A UNIQUE SITTING OF PARLIAMENT.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18747, 28 December 1922, Page 4

A UNIQUE SITTING OF PARLIAMENT.

DUE TO A FORGOTTEN NOTICE. A peculiarity of Constitutional practice is that Vice-Regal proclamations are issued monthly in New Zealand informing members of the Legislature that, though they have been summoned to meet on a certain date, his Excellency has thought fit to relieve them of their attendance until another date about a month off. That'is to say. Parliament is prorogued from month to month (says the Dominion). It cannot bo summoned before the date on which its prorogation expires, and the choice of a month as tho period for each prorogation is indicated by considerations of convenience. A proclamation issued last Tuesday told members in archaic and dignified language that they need not meet on December 21. as they had been summoned to do, but that tbe-y should meet instead on January 15. This does not mean that Parliament will meet on January 15. If it were to have met, his Excellency would have used in the summons the magic words “ for the dispatch of business.” The oldest living officers | and cx-officcrs of the New Zealand Parliament tell of an, occasion when the Wellington members, availing themselves of a summons which did not contain these words, but which, through inadvertence, had not been followed up by tho announcement of ,a further prorogation, solemnly assembled in Parliament and elected a Mr Waterhouse Acting Speaker. An old parliamentary official who referred to tho incident last week, remembered it as a jest played noon the Government of a day long past. He could no doubt have provided some interesting details cf tha sitting had he kept a diary aa, unfortunately,' he had omitted to do.