THE STONEWALL.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXII, Issue 10494, 21 October 1905, Page 4

THE STONEWALL.

A FIGHT FOR LIBERTY OF SPEECH. MEMBERS KILLING TIME. TWENTY-EIGHT HOURS' SITTING. (From our Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, this day. The stonewall still drags its weary length along; in fact, it has done nothing but drag since it started. Members wiio had had a few hours' sleep began to drop in after breakfast, and there was less difficulty in keeping a quorum. The Premier chafed visibly at the fact of his Bill being stuck np, and the Acting Chairman (Mr Baume) used his best endeavors to keep members to the point. With these executions, incident was lacking, until the Acting Chairman ruled that Mr Bedford was repeating the arguments used by other members on several occasions. Mr Fisher moved to report progress in order that the Speaker might be consulted. The Acting Chairman allowed no discussion ou this proposal, and Mr Speaker was again sent for. He ruled that it was for the Chairman or Acting Cliairman to decide Avhether a member was guilty of continued irrelevance or tedious repetition, and his decision on that point must bo final. The Minister for Public Works asked the Speaker's advice as to how to stop tlie stonewall, and he proceeded to give a brief sketch of the enormity of Messrs Mos_, Bedford and Harding in having blocked progress for several hours. Mr Speaker replied that he could not advise on such a point — a ruling that appeared to cause the Minister much grief. The cliarge of the proceedings was then again entrusted to the Acting Chairman (Mr Baume), and Mr Bedford proceeded with his speech. It was evident tluit the Premier was keeping a keen look-out for repetition, and it was evident also that the Acting Chairman* was ready to secoud hia efforts. On the slightest provocation li» cut Mr Bedford down a minute or so after he had again started, aud warned Mr Harding, with great solemnity, against a similar offence. Occasional conferences took place between the Acting Chairman and the Premier, but Mr Taylor got back at the head of the Government by publicly calling attention to the fact that lie was holding a conversation with several followers on the floor of the House. The attempts made to curb the speeches of the stonewallers naturally roused their ire, and they responded by insisting on thc Government members supplying a quorum and preventing "caucuses" being held -in the Chamber. At 10.55 a divii sion was taken on Mr Hemes' amendment, moved several hours previously, to postpone the operation of the Bill until after January Ist, 1906. lb was lost by 31 to 17. An amusinp incident followed. A meriiber of the t Government party had risen to -speak, when another member (an Oppositionist) grabbed hold of his coattails and hauled him back into liis seat with some force. Enraged, the wouM-be speaker made a rash at his interrupter, who, however had slipped through the lobby door, wliich received a severe kick from the foot of the offended member. Subsequently he appealed to the Acting, Chairman for redress, and being refused* remarked* with emphasis, "Very well, I'll deal with him myself." "We are proposing that eveiy man who goes on the platform shall do so with a gag in his mouth and a rope round his neck," declared the leuder of the Opposition, who woke np the House by a vigorous speech at 11.40 a.m. against a Bill which he was 6ure the people of the country would resent as soon as they understood it. More time was occupied by the Premier in reply, and for several minutes the stonewallers had a rest. "lam quite prepared to stop here for another month," declared the Premier, and he added that his party was of the same opinion. "So are we," retorted Mr Taylor, and he declared that the country would soon be aware of tlie nature of the Bill and would resent it. "The business of the House must go on in accordance with^the will of the majority," said the Premier in conclusion. A slight interchange of hostilities took j place at this stage between the Premier and Mr Taylor. ' The Premier was repelling a charge made by the leader of the Opposition! that lie had committed a 'breach "of faith in not going on witli the Loan Bill at 7.30 last 'night. He was ruled out of order in some remarks he was making, and declared that the ruling meant tluit he could not give reasons against a charge of breach of faith. "Not it they are untrue reasons," interjected Mr Taylor. "I ask that those words be withdrawn," said the Premier. "I withdraw them," replied Mr Taylor, and -substituted, "The Premier cannot give reasons if they are inaccurate." "He can liave it in whatever form he likes," added thc irrepressible member. Members grinned audibly. At 12.20 Mr McNab relieved Air Baume in the chair. Ab 1 o'clock Mr Taylor wanted to know whether the Committee would adjourn for lunch. "No," said the Premier, with a significant shake of the head., Mr McNab, tlie Acting Chairman, said it was usual to take the voice of tlie Committee, audi he proceeded to do so. There was a loud chorus of "Ayes," and Mr McNab said at once, "I will leave the chair till half -past two." "No, no," almost shouted the Premier, but Mr McNab left the chair, and the Premier had to submit. The Acting Chairman's action was received with applause, although some of the more pronounced Government supporters buttonholed him as he was leaving the Ohainber. That was the first time the Committee had adjourned since .9.30 the previous night. ; The afternoon sitting was almost devoid of interest, except for the fact that the Chairman of Committees, Mr Millar, sat on Mr Hawkins for interjecting, and left the chair for twd hours at 5.30 p.m. in the interest, as he suid, of the health of members, despite the fact that the Government lobby brigade assembled in strong force and pub in a strong protest against allowing the stonewallers any chance to recuperate. Full galleries were present wlien the House resumed at 7.30 p.m., and it was fully apparent that thepublic had "caught on" to the. significance of the Bill, aud wanted to see for themselves what was going ou. The absence of -several members who had taken a prominent part in the earlier stages of the proceedings appeared to show that arrangements had beeu made to carry on the "stonewall" in relays. A new apologist for the Bill appeared iu the person of Mr Barber, wlio, however, made it clear that he did not wish to damage Meikle. The freshness of his appearance indicated that he had not been through the stress of the stonewall for .th-a previous 27 hours, and the opponents of the Bill welcomed his newly-arrived ener. gy as being eminently calculated to advance tlieir ends by talking at length, and so enabling them to conserve their energies. The readiness of the member for Newtown to vote as the Premier fold him "was commented on by Mr Herdman (his remarks were ruled out of order by the Chairman), and he withdrew everything with a suavity that is one of his chief characteristics when he is playing such a game as he was then engaged in. Some amusement Was caused '"by Mr Moss referring to the' card • that had-re-cently been circulated in the colony, and which read as follows: "Permit the bearer to walk the earth. — (Signed)' R. J. Seddon." It the Bill was passed everybody would be prosecuting everybody else. It would be like tiiat celebrated French village where the whole population make livings by taking in each other's washing. , _...-. - y , . At this stage it was evident that* the House had struck a funny vein. References by Mr Fishor to the member for Newtown hoisting, up a flag in celebration of the Battle of Trafalgar were met by Mr Barber with an iudiguant denial that ho had lwd auytliing to do with llaghoisting. "Where is this Bill going to land us if it is placed on the Statute Book"/" asked Mr ' Fisher with emphasis. "In gaol," replied a member, and the House laughed heartily, while Mr Fisher de•dared that if the Bill passed half tho population would be prisoners and the other half warders. "Heavy father" references to' tho reversal of .constitut'ioiKil Government and the lowering of the tone of Parliament wero made by .the Premier, who utterly failed to impress the House by talking about "paid minions and person^ who wallowed jn calumny at tlie instance of wealthy' mem who were .themselves afraid to come into tlie open." The stentorian tones of the Premier'* "gallery" play and his moving references -to .slandered wiyes and children were received with ironical bursts of laughter by the Opposytjim. By way of reprisal, the Premier fell upon Mr Bedford for some ■friv-ial breach .of Parliamentary language. That the stonewalling was for a great principle -Wigs made clear by Mr Bedford, who declared tluit he for one was prepared to accept jthat portion of the Premier's compromise yvh\?h proposed to make it punishable to titter .litjellpus words at a public meeting, but he wayild not accept the rest of it. Tlie Premier -sbo^ed noisily, and waved his arms, and appealed' iij. heartbreaking tones for a means of djjftiuqo ag-ajust slander. His strong voice quivered w/th emotiou; but his poses and his hbyjous "exhibition" performance fell on deaf ears or roused -only admiring envy- & < *pAlf,tjie stonewallers. His arguments wer_ enith'flly wasted. Ah 9 p.m. six members started up at (the fiui of one of these noisy speeches. . jMr Mapsejf caught the eye of the Chairman and {intfcde scornful remarks about the Premier's -.high falutin. He approved the pr—tt-iple ■inCtli'e Bill, but' opposed its bad application, and especially opposed its introduction ab -tliis stajje ,-s>■£ £he session. If the Bill had gone .through the trouble would have been such 'that ,the Shops and Offices trouble would be -northing, to it. Two or three Ministers followed, to j-he d**l'_ghL_!_L Ihe stoncwallei*.. The

