POLITICAL ETIQUETTE.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XII, Issue 234, 15 September 1922, Page 3

POLITICAL ETIQUETTE.

DEPUTATI ON S I’ N ACCOMPANIED BY MEMBERS. MR. HOLLAND’S COMPLAINT EFFECTIVE. (Special to “Tribune.”) Wellington, Sept. 15. One of the features of the Parliamentary landscape of late years has been the deputations. Some deputations arrive with a flare of triumph, some glide into the ministerial sanctum, and many again come without even the member lor the district they come from knowing of their visit. It was matters connected with one of the latter type which caused Mr. Holland (Buller) to make complaint in the House yesterday afternoon. Mr. Holland reminded the Minister for Marine that one Monday he had interviewed his regarding the dismissal of men employed at the Westport harbour now controlled by. the Government, and that he had again raised the question in the House, on Tuesday afternoon, when the Minister had informed him that he could give him no information, but that he would be able to do so the next day. In the meantime Mr. Holland had learned that the Mayor of Westport and the Hon. W. H. Mclntyre (Millerton), M.L.C., had interviewed the Prime Minister and the Minister for Marine with the result that on the afternoon of Tuesday, fhe day on which the Minister had told him he could give him no information a Westport paper contained the following:—The Hon. W. H. Mclntyre and Mr. Menzies, Mayor, met the Prime Minister and Minister I for Marine to-dav in connection with the dismissal of men from employment in the Westport Harbour Board. After going exhaustively into the question and discussing every individual case on its merits, it was decided to recommend to the proper authorities that the Erskine dredge be kept working at present, and 17 married men, where exceptional circumstances exist, will have their notices extended to six months. It is hoped to be able to place the remainder on construction work on the Westport-Greymouth road at the foot of the White Horse Hill.” The point Mr. Holland wanted to put to the Minister was that, if the | telegram were correct, the Minister i had on the morning of Tuesday given to a private deputation information which on Tuesday afternoon he had told the member for the district that he could not give until the following day or the day after. He was not objecting to the private deputation, but to the discourtesy shown to him by the Minister’s answer. He asked the Minister whether, as one of the gentlemen was a Government candidate and his opponent, the incident did not savour of extraordinary electioneering tactics. Would the Minister explain why he had refused to give him the information, and said he could not’ give it to him until the follow ing day when on that morning he had given it to a member’s political opponent. The Prime Minister: “1 know' nothing about him being a Government candidate. He is an independent candidate so far as I know.” Mr. Holland suggested that the Prune Minister knew’ that a number of candidates were ashamed to acknowledge the Government and were standing as independents. The Prime Minister: “I know nothing of the sort.” Mr. Holland said he was not to be sidetracked from his point as to a member who had a particular matter in hand being refused information which was given tp a private deputation. Would the Minister, he asked, observe in future the usual practice of giving a member for any district an opportunity of being present at deputations from his district? The Prime Minister said the position was a simple one and he had acted in the same way hundreds of limes. When he found it had to do with the Westport harbour he had sent for the Minister for Marine. Mr. Holland: “And did he not mention that J had the matter in hand?” Mr. Massey: “1 cannot answer that.” Half the deputations that tame to him came without the member xor the district. It ought not to be forgotten that in this instance one of me deputation was a member of the legislature and a resident of Westport. The Hon. G. J. Anderson stated that when Mr. Holland met him on Monday he had promised to go into tiie wnole facts and he was going into Liie tacts on Tuesday. Mr. Holland: “lou could have given me the newspaper reply on Tuesday.” Mr. Anderson: “1 gave the non. member the reply as soon as J. could possibly give n." i Mr. Holland: “Do you say this telegram to tne paper is wrong?’/ Mr. Anderson: “1 say it is wrong Hi some respects. 1 toid the member whav the department was going to du.” Mr. Holland: The day after others gov it.” Mr. Anderson: “Within two hours of getting the information 1 gave it to tne hon. member.” Mr. Holland: But you admit 1 should have had the opportunity of being present at the deputation.” Mr. Jsitt (Christchurch North) followed the matter up later. He said that at the meeting of Canterbury members that morning this very matter of introduction of deputations had come up. Formerly it had been regarded as etiquette for a deputation to be introduced by a member, but now members often heard nothing about deputations, and were blamed for not attending to the affairs of their constituencies. Should not all deputations be introduced by members? 'The Prime Minister: “I must take my share of the responsibility for the present state for 1 have accepted deputations without members. I am going to watch the matter more closely in the future.”