King Country Chronicle. Saturday, November 19, 1932. PRIVILEGES OF PARLIAMENT.

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXVI, Issue 3447, 19 November 1932, Page 4

King Country Chronicle. Saturday, November 19, 1932. PRIVILEGES OF PARLIAMENT.

In the breach of privilege case dealt with by a special Parliamentary Commission last week, it can be said that the “accused,” Mr. A. Macintosh, has come through his ordeal with honours. Mr. Macintosh refused to retract any of his statements. He said he was invited to make a report on many vital matters affecting the welfare of the whole of the Dominion, and he fulfilled the request to the best of his ability. If the result of his conclusions cast any reflections on Parliament, it is for members to refute these in the right place and at the right time. Instead of that Mr. Macintosh was arraigned before a ' tribunal like an ordinary delinquent, and asked to withdraw his statements. This he naturally refused to do, and a deadlock occurred. Had Mr. Macintosh acknowledged that he had made a mistake and apologised, it would have made himself look ridiculous, and to some extent other members of the Commission, even though they were not signatories to the statement which was responsible for the alleged breach of privilege. The finding of the Committee of Privilege, however, was not one that will meet with public approval. It was inferred that Mr. Macintosh was handicapped by his age in his judgment. Yet it was Parliament that appointed him as a member of the Commission. Havingbeen so appointed it would have been thought that Mr. Macintosh, along with other members of the Commission, would have been vested with powers similar to those of a Judge of the Supreme Court. Instead of that members of Parliament, particularly some of the Labour Party, indicted Mr. Macintosh on a charge which was nothing less than farcical. If members of the House are so supersensitive about the dignity of Parliament, let them consider some of the remarks of certain members in the House. One member described Parliament as being composed of “a gang of political boneheads.” The members of the Commission were asked to take a job which was really one for Parliament to deal with. This they carried out to the best of their ability, and the result was one of the most valuable documents that the country has ever had placed before the people. No one expected that the whole of the recommendations would be made effective by Parliament, least of all members of the Commission. It was thought that Parliament would deal with each recommendation separately on its merits, yet one member described the Commission as a “Commission of humbugs,” and went on to speak of “the cowardly and dirty work of the Commission.” If any redress is due over this sorrowful affair it should be accorded members of the Commission for the unseemly attacks by members of the House.