for sleeplessness,; Parliament' might have' been safely .recommended' during;the -last few;.days.'. : V;,-;■'- '■■'/'/■, ;.'X .•■'■'•-" : - ; ' ■' '-' '-'■' Mr,. Ell ; as ,Ceruor 'Morurti.' -V ■•■ '.Sometimes; '.when, in-the House,:, one'is -inclined'to rub one's eyes,: and wonder, if, by some : strange-chance,. one has.hotwandered, into the land of-the cave-dwellers./A> member has been plainly, visible opposite,: lost in dream-, land.-f'or .else reading a.-paper, pamphlet, or book- (perhaps it might, be .Marie Cbrelli's latest novel; who knows?)' All at once he disappears bodily from sight and, < after a. time, one ' realises that - he is" only burrowing: into his cunning little desk, antf.is lying.in am-bush-ready - to. :spring' out when an .opportunity' occurs, and fire a Dreadnought broadside of heavy, ammunition in the .way of Hansard quotations,, dead:-and .buried statutes (at least they'ought to be) or prehistoric Acts introduced by-some former,.statesman. -If he: is feeling •specially, cantankerous and alert, he will .gloat in .discomfiting even his dearest friend: Thpy are-useful refuges at- times are ,these "dearest friends,"'and afford great .comfort to many a speaker. 1 :-Mr.i EU.V.for one, is indefatigable in ; his efforts to' set the House • right.': on/: every. point, generally rising :twica.a fl day.to;bully it'into correct views and behaviour. It'is. his one object in life, to,harass.:and-snap, at the Opposition,''and.should thoy at any time.turn •round, upon'him,, then .indeed is his v'cup,,bf joy.brimming over, and.he fairly beams,upon, thei Honso and sets to>work:to'anathematise and candle."-:';,;:,_",..;., >, V.;,' : .'':,b. A .Brpkeri-heartedlM.p. ?;):■■'-;.■ ■'';:'s' ; . ii'On'jTuesday. members worked very .hard,' very . hard? indeedjiwith a' great amount -of. talking ov;ir. , ! l ihe-:Hospitals';B^ jburWd .'.some ;■ time afters midnight they vhdd' : •only^.got'vhalf•' through it,-leavingvta^iinancial

part of it for discussion on Friday. ..One. has > .only to turn over its-forty-eight,'or ia it one ihundred and forty-eight pages—large ones,: too— ' scan'; its' different 'parts, its. clauses and. 6ub- : clauses its heading. after heading, "and sohedule after,', schedule, to realise the dreadful stress they, are working under, and yet they .'actually wont, out of their way, to; look for more work, , setting one another conundrums as. to what "Liberalism" really.is, provoking' much sarcasm and pretty speeches.'-Poor Mr. M'Laren is' a broken-hearted man. ' Since he came into "Parliament all his high and lofty ideals of what Liberalism'is have,' one and all, been rudely-stripped from him, and, theother night," he mournfully announced the/fact- that, since .he had been there, he began to doubt'whether .such a thing as true. Liberalism-'exists.'■• Such is the.blighting influence of Parliament. 'Mr. M'Laren is fearfully in.earnest over everything and, when .he speaks;one feels that he speaks -.for,or against a,thing because his,convictions lie that way, and for no other reason, not even to bo handed, down to a grateful posterity ;by: Hansard. He evidently intends to keep the workers' interests well before the House.: Mr. ■Massey early'in the,evening could' not refrain from referring -to' the Government as the side of Expediency, and the Opposition,. in virtuous tones; as the side of Principle— the' disn tinction between the sheep and the.goats being one that must ever be borne in mind apparently. .; '.-'... 'One/thing that strikes the onlooker, is the almost .'startling way- in' which the mental atmosphere of the House changes—the various moods it seems to possess, as many-sided as the sea;-At one time it is found to be dull, inert, and unresponsive, at another .time frivolous; or else: irritable' and snappy, setting to work to hnd fault with/everything and'everybody with the greatest alacrity. Again, it may be'alert, .business-like; going about its work with a will, and as. little waste of time .as possible when ; thereis no Bill to be; blocked, or, as in the .case when the discussion on the Police Commission: toot place oh Thursday, it becomes electric,- charged, with .'expectancy and tension, .everyone feeling as if they feared that lurking 'things might yet be dragged into the glaring light,;of. publicity.' And yet, an hour or- two later,'the House is to be found calmly discussing: in a most orderly arid peaceful, not ■to say dull, mariner the business of the evening. A strange; unequable,thing indeed is,the atmosphere there, no one'being able to forecast . wha't,!.stata of feeling; may possess: it in any short'l'spa'ce ...of. time,-or what, storms "even a ; word 1 can \lead t0..-.'■ ■': '/ '■'./. Arnold referred .on Wednesday night to the ',-scarcity 0f..,-registered .nurses ■ in the ';south, and ■ Mr. Taylor' said' that it could hardly ..be wondered 'at when one realises .that numbers of.'.women- who .run nursing institutions, if thby wished to be regis-tered,-.would <have' to givo::up their mode'of .which they wore doing well, and, study ■fortwo years. It meant that everything would ;be-;abandoriedj and:a fresh start in life commenced,'later. . As a rule they were .thoroughly competent for, all sorts of cases, and he' suggested a-,plan : by: ivhich, they could .study for examinations/:and yot'not give'up their means of livelihood., He did .not.wish,todo an-in-justice to' ; the-registered nurses. ,'-'.-, ';Mr.'.,Ba'ume,'..."'.-.','.. '.-■ ';';,' ';■■■;;> /'■■[■ -Mr.-Baume-is .surely : a -.very unorthodox member, of ;the Gpvernment-^t. any 'rate: he' is viewed with stern 'disapprobation by Mr. Hogg, who. vigorously, in stentorian tones, denounces him as being utterly undemocratic. Mr. Hogg's disapproval,is iaken by Mr. Baume to be the highest compliment that, can-be paid him. At any rate, though Mr.:Baume says he believes in the Government as being the better for ..the, country,; ho seems to have quite a good deal.in common.with the Opposition, and speaks -his, mind very candidly, indeed, in a most manner, as, for. instance,- the manner'in..which: he criticised the composition of the oabiiiet.. Sometimes it is a disadvantage to have -tooywide an outlook—it \ keeps : one from'becomiiig ,a Cabinet Minister. Mr. Baume is very .interesting: as a ."speaker, and thoiight.futrp'nb ./could never .imagine him■ being .un-

