PROTECTION WANTED

Evening Post, Volume XC, Issue XC, 7 October 1915, Page 2

PROTECTION WANTED

FOR MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT DEBATE IN THE HOUSE. A debate raged for an hour round a Bill which Mr. J. T. M. Homsby introduced into the House of Representatives yesterday afternoon, called the Protection of Members Bill. Mr. Hornsby explained that, with sue- | ceeding years, the rights and privileges of membei*s of Parliament had been whittled a-way, and to-day they found themselves | little better than cyphers ; and instead of being consulted as they should be in all matters of State importance they were driven into taking just what it pleased Ministers to compel them to do. They were given very little opportunity to deal with matters that Cabinet chose to lay before the House. The Bill proposed to restore some lost privileges. For instance, in the matter of travelling, South Island, North Auckland, or East Coast members coming to Wellington had to pay their steamer fares, whereas in Australia every mail steamer and mail coach carried free any member of Parliament or his wife on his member's pass. The Bill also protested against the "scurvy "treatment" of some members by some editors in New Zealand. Often reports which members of the Press Gallery sent to their papers never appeared. By the Bill it would be made compulsory that when a member was attacked his reply should receive the same space and prominence as the attack received in the paper which printed it ; and that every article or paragraph attacking a Minister should be signed by the author. Mr. Hornsby particularly referred to the attacks upon himself of a Christchurch paper the other day, when something was said by him in the House about the rumours current concerning some of the returned soldiers. The Bill would render it impossible for such a thing to occur again. Mr. Hornsby again referred to the attacks of newspapers upon himself. He could not allow himself to sit silent under the untruth that he had reflected upon the courage, honour, bravery, and devotion of our troops. He moved the second reading of the Bill. Mr. T. M. Wilford (Hutt) said that the Bill must fail in being effective, because it could not compel a newspaper to convey the intonation in which things had been said. There could be no doubt about the patriotism and public spirit of the member for Wairarapa, who had been hit below the belt by the newspapers, but members had to bear trouble 1 of that kind. Dr. Thacker said it was only by a unique coincidence, unless he had the ear of a Minister, that a member could right a wrong. The member for Wairarapa was to be congratulated upon the use to which he had turned this opportunity, and had cleared up a lot of the dirty things that had been said as the result of his remarks concerning rumours about the Tahiti's men. Dr. Thacker dealt at length in free terms with a certain Christchurch paper and its editor for criticising him. Mr. J. H. Escott said that while it was desirable that privileges of the House should be conserved, it was equally important that one of the customs — that of standing when " Messages " were received from the Governor — should be observed. It was a painful experience to see one member failing to rise on each occasion. At a time such as this members should do all they could to inculcate j patriotism, and in this case the " Mes- | sage " was really from the Crown. , Mr. Hine said it was not by his advice that Mr. Hornsby- was going recruiting I in Taranaki. He desired to read from I Hansard what Mr. Hornsby had said j concerning the Tahiti's men. But the ! rules of the House would not permit him to refer to a previous debate. Fprther discussion followed as to what had been said by Mr. Hornsby; and Mr. Webb avowed^ Mr. Hornsby had merely wished to get rumours in circulation denied. -- A WASTE OF TIME. Tne Prime Minster sard he did not object to a member putting himself right with his constituents, but the Bill could not possibly go through, and could not even be printed, because private members' day had passed. "I don't think that some of the speeches we have heard are conducive to the dignity of Parliament," he said. (Hear, hear.) "I don't think they are going to increase the respect that Parliament should have from the people." (Hear, hear.) "This discussion also means a great waste of time." The time of members belonged to the country, and every day they sat meant extra expense to the country, and what they were doing was not worth very much to the people. (Hear, hear.) After ' further discussion, the Prime Minister, replying to Mr. Isitt, said he recognised the hardship of South Island members having to pay frequent steamer fares to Wellington. WHO WOULD NOT STAND? Mr. J. Payne, in the course of his remarks, asked Mr. Escott to name the member who would not stand when messages were received from His Excellency. Mr. Escott named Mr. Hornsby. Mr. Vigor Brown humorously regretted that Mr. Hornsby had complained about the press, and put on record the things which one paper had said about him during the last election, and read an apology which had followed. Every person attacked by the press, he said, had his remedy. In replying, Mr. Hornsby said he was ! sorry there had been a spirit of antagonism to the Bill. He avowed his loyalty, and as to remaining sitting when Governor's Messages were introduced, he said he had been in the House when Sir William Steward had sat when members had been bobbing up and down on the introduction of eight messages one after the other. The Standing Orders only said that a member should uncover. The Speaker, at the end of the dedate, said he had ruled the other day that there was no Rule cJE the House that a member must do more than uncover when a Governor's Message was introduced, and he had left it to a member's good taste to stand. It was generally understood, and recognised, that what had become a regular custom was as binding as a Standing Order. He was sure members would not do anything that could be interpreted as a want of loyalty, particularly at this time. He would not enforce the custom, but he hoped members would, observe it. He pointed out that in Canada it was incumbent upon members to rise on the occasion of the introduction of a Message from His Excellency, who was the King's representative.