The Dominion. TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 1925. THE SPEAKERSHIP

Dominion, Volume 18, Issue 152, 24 March 1925, Page 6

The Dominion. TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 1925. THE SPEAKERSHIP

Unopposed re-election of the Speaker of the House of Commons to his Parliamentary seat has been the custom in England for about a century. This, of course, does not mean that a Speaker once chosen is or should be entitled as of right to re-election to office so long as he cares to offer himself. No Parliament has ever granted or is likely to grant such a privilege. All that a Speaker should be entitled to after holding office for a term is uncontested re-election to Parliament. Parliament can then decide whether or not he shall be re-elected to the office of Speaker. We mention this matter now because this is the year of a general election in New Zealand and we believe_that it is desirable that the leaders of the political parties here should give the question of the position of the Speaker their careful consideration. It is desirable, too, that the subject should receive early consideration in order to minimise the possibility of later complications interfering with an agreement being reached. Originated by agreement between the two great parties in Britain something like a hundred years ago, the unopposed return of the Speaker for his Parliamentary seat in the House of Commons has not, so far as we can trace, ever been challenged. Even since the growth of a third powerful party in British politics—the LabourSocialists —the practice has been maintained. The force and the fairness of the custom seem to have appealed to them as it has done to their political opponents. Of the reasons which led to the adoption of the custom, continuity of service by a Speaker for a reasonable term of years seems to have counted for a good deal. Loss of the services of a Speaker through his failure to be returned to the House of Commons could not necessarily be regarded as a disaster of the first magnitude there, because in an assembly of between 600 and /00 members there are usually several whose records point to them being likely to.be successful in the chair. Of course, the House does not always find a Denison, a Brand, a Peel, or a Lowther. But the average performance is high enough to free it from any serious anxiety when it has to fill a ..vacancy. Yet with the supply of good Speakers in excess of the demand political parties in Britain have deliberately made and retained the custom of leaving the Speaker free from ordinary election cares. But another and perhaps in this Dominion a stronger reason will commend itself to every thoughtful person. That is the question of fairness. The moment a Speaker is elected to the Chair he ceases to have any party politics. ■ When he is in the chair he neither speaks nor votes, save as regards voting in the case of a tie. Nor, according to later English practice, does he speak or vote when the House is in Committee, and he for the time being-is just an ordinary member. Clearly to ask a Speaker whose tongue must be silent on every important political question before the House of Representatives to fight for his seat and his own political existence against opponents who are under no such handicap does not seem fair. It is in effect compelling him to fight with one hand tied behind his back. Nor is it a sound proposition from the point of view of Parliament and the country generally. It is most important that we should maintain the highest possible standards in the. conduct of the business of Parliament, and a good Speaker is a vitally important factor in ensuring this. With a House of only. 80 members to choose from it is not always easy to secure the services of a Speaker possessed of the special qualifications necessary to ensure that the office will be filled in a manner satisfactory to all parties, . more particularly at times like the present, when government is carried on, by a narrow majority and feeling on occasion runs high. At the present time the House is fortunate in possessing a Speaker of marked ability and one who commands the respect of all parties. There can be no doubt that Mr. Statham has filled the office with dignity and impartiality, and while giving adequate recognition to the rights and privileges of members has at the same time exercised a proper firmness in insisting on a due obseivance of the Standing Orders which govern the procedure of the House. The fact that the present occupier of the office is acceptable to all parties should remove any initial difficulties which might otherwise exist; to at least permit of a consultation by the leaders of the three political parties as to future practice in regard to contesting the electorate represented by .the Speaker. There arc. very good reasons for the adoption here of the practice followed in Britain. Such a step would be in the interests of all parties and would place the Speaker in that position of absolute independence which it should be the desire of all to ensure.