COMPULSION OF LOVE.

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXIII, Issue 3075, 5 November 1929, Page 5

COMPULSION OF LOVE.

MINISTER'S GAOL EXPERIENCE. The curiosity of members of the House of Representatives was arouesd suddenly on Thursday evening when the Minister of Health (the Hon. A. J. StaJHorthy), frankly announced that! he had been to gaol. Mr J. A. Nash (Reform, Palmerston): "Did you stay long?" The Minister: "I stayed long enough to convince me that there' is a gjreat deal amiss with our present methods." A voice: "You were a free agent, then?" Mr Stallworthy: "No, I was not." (Surprise.) The Leader of the Opposition (the Right Hon. J. G. Coates): "It was not bookmaking, was it?" (Laughter.) Mr Stallworthy: "No, it was not bookmaking; I went to gaol under compulsion." (Laughter.) Mr A. M. Samuel (Reform, Thames): "It must have been a mistake when you got out." "It is somewhat of a surprise to me," retorted the Minister, "that some of the members who interject are out. The compulsion was a compulsion of love. I went there to learn sometlnngj of how my fellow-citizens who had fallen into misfortune were spending-their life." Voices: "Oh." , Mr Stallworthy: "After coming out of gaol I visited a charming island in the Hauraki Gulf." (Laughter.) Mr Nash: "It was not as bad v as that, surely?" Mr Stallworthy: "Yes, and I found that the people there enjoy more congenial surroundings than those in gaol."