"STARVING THE LORDS."

Hot Lakes Chronicle, Volume 4, Issue 185, 17 June 1896, Page 5

"STARVING THE LORDS."

Our Taupo correspondent the other day related a rather amusing custom which obtained at'-the recent sittings of the Native Parliament at Tokaanu whereby measures sent from tho •'Lower" House to the "Upper" were much expedited in their passage. The method adopted was simply to put the ".Lords " on one meal a day till the measure was passed. This little incident seemed good enough •for someone to telegraph to au Auckland paper ; another journal built on it a leading article, expatiating on the advantages to be derived from following the practice of the Maori in this particular; and " Bio " of the Observer utilised tho idea .in his principal cartoon. But the highest compliment paid to our Taupo correspondent was when the poet of the Waikato Advocate tuned his lyre and -broke out as follows :

"Live and learn's" an adage old of which we often hoar ; That we who " live," don't always " learn, ' is manifestly clear, But .potter, on, in usage old, by custom fossilised, Then wake to our own ignorance most awfully surprised. We need not very far from home to wander.for a case, We have one in that very thing that's termed " another place—" Our Upper House where grey .beards old. in solemn conclave sit, To whence the moss-grown.duffers do a legislative flit. Likebeirgs from some other age they're all behind the times, Yet they're allowed to perpbtrate their legislative.crimes, And slaughtering most ruthlessly the offspring from " below," Indulge in bumb, and bluster, .and in everlasting blow. "■Chec'k hasty legislation!.!" for they ace so very wise, So knowing, that an expletive hurled •at their ancient eves, Oft rises to our sufi'ring lips when we behold the pranks. Played often-in "another place" by these slow-moving cranks. It takes the noble savage gust to set this matter,right, And snow us how to settle with this legislative fright:; The incubus has weighed on him and sat upon his back, But he is wiser far than we, and idoes not promptness lack. 'When his '• lords,"' in his "upper" house, aim at the upper'hand, He very quickly stops the grub of his old fossil band,; The ".hasty legislation" then goes] through without much jaw, They can't afford to .cackle on an empty, hungry maw. I wonder how 'twould net if we the same thing were to do ? I guess 'twould mighty quickly put our poor old fossils tlnough. But.can'.t we go one better :and just -stop their blooming pay ? Or yet do better still than all—just sack them straight away ? We teach tike Maori how to booze, we 'filch away his land, We civilise him off the earth with modern customs grand ; He's very apt, satid very quick, to copy what we do, 'Ti.s now our turn to copy him and put our fossils through.