USE OF VIOLENCE

Evening Post, Volume CXVIII, Issue 21, 25 July 1934, Page 7

USE OF VIOLENCE

MR. XEE^S SUGGESTION

, CONFLICT WITH SPEAKER

INCIDENT IN HOUSE

A suggestion by Mr. J. A. Lee (Labour, Grey Lynn) that persons who were opposed to tho extension of tho life of Parliament might be justified in using violence towards legislators resulted in Mr. Leo coming into conjliet with Mr. Speaker: in the House of Representatives yesterday afternoon. Mr. Speaker ordered the withdrawal of the words, on the ground that they wore calculated to do a ' great deal of harm-in the country. Tho incident took place during tho. debate- on tho Electoral Amendment Bill, providing for the permanent extension of the life of Parliament to four years. M;. Lee said that ho could not understand, members of tho House treating the Bill lightly. "I have a memory of a war for democracy," said Mr. Lee. "I am going to say this, that if it was legitimate for a man to put a bullet'into the head of an individual opposed to democracy, then it is legitimate, when the original mandate of this Parliament has expired, for ' a wronged citizen to put a bullet' into the head of a legislator." Mr: Speaker: Order! I think tho hon. gentleman should withdraw. Mr< Lee: But I believe it. Mr. Speaker: Order! Ordert lam afraid that is the kind of talk that is calculated to do a. great deal of harm in the country. I do not think it is within tho bounds of Parliamentary, debate that a member should make a statement like that. It simply amounts to making a threat. I must ask you to withdraw the statement. Mr: Lee: I will withdraw if that is your instruction. Mr. Speaker: Yes; that is my instruction. - Mr. Lee: I withdraw the statement, but am I not entitled to suggest that at somo stage a Government may. provoke the violent ! resistance of the people? I believe that. If I can't suggest it, then I don't want to carry on in this House; Mr. Speaker: I think the hon, member had better leave it at that. THE HEAD OF A KING. Mr. Lee: May I say that tho people of England cut off the head of a king, and I do not think the head of a commoner is entitled to any greater consideration than,.the people of England, in defence of their ' constitutional privileges, accorded to the head of their king. Mr. H. T. Armstrong (Labour, Christehurch East): They- would bo just as good without their heads. (Laughter.) . Mr. Lee said that, quite frankly, his position .was.-that if at some time usurpation-such as occurred in Germany were to occur in New Zealand, he would rather register his opposition beforo he was behind a barbed wire fence than after. That seemed to him to bo common ' sense. The Prime Minister, in discussing the question in the country, had'said that a Government was a despotism, and that only two things could determine the length of tenure of '■ the Government's officeone was its common sense, and the other was1 that if it exceeded/ the bounds of common senso in defiance-cjf. the people, the people would resist'the" Government. The Prime Minister had laid it down in a statement that at the stage at which the Government did something that was beyond the dictates of common sense,; then the violence- of the peoplo-.would determine the tenure of office of the Government. The Prime Minister: I said nothing of the sort. ,',-, .'. > . Mr. Lee: The -Prime. Minister said that definitely. We will read his statemerit shortly; ■ , ; ~ Mr. W. E. Parry (Labour, Auckland Central): He said it ,was the only alternative. - - . WHOSE SUGGESTION? Mr. Lee' went on 'to say that the first suggestion of an,extension of the life of Parliament came from the lips of the late Sir Alfred Barikart when tho formation "of the Coalition Government was being discussed. Members would know'that it was quite common talk at that'-moment .that part of the bargain entered, into -was that,'the life of Parliament should be •extended. | ' "If the Government^ intends seji: ously to extend the life of Parliament," said Mr. Lee, "we. will see, before this session is out, a Sedition Bill in front of the House, because the present law will not enable the Government to usurp the power of government as it is trying to usurp it today: It wBU become almost a, seditious act to criticise the Government, and such a Bill will inevitably follow. The Government knows that if a citizen criticises the .■ Government because . of tho extension of. the life of Parliament in the v terms I have used in this House, twelve good men arid true would not find the citizen guilty, for the reason that tho temper of'the country is hostile to this act of,"Usurpation of the privileges of the people."