Minister Rebuked For “Running Fire” In House

Greymouth Evening Star, 11 July 1947, Page 2

Minister Rebuked For “Running Fire” In House

WELLINGTON, July 10/ A flood of letters from all over the country had reached him complaining about the number of interjections during the, present session of the House .of Representatives, said Mr Speaker (Mr R. McKeen) when he brought the House to order duririg a speech by Mr W. A. Bodkiri (Opposition, Central Otago) today. ... Mr Speaker rebuked the Minister of Labour (Mr A. McLagan) for making “a running fire of comment” rather than an interjection.. Mr Speaker said the noise did not sound so bad in the chamber .as,, it did over the air. The microphones picked up interjections sometimes to such an extent that the man who was making the speech could not be heard.

Mr McLagan apologised. ~ In the earlier part of Mr Bodkin’s speech interjections were loud and frequent, especially when he was,, dealing with the Government’s handling of industrial trouble and his references to Mr McLagan had drawn many replies across the floor of the House.

‘•Barnes and Co” were still asking at their union meetings “who delivered the goods,” said Mr Bodkin. Mr McLagan: They won’t go anywhere else to say it. , . Mr Bodkin added that the substantial concessions that had been made to the militant industrialists were all paid for from the pocket of the common man and they were a considerable factor in the present day inflation. In his many references to Mr McLagan, Mr Bodkin called him a “strong, silent man,” and said that in his handling of industrial troubles Mr McLagan reminded him of, another Glasgow man, whom Mr Bodkin, as a solicitor, had defended years ago. The man’s defence, after getting into trouble on New Year’s Eve, had been that he had done nothing, said nothing, and knew nothing. That applied also to the Minister, said Mr Bodkin.