Manamatu Herald. SATURDAY, OCT. 27, 1900. Parliament.

Manawatu Herald, 27 October 1900, Page 2

Manamatu Herald. SATURDAY, OCT. 27, 1900. Parliament.

It is unfortunate that universal sufrage should show such a marked depreciation in the members returned to Parliament. That it does so there can be no gainsaying fc • ?/c ii?.ve the admission, out of the mouths of members of Parliament, and as they km* fcb" ttifttiy iJttid Lblu^ Lho,t m on, which the pab.io do not know,

wo wist nffinn*- thoi** rHt^nonta as being accurate. During the past Session the Premier has rebuked members of the House, disorderly scenes have been witnessed within the walls of Parliament of which the newspapers have given but the merest outline, and the Speaker has chidden very severely many members. At one time the Parliament of New Zealand had the highest reputation for the decorum of its sittings and was looked upon as the best in the Australasian colonies, but, for the sake of the other colonies, we hope that it does not hold its premier position. The other day the newspaper with which the member for Pamerston is closely connected had a leading article in which it was stated that " those who feel any respect for representative institutions cannot but regard the result of tho session of Parliament just concluded with loathing and disgust," for the reasons that " drunkenness was always in evidence, and was not looked upon as any offence by the majority of members." If the writer has not drawn upon his imagination for these statements, there is something " very rotten in the State of Denmark "and the time appears to have arrived when the peope should take the euro into their own hands. The difficulty in moving in this matter with success is owing partly to the members sticking together too much and acting so as to screen their erring brethren, and partly to the disinclination shown by reporters to portrait the actions as well as the speeches actually as they are given. Hansard, as now prepared, is merely a record of what members part y said, and partly what they wished they had said, upon any particular question, and only in exceptional cases, where interjections of members are recorded, oan the state of the speaker be guessed at. We remember that the member for Riccarton had to withdraw an ejaculation that another member was full of whisky, as being unparliamentary, which has led divers and sundry persons to wonder whether it ia considered imI possible for a member of parliament [ to be full of whisky, or whether his being so was not considered an unfit state for a member to be in. No doubt, to sober members, the knowledge that other members are permitted to vote whilst in a condition that makes their attempt at legislation farcical, is an annoying matter, but to them the public must look to secure a bettering of the position. The whole difficulty, and it appears to be an ever increasing one, lies in the fault of the sober members not having backbone enough to make public the shortcomings of those who degrade themselves by drink. During a discussion members frequently speak very openly their opinions of one another, but directly they suggest that one has taken too much whisky, the Speaker declares such a& idea should not be mooted. Nearly every member of parliament is a Justice of the Peace, and has probably had some " drunks " up before ! iim for punishment, and they may .ae.ef.-re be termed exp<?rL-« iv drunkenness, and if a fair charge against a member can be substantiated, he ought to be punished, and refused admission to a place where he can do much more damage to the public by a foolish vote, than can a man who is drunk whilst in charge of a horse and dray, yet the latter is open to arrest at any time. It is evident that the House is wanting in a sufficiently determined Speaker, aud though we know that Sir Maurice O'Rorke is looked upon as one of the best of Speakers, it is aertain that he has done but little to check the behaviour of some members of parliament, which we think he could do had he thought it his luty. The Speaker is fond of reminding members of hia duty to up!\old the best traditions of parliament, its honour and integrity, but surely members attempting to address the ! House, and entering it to vote, when Irunk cannot come under these headings. We of course make no charge, simply because we have not been in a position to ascertain the facts, and are writing upon the assumption that the article in the " Standard " has been written by one who does know. If he has erred then he is very, much too blame for the suggestion" that . suflfe v JthjLngg,, hay ■ occurred, but if the article is correct every member of the House is to be blamed, and the sooner the whole matter is acknowledged and discussed, the sooner the cure for it will be found. There was a suggestion made in a contemporary, a week or two back, that Hansard should bo remodelled, and a daily edition issued containing what members did say, and the record kept from their euphoniously termed " corrections" and then possibly the public could find out who were the saints from the Binners, by the connection there might be in their sentences. The least the members of parliament can do is to keep *ober ; the public are long suffering, they submit to any amount of practical jokes in the shape of curious legislation being laid upo-i their barks ; thfiy bear the burden of tho £240 per year paid each member, with the addition, this year, of an Bairn £40. without a aroat deal of, grumbling, in tho faith ttat each'

member is honestly earning his salary, but if the facts are that he is not doing so, the employers, that is the voters, should be able to dismiss him at short notice. No large business firm could afford to keep men employed who fooled away their time, and neither oan an electoral district or the colony. We hope to see the cMigos made in the Standard eHlier strongly refuted, or as strongly confirmed and then the electors will be to blame if this state of things ia allowed to continue.