BANQUET TO MR BRYCE.

Evening Star, Issue 8614, 7 September 1891, Page 2

BANQUET TO MR BRYCE.

[FbOh Opb Pabuamkntaby Rbpobtbb.] WELLINGTON, September 7. Sir John Ball, in proposing the heath of the guest of the evening, said that the object of the gathering was to testify their esteem and regard for their late leader and their sympathy with him in what they believed to be the unjust and harsh treatment he had received at the hands of the majority of the House of Representatives, and to protest against the indignity pat apon him by means of party pressure and for party pur* poses. The speaker sketched at length the circumstances connected with the attack on Mr 6.' F. Richardson and the subsequent scene in the House which led to the vote of censure. It had been left to a majority of the House to deal with the matter as they thought right, bat he oould not believe that things would have reaohed the pass they did if the Premier, whose precipitancy had created the difficulty in the first instance, had done what the Leader of the House usually did taken such steps as might be necessary to maintain order in the House—He could not believe that the difficulty would have arisen, He oould not help thinking that, when Mr Bryce's explanation was heard, and still more now that there had been time to think calmly over the whole circumstances, there was hardly one man in the House who did not regret the steps that had been taken. All parties had been placed in a false position, and were kept there by a want of candor and manliness, whioh prevented the Government from acknowledging that they had made a false step, which had driven from Parliament one of New Zealand's best publio servants. (Applause). Some of Mr Bryce's friends said that he had been over-sensitive; that he should have disregarded a party vote; and have been satisfied with the almost universal sympathy be had reoeived from the country at large; but every man must be the guardian of bis own honor, and must judge for himself what waß due to his character and reputation, All were not equally constituted. The lash of the whip which would not be felt on the thick hide of a cart-horse might be intolerable to the thin skinned thoroughbred, and censure or reproof whioh would be diregarded by a coarse-minded and coarse-mannered individual might be unendurable to a sensitive and highly-minded man. The impression bad grown, and was growing, thatthe action which had been taken was a party action, and that it was improper—he might almost say tyrannical—at any rate, he would say unjustifiable.— (Applause). He went on to give a eulogistio review of Mr Bryoe's military and political services to the colony, saying that as leader of the party he had been vigilant, patient, courteous, and painstaking, realising the true functions of an Opposition leaderwatching and critioising the conduct of the Government, protesting against it, resisting when protest was required, and on the other hand not forgetting that it was the duty of the Opposition to assist Ministers to carry on the government when he oould fairly do so. In retiring to private life Mr Bryce would take with him an unabated interest in the welfare of New Zealand and in the fortunes of the party he had so ably led, and would take with him also the esteem of all parties for his public and private character, as well as his party's esteem and warm affection, attachment, and regard, together with their sympathy for the wrong that had been done him.—(Cheers.) But he did not think that their friend's leisure would be a long one. He could not believe that the resolution of censure would long Bully the journals of the House, and the day was not far distant, he believed, when New Zealand would again reauire the services of some of her best men —when the eyes of the people would be opened to the folly and evil consequences of harassing and worrying those interests which had so largely conduced to her progress and prosperity 5 that a turn in the Eolitioal tide wonld take place, and some of er oldest and best publio men would be needed to come again to the servioe of the colony. When that day came the sound of oonfliot would reach Mr Bryce, and would stir np within him the spirit of the old war horse, and that he would ere long find himself again in the ranks carrying dismay into the ranks of their opponents and gladness into the hearts of all true friends of New Zealand. He would not say farewell. The word which would express his feelings was the German auf Wiederaehen he knew of no English equivalent—which meant the next seeing of eaoh other. With that sentiment, and looking forward to the day on which they would see eaoh other again in the political arena, he would propose the health of their late leader, Mr Bryce.—(Prolonged cheers.) Mr Bryce, in the course of a spirited reply, said that the party whioh he had lately led was as good an Opposition as ever sat in the House, and would still do their duty to the country. It was not because soldiers fell in the ranks that their comrades were therefore to show a craven spirit. No party oould have been more loyal to a leader than every member of that party had been to him. It was true that in respect to bis resignation different opinions from his own were expressed by a number of the members of the party, but no man could safely hand over the custody of bis honor to other people whilst he had intelligence and judgment at his command. It had been his deliberate judgment that he ought to resign. That judgment might have been wrong, but he was bound to act ou it, and to do what his honor dictated. But even if it could be supposed that his judgment was wrong, he could not but think that the suffering he had gone through, and the distress of mind the act had involved, would have been enough to satisfy the most exacting of his friends and the most vindictive of his opponents. During the quarter of a century he had been a member of the House he had always done his best to uphold its honor and dignity, and it had been a painful thing that at the end of that term the House, on trifling grounds, should have deliberately degraded him as far as it could. If, after the resolution had been passed, the House had shown the least disposition to resiprocate his feelings towards itself; if it had shown any contrition for him in his distress, he would have gone halfway to meet it—aye, he would have gone the whole way to meet it, and perhaps a step beyond.—(Loud applause. ) It was unfortunate that the House did nothing of the kbd. How oould he be charged with selfishness when he had the Premiership in reversion and had abandoned that advantage? Mr Bryce proceeded to give his version of the scene which led np to his expulsion. Acting under very great provocation, aroused by a gross private and publio injury done to a friend of his, and a member of the House, and speaking under interruption, he had said that the Premier ought to be ashamed of himself for relying upon a technicality ; whereat a great clamor arose, and, although he uttered all these words, possibly the latter part of the sentence was unheard. Mr Speaker intimated in a faltering phrase that the words "ought to be ashamed of himBelf" were unparliamentary, but with the qualifying words they were no longer unparliamentary. It was true that Mr Ballance and Mr Seddon had called upon bim to withdraw the words, bnt they had no right to address him at all, but should have addressed Mr Speaker. When he said that he would not withdraw them, and wonld take the consequences, he knew very well that all majorities in the House could expel their opponents, or make the position of their opponents so disagreeable that they wonld expel themselves. No other majority that ever was in this colony before would have thought of exercising snob a power. But he knew very well that they oould, and not unlikely wonld, expel him from the House. He would take such a consequence again rather than give obedience to Mr Seddon or Mr Ballance when usurping the functions of Mr Speaker, and calling on him for the withdrawal of words whioh Mr Speaker himself did not believe to be unparliamentary. Up to the time he left the House he had not offered a word of explanation, but had assisted in getting his own words correctly recorded a privilege which the Government wonld nave refused if they oould. In concludsion, Mr Bryce declared that he had been treated unjustly in this matter, and that the procedure which had been taken reflected neither on the dignity nor the honor of the House.—(Load applause.) He was sorry to think so, because be bad esteemed the House of Representatives,

