LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 4, 5 July 1939, Page 12

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

ELECTION OF ANEW CHAIRMAN

GALLERIES CLEARED

I For the election of Chairman of Comj mittees of the Legislative Council there will be an interesting contest this afternoon. Theposition carries a salary of £450 per annum and accommodation in Parliament Building, the salary of the Council members being £315.

There is an elaborate method of selection which takes place with the galleries cleared of the public. Every member receives a nomination paper containing the names of all councillors, and each must nominate at least three candidates. The names are displayed on a blackboard, and councillors who wish to withdraw then announce their intention. Voting papers are circulated, and a series of elimination ballots conducted by the Clerk of Parliament (Mr. C. M. Bothamley) until it is evident that one candidate has a clear majority. Only the final result is made public.

As the Government has not officially indicated any preference, the contest is likely to be keen, with the final stages fought out between the Hon. T. Bloodworth (Auckland), the Hon. B. Martin (Auckland), the Hon. T. Doyle (Southland), and the Hon. T. Brindle (Wellington).

It is reported that the Hon. J. A. Hanan, the retiring Chairman of Committees, will not accept nomination, and that the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Sir Charles Statham, will also decline to be a candidate.