"MR SPEAKER”

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXX, 30 March 1936, Page 7

"MR SPEAKER”

HIS MANY RESPONSIBILITIES ADMINISTRATION OF BIG BUILDING Careful control of debates in the llouso of Representatives is the chic* responsibility oi Mr Speaker, but he has many other administrative duties. Mr W. E. Barnard, member for Napier, who has been elected to the chair, will thus be given control over a large staff and the extensive building which covers so admirable a site at the north end of the capital city (says the “Star”). The new Speaker, as a barrister by profession, is well equipped for the duty of impartially interpreting over 503' Standing Orders which govern the procedure of the House. They are designed to permit complete freedom of discussion, though the curbs on. irrelevance arc. many. Parliamentary procedure is so unlike that of the ordinary public meeting That new members require many months of experience before they gain sufficient confidence to take fvili advantage of their opportunities, and this Parliament is exceptional in the volume of new blood, for there are 32 new members. Mr Barnard has experience of two Parliaments, and his debating record, with its pleasant manner, and due regard for the rules, provides a good introduction to h-s responsible task in. controlling discussion. A DUAL HOLE One of the difficulties of the Speakership of the New Zealand House of Representatives is that the holder of the office is deprived of the privilege exercised bv all other elected representatives, of voicing his constituents’ views )

on all occasions. Some Speakers, in> eluding tlip lion. Sir Charles Statham, rigorously confined their comment to questions of order, and never interposed in discussions. But there have been others, equally capable as Speakers, who have put forward the claims of their constituencies, the opportunity being frequently afforded in the committee stage, when debate is controlled by a chairman. The late Sir Arthur Guinness, a particularly vigorous advocate of West Coast claims to public works grants, always abandoned the Speaker’s wig when the Public Works Estimates were being taken in committee. and usually criticised the Government for its parsimony. While Mr Barnard may not be moved to equal his predecessor in vigour of complaint, he has made no secret of the fact that the high and dignified office he will hold will not be permitted to handicap his activities as member for Napier, and that he intends during committee stages of the Government’s measures to put forward the views he holds, and the claims of his district. HEAD OF LARGE STAFF Mr Speaker is the administrative head of a staff which, during the session, numbers about 120, including messengers, orderlies, and the employees of the parliamentary' restaurant, Bellamy’s. He is responsible for proper maintenance of an immense building as well as the spacious grounds. All appointments to the staff are made bv the Prime Minister on his recommendation. Parliament library is under his jurisdiction, and in this responsibility he is associated with a joint committee of both Houses, a similar arrangement operating in connection with Bellamy’s. The extent of the building may be gauged _ from the fact that numbered rooms in the modem portion exceed a hundred, and there is in addition the library wing, and the wooden building formerly Government House. Mr Speaker is a busy officer of Parliament, even when ho is not vigilantly controlling its proceedings.