ESTABLISHED 1866. The Marlborough Express PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. MONDAY, JUNE 16, 1913. THE VACANT SPEAKERSHIP.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLVII, Issue 140, 16 June 1913, Page 4

ESTABLISHED 1866. The Marlborough Express PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. MONDAY, JUNE 16, 1913. THE VACANT SPEAKERSHIP.

1 The question of the Speakership continues to occupy a prominent place in political' gossip. Mr Lang has informed a press interviewer that he has nothing to say on the subject, and that he1 has had no communication from the Prime Minister. But it is noticeable that the Chairman of Committees does not say be would refuse the position if it were offered to him, and some people are reading a good deal into the omission. The real truth is, we .understand, on what is very good authority, that the Government is at present quite at a loss as to what step to take .with a view to filling £he vacancy. Mr Lang, it is recognised^ has the best claim, according to Parliamentary precedent, to the positionl. Sir William Steward was, it may be remembered, Chairman of Committees before he was appointed Speaker, and Sir Arthur Guinness held the same position. In the former case the appointment to the supreme office proved a sad mistake, for Sir William, or, as he was then, Major, Steward was avery1 weak and inefficient Speaker. Sir Arthur Guinness, on the other hand, continued, in the Speaker's chair, to win the same respect and approbation which he gained from' his fellow-Mem-bers when occupying the minor office. But with Mr Lang this might not be so, for that gentleman has never, during his long and honorable Parliamentary career, exhibited any of the special qualities of dignity, firmness, eloquence, and what _ is of equal importance, close acquaintance with the niceties of the Standing Orders, which make for a successful performance of the onerous duties of Speaker. Party considerations may compel Mr Massey to propose Mr Lang, and if so, his election of course can be taken, for granted. But it would not suit Mr Massey to see a weak and inefficient Speaker in the chair, however amiable and personally popular he might be; and we shall be very much surprised if his choice falls upon the present Chairman of Committees. The Gov-

ernment organ in Wellington has mentioned, with guarded approval, j three other gentlemen, the Hon. J. A. Millar and Messrs Malcolm and Wilford. The first-named gentleman was an unquestioned success as Chairman of Committees, and were his present, improved health to be depended upon to continue, a better choice than the senior Member for Dunedin could not well be made. It is an open question, however, whether Mr Massey would care to risk the taunt which would infallibly be made by the Opposition that the Government had seized the first opportunity which offered for rewarding Mr Millar for his very.exj traordinary and, for Mr Massey, very j timely and helpful vote when the division was taken which drove the old Liberal party—Mr Millar's old party—from office. As for Mr Malcolm, tlie Member for Clutha can hardly be considered "class" enough for tlie position. We doubt whether he has anything more than a merely nodding acquaintance with the^ Standing Orders, and it is questionable, too, whether he possesses that determination and strength < of character generally so necessary in an efficient Speaker. If ability to fill the position were the only qualification, Mr Wilford should certainly be chosen. He is a lawyer, find as such would bring to the discharge of the duties that power of critical analysis and aci curate interpi-etation of the Standing I Orders which is so eminently desir- j j able in a Speaker, and which is so J 1 rarely found in a layman. But Mr Wilford is, it is said, not very popular nowadays with either side of the House. On the Government side there would be serious grumbling were Mr Masaey to Rive one of the first "good tnines" that he has had the disposal of to a gentleman who is not of the party, whilst on the Opposition side also the appointment of Mr Wilford would not be popular for reasons into which it is not necessary hfiro to entfr. Sir Walter Buchanan

is too old, and the Hon. W. Fraser, who would have made an excellent Speaker, has a Ministerial portfolio, and is not likely, therefore, to be in the running. Perhaps, after all, Mr Massey's choice, and the choice of the Ministry—for in these matters every member of Cabinet may be counted upon as having a say—may fall upon some gentleman whom the public might consider an "outsider." It is quite possible, we think, that the claims of the Government party's Whip, Mr Guthrie, may be favorably considered. Mr Guthrie is personally a veiy popular Member with both sides of the House, and at the time the Massey Government was formed it was thought by many people that he would get a seat therein. Whether ho possesses an acquaintance with the rules and regulations of debate sufficient to qualify him for the position we are unable to say; but if Mr Lang does not desire to take the post, we should not be surprised were it offered to the Member for Oroua.