dignified!or. rude, or childish. His 'ideal''.'-of. Parliamentary, life and conduct (which appears to be somewhat rare).;would not lethim. All the, same' he. has' a very . effective gift of sa'r.casm; and usesit. ' '' ; : ":;:-..'."",-' •'" Nitric Acid. • ".'■'',.'•,.'• ;: '•'. Iherewas a distinctly acrimonious feeling in the air on Friday, night, the discussion which arose in the afternoon upon: theboycotting of Ti;j,Dominion still continuing, and leading to a warm, exchange of opinions- as to?the jus-, tice of' the. matter.-' Sir Joseph replied to much that had been said at great length, and, by; the time one, had bent the resources of one's intellect upon the binding. together of the twenty or : more clauses that formed each of'.his sentences, and. spelled .together their meaning, one "was too grasp much more, .than' that the Government, had never interfered ;with or brought pressure to bear upon, the policy of the' "Times," ; that it had always.been conducted in.'a dignified, fair way, nor would he rstoop, no, never, to read the list of. the shareholders , of The as ' a member of the' Opposition had done. It was not "playingithe.game." Yet ho did not prevent" .the \ member for Auckland. West, Mr. Poole,' from reading the names of . the chief shareholders, arid how'much the value of their land stood .for. >'■ WheriithePrime Minister sat down, a kind of three-cornered ' duel; if such a .thing can be, took' place between Mr. :Poole, Mr/ Fisher and Mr. Lanrensoh,, and things were decidedly ■ interesting. Mr. Poole, the"Amerienn cyclone," as/Mr,; Fisher somewhat V-aptly called him, ostensibly rose to speak about the Imprest Supply Bill but some strange rambling freak tool: possession' of him, and; as well. as launching . the; heavy,, thunderbolts' of his .disapproval, at The Dominion, he delivered, : in, a .voice that carried,' far and wide, a. No-License ;leoture'.' Onecannot help thinking that .'Mr. Poole has. missed, his true vocation—one. had only-to olose one's eyes, and-at once; one'iwaS' in. church and boin'g'roußed. to a .sense of; a multitude of' sins, but then, if one. closed one'sf.eycs one:missed, seeing Mr. Poole,: with; .his.', olaspod hands and bent •: forward -figure., transfixing the scapegoats on the opposite ■"side; ot'the,,Houses-scapegoats that were, enjoying: thomselves ::immensely.':"The finishing, touch; was added when, in a final burst, of /fervour. ."Mr. Poole- ended with:' "Woe betide; this; country; if. i the -Reform, party gets into'power." '...'',.'.;.'/ •.■••;'.'. ."'■■'. ' .' , ; ; Mr.;F.isher'wßs:in excellent form, arid; if :liis metaphors .were somewhat mixod at-times; : what ,matter-rhis,replies were so effective. Whcnhe , pointed'. out : that : the;fact -of ■ thero:being■ large

moneyed interests at. the back of The Dominion did not-affect the inherent injustice of advertisements being withheld from the paper under discussion,- he stated., a fact that was incontrovertible. ', He effectively goaded Mr. Laurens'on into making a-very eloquent speech —one of the. most interesting of the evening.