THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 1925. “MR SPEAKER.”

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19616, 21 October 1925, Page 6

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 1925. “MR SPEAKER.”

Mr Statham, having been forced into a contest in Dunedin Central, in which constituency he is seeking re-election to Parliament, met the electors in Mornington last night. If the British precedent hatt been observed he would, as Speaker of the House for the past three years, have received the compliment of being returned ' without opposition. Since nothing is more certain that in the event of his securing re-election—-and there should be no doubt on that point—he will be the Speaker, also, in the new Parliament, so that his reelection will not affect the strength of the political parties, to none of which is he allied, that compliment might reasonably have been expected to be extended to him. While, however, the Reform and National parties have made no claim to his seat, the Socialist Party, less regardful of precedent than they, has put up once more the candidate whom Mr Statham handsomely defeated three years ago. In these circumstances Mr Statham offers himself as an Independent candidate, as he did in

1922, and of course in Parliament itself the very fact that he is not bound by pledge to any party constitutes no small recommendation of him for the Speakership. It is a guarantee of impartiality that does not equally attach to any member who is not independent of party. The combination of qualities which go to make up efficiency in a Speaker is not readily found. Among those qualities, it has been happily said, are the control of temper, fairness, good humour, and consideration. To them must necessarily be added a full knowledge of the Standing Orders of Parliament and of parliamentary procedure and the ability to decide readily the questions, frequently intricate, which are raised respecting procedure. No flattery of Sir Statham is involved in the statement that he has been a distinctly efficient Speaker. There was no member of the House ■who did not admit that the duties of his position were performed by him with remarkable success in the late Parliament. He mingled firmness with tact, and, while he was always accessible to members who sought advice upon doubtful points of parliamentary practice, he never sacrificed the dignity that was due to his office. Members of the Labour group in the House, not less than the members of the other parties, acknowledged their indebtedness to him for the assistance they received from him and joined with them in expressing their cordial respect for him and their admiration of the 'manner in which he filled the chair. An appointment to the office of Speaker confers not only a signal honour upon the member who is electdß, but an honour also upon the constituency that is represented by him. There are electors in Dunedin Central who pretend that they cannot subscribe to this. They are not so deficient in intelligence as really to be insensible of the distinction that a constituency derives from the bestowal upon its representative of the highest gift which it is in the power of the House of Representatives to offer to any of its number. But their sense of partisanship during a general election outruns their sense of appreciation cf an honour that is shared by them and their fellow-electors. If Mr M'Corabs had been elected Speaker instead of Mr Statham, we should not have heard any of the rubbish that is talked by supporters of the Labour Party when they say that the constituency whose member becomes Speaker of the House ceases to be represented. It is the merest nonsense to suggest that Dunedin Central was not represented in the late Parliament, and Mr Statham himself showed last night how utterly unworthy of acceptance the suggestion is. It seems safe to say that the electors will by a substantial majority show their resentment of the paltry tactics to which his opponents have resorted. His high sense of duty has prevented Mr Statham from discussing controversial questions of political interest, and though it may perhaps ho thought that he was needlessly punctilious, a decisive vote in his favour on polling day will represent on this account all the more, a conspicuous tribute to his personal worth.