and had considered it oredHable to belong to if. To the belt of bis ability he had striven to support its dignity and it» interests. He would be more than human if, after what had passed, lie could possibly view the House in |he same manner in thefuture mbe bad viewed it in the past. Thatwas impossible, and he was exceedingly 1 sorry for it, for that was another idol of bur which had been shattered. He looked apon the manner in whioh he had been treated* lay the House as having been so unjust that he fully believed the strong protest whioh has been made—the strongest protest ,in bis power—had been altogether too weak to express his sense of the injustice whioh bad been done him. By way of parting advice, Mr Bryce enjoined the party to mm their energies and devotion in the intereato of the country, and not in any narrow sense: to treat the claims of every class us the country with the utmost consideration and the utmost justice ; and to treat the weak with generosity, and the strong with courage, as by so doing they wonld be doing their duty to the country, their constituents, and to themselves. ihk speaker's ruling challehoed. Mr Bryce, in the course of his speech, referred to the words themselves and Speaker Steward's ruling thereon. Though he bad since heard all that Mr Speaker had to say, to the best of his knowledge and belief those bald words " That the Premier ought to be ashamed of himself" were not regarded as unparliamentary in England*, The cases where they had been ruled out in England limited their we to asking and answering questions whioh oould not be debated. Bat fa his belief when they were urged in an argumentative manner, not as a matter of disorder, they were perfectly parliamentary words, and were so regarded at the present moment in England.—(Applause.) He left the Chamber without having been in conflict with Mr Speaker at all. He bad understood that Major Steward bad since Baid that he was thinking of asking him (Mr Bryce) to withdraw, but foresaw refusal. In his absence be was tried and condemned, being only recalled to re' oeive sentence. If it was Mr Speaker's opinion that the words he had used were so light, how came he to allow the resolution to pass without making an emphatic protest against its impropriety! That was a sftosfc perplexing question, and he did_ not know how to explain it or account for his conduct, except, indeed, it may have been under » pecul r psychological condition of mind, ef I which he (Mr Bryce) had little or no knowledge. He freed Major Steward from any I deliberate intention of doing bim an injury.

THE PREMIER'S ACTION CENSUBKD. Mr Bryce went on to say that he wished that he could say as much for the Government, but he could not. They sprang ten the charge. He could easily understand that Mr Ballance might have considered it desirable, in what be considered to be the public interests—that was to say, in th» interests of his party—that he (Mr Bryeej' should be degraded or removed from the House. Then Mr Ballance accepted a motion proposed by a member of his party —one of the last men in the House whose' judgment upon such a subject ihould be accepted—and he whipped np and used the fall force of his party in order to get that motion carried. Was there no design there T Mr Ballance knew him well, and, feeling that to carry the motion would have the effect of expelling him from the House, straggled to the utmost to have it carried, and succeeded. In his opinion there was conscious design—design which would be unworthy of the poorest Government that had ever existed or ever will exist. There was nodoubt that Mr Ballance, typifying the* Government, bad temporised and negotiated! with his (the speaker's) friends, feeling that ; his position was bad with the publio; and i although fully determined he (Mr Bryce) ' should not be allowed to recede from that | determined that he should retire from Parliament the Premier was willing to lead his (Mr Bryce's) friends, or to lead him (Mr Bryce), from one humiliation to another, and to compel him to resign at last in sheer despair. But he would not have it, and it was not likely that that programme should be put into effect whilst he had the power of stopping it at any stage. If he had been humiliated it was a humiliation over which he had had no control. If he had gone before the Premier and humbled himself, and afterwards been compelled to resign, he should then have felt not only that he ceased to be a member of the House, but should have felt farther that be deserved his vote of censure, a feeling which he had not now. Mr Ballance, he supposed, would have fed his vanity by seeing him grovelling at his feet, but it was not likely that his vanity would be fed by him (Mr Bryce) in any such way. He hoped he did Mr Ballance or his Government no wrong ; he should be sorry indeed to do that gentlemat* any wrong in his thoughts; but what else was he to suppose? Mr Ballanee'a actions were evidently designed, and strongly carried out to the bitter end. The Premier pretended every desire to make things pleasant again, but took not one of the half dozen honorable courses that might have been taken by any generous man.