AN INTERLUDE

Evening Post, Volume CXL, Issue 57, 5 September 1945, Page 9

AN INTERLUDE

"SNOB" AND "SNOBBERY"

DIALECTIC DARTS

•One of the brightest incidents in yesterday's proceedings in the House of Representatives was when the Chairman of Committees (Mr. R. McKeen), who was occupying the Speaker's chair in the temporary absence of Mr. Speaker, was called upon during the evening sitting to rule whether the words "snob" and "snobbery" as applied to an Opposition member were uri-Parliamentary. The incident occurred when Mr. A. E. Armstrong (Government, Napier) was reading a quotation of a statement by Mr. Algie to the House, and Mr. Armstrong pronounced a word in a certain way. Mr. R. M. Algie (National, Re- j muera) thereupon said he had not used the word. Interjecting, Mr. A. G. Osborne (Government, Onehunga) reminded Mr. Algie that Mr. Armstrong had not had the advantage of a University education, and he accused Mr. Algie of snobbery and of being a snob. A point of order was raised by Mr. M. H. Oram (National, Manawatu), Mr. Algie's benchmate, who asked Mr. McKeen to rule whether Mr. Osborne was out of order in using such terms. The Prime Minister said he had, never Heard the word "snobbery" objected to, but the application of the word "snob" was another matter. They had to watch that serious inroads were not made into the English language and that they did not crib, cabin, and confine the House until they got down to a dull level of platitudinous utterances. (Laughter.) What was one person's conception of snobbery might in the conception of another person be the right and proper thing. If a person who had been through a university commented on the mispronunciation of a word, that might seem to be snobbery to another person. Mr. Osborne: Hear, hear. NOT A REFLECTION. The Prime Minister added, that if he were accused of* snobbery he would not feel it as a reflection on his- standing in the House, moral character, ability, or anything of that kind. He might feel a little bit hurt, but he would not resent it. He felt that -to rule the word "snobbery" out of ordinary controversy would be to make the mesh of the dialectical riet altogether too narrow and he was sure the member for Remuera would be the first to agree. Mr. Algie: For once. Mr. Fraser said he agreed that the throwing of an epithet across the floor of the House to another member was over the margin. Mr. F. W. Doidge (National, Tauranga) suggested that the Prime Minister had given the right line of thought. The objection was not so much the word "snobbery" as to the epithet that had been thrown across the House. It was an indication that the Government mice intended to play when Mr. Speaker was away. Mr. McKeen said that the word "snobbery" was not un-Parliamentary, but if the word was used in an insulting manner it became un-Parliament-ary. He did not think Mr. Osborne had intended to use it in an insulting manner, but shouting out to > each other, even of remarks of that description, was not in accordance with Parliamentary . procedure and members ought to restrain'themselves.