DUEL IN HOUSE

Dominion, Volume 33, Issue 283, 24 August 1940, Page 13

DUEL IN HOUSE

Mr. Lee, Mr. Thorn' And Mr. Jull THAMES DEBENTURES A brief but brisk verbal duel between a past and a present member of the Labour Party and an allegation, hotly denied on the spot, that Mr. Lee (Democratic Labour, Grey Lynn) had been a debentureholder of the Thames Borough, enlivened the otherwise dull debate on the Thames Borough Commissioner Amendment Bill. Mr. Lee was provoked at one stage to call Mr. Thorn (Government, Thames) the “supreme yes-man of Parliament.”

“This opportunity of calling attention to the evils of the unsound finance system is too good to be missed,” said Mr. Lee, when referring to the provision in the Bill to convert existing debentures for 40 years at 3 per cent. “The people are to pay 3 per cent, interest for 40 years and at the end of that time the borough will still owe the original debt,” he added. Mr. Denham (Government, Invercargill) : An abomination. Later, when Mr. Lee was referring to the amount of interest that would have to be paid, Mr. Thorn interjected that he was talking “exaggerated twoddle.”

“I am saying what you used to say before you somersaulted,” Mr. Lee' replied. Mr. Thorn: You are talking twaddle, and I never said anything of the kind. Mr. Lee: You know more about twaddle than anything else. Mr. Thorn: Well, I know about you. Mr. Lee: You are the supreme yesman of Parliament.

“A nice pair,” commented a member of the Opposition. ‘‘The member for Grey Lynn has, as usual, attacked the debt system,” said Mr. Jull (Opposition, Waipawa), “but I understand that, among the original debenture-holders of the borough of Thames who agreed to accept a reduction of interest from 6 per cent., there was a Mr. J. A. Lee.’ 5

Mr. Lee: That is absolutely wrong. Mr. Jull: Well, that is the information I have.

‘■‘l have never held a debenture in the Thames borough at any period in my life,” Mr. Lee said. Mr. Atmore (Independent, Nelson): Wrong again, Waipawa. Mr. Jull challenged Mr. Lee’s statement that the borough would still owe the principal of its loan when the term of Uie debentures was up, and that at the end of that time the whole of the debt would be paid off.