1 resurrection of dead men was attempted by thc Minister of Mines, who said tho arguments of speakers on the other side in this debate would have proved bad in their application to Pitt, Burke, Byron, Nelson and others. Replying under cover of a personal explanation, Mi* Fisher said that unfortunately for the soundness of the previous speaker's argument the provisions of the Bill could not be applied to Pitt, Burke and the otliers— a sally which raised a burst of laughter. Mr Moss, after many attempts to get ahead of other speakers hi making yet another speech, urged New Zealand to "put up its shutters" if the passing of such a Bill was to be permitted. SUPPER. To the joy of the stonewallers, the Chairman gave the House half an hour for supper at 9.30 p.m. When the proceedings .resumed at 10 p.m., "Mr R. Mackenzie spoke in support of the Bill, Immediately afterwards a hot and vigo ' rous speech of a quality remarkable aftei a 30 hours' fitting was delivered by Mi Hawkins. Ho had, he said, been ir [ the House for about 35 hours, and lu was sick, absolutely sick, of the Pre ; mier's speeches, which with their refer ; enccs to the slandering of women wen an insult to the menfolk of the colony— an insult to every man in New Zealand. Just then Mr Taylor .arrived, looking ns sharp and alert as the Ministerialist! were dull and sleepy, wliich is not re markable in view of the fact that the sitting, had lasted 32 hours, including 2A hours of actniali speech-making on the Bill. At 10.30 p.m. there was still a full attendance of the public in the galleries, and even the ladies were present in considerable force. Cautions against tedious repetition were administered by the Chairman id an almost empty House at the instance of the Premier, while Mr Moss was speaking. The Chairman at thi.*stage made some threatening remarks about members who were guilty of interjecting. The threats bore their own weight, and soon afterwards the motion to report progress, made several hours previously, was lost by 35 votes to 21. Thereupon Mr Fisher moved that the Chairman leave the chair, a motion cquivalent to, one to kill the Bill. In support, Mr Taylor made it clear that he had a rooted objection to the Bill, and amid the snores of one of the Government i supporters declared that nothing but physical exhaustion would kill liis opposition to the Bill. At 11.10 p.m., Mr Bedford . drew attention lo the fact that the Ministeiviji : Cliarge of tbe Bill (the Hon. J. McGowan) was not in charge, that he was asleep, and not in the chair. The point was not pressed uneluly, but it had the effect of waking up the Minister from what appeared to be a veiy comfortable sleep, and an unsympathetic House smiled. At 11.15 p.m., Mr Baume again took the chair, and almost immediately had to make some very harsh remarks about interjections. If was, however, satisfactory to