LETTER TO PRESS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23577, 13 August 1938, Page 16

LETTER TO PRESS

MR W. J. POLSON'S ACTION POSSIBLE BREACH OF PRIVILEGE EFFORT TO DEFEND WIFE (From Our Parliamentary Reporter> WELLINGTON, Aug. 12. A possible breach of parliamentary privilege on the part of Mr W. J. Poison (Opposition, Stratford) and two newspapers which published a letter from Mr Poison was brought before the notice of the House of Representatives to-day by the Speaker (Mr W. E. Barnard). The matter was referred to the Standing Committee on Privileges, which will probably meet next week and subsequently report to the House. "I desire to bring before the House a question of privilege," said Mr Speaker at the start of this morning's sitting. "My attention has been drawn to a letter published in the Auckland Star of August 10 and also in the Taranaki Herald. I will ask the Clerk to read the last two paragraphs." Allegations in Letter The portions of the letter which were then read by the Clerk of the House (Mr T. D. H. Hall) were as follows: I would not have asked for your space, Sir, but for the fact that although these innuendoes and suggestions were made in Parliament, I was not only not allowed under the Standing Orders to reply to them, having already spoken in the debate, but also my colleague (Mr W. J. Broadfoot, M.P.) was prevented by the Speaker from uttering a word in my wife's defence when following Mr F. W. Schramm. ' It may be that this letter will be made a pretext for attacking me for a breach of some "privilege" of the House, but I am indifferent to " privileges." which allow innocent women to be defamed, and am quite willing to ignore them (if they exist) in defence of my wife particularly or of womankind generally. The letter was signed "W. J. Poison." The entire letter had reference to a speech made in the House last week by Mr F. W. Schramm (Govt., Auckland East), attacking various portions of an address given by a woman member,of the National Party in Taranaki. the Speaker's Ruling " This constitutes a prima facie case of breach of privilege both on the part of the writer as well as on the part of the newspapers concerned," said the Speaker after the Clerk had read extracts from the letter. "In view of the ruling which I gave some days ago, the breach appears to be deliberate. The appropriate course would be to refer this matter to the Standing Committee on Privileges." The Prime Minister (Mr M. J. Savage) then moved that the matter should be referred to the Committee of Privileges, and the House proceeded to the normal business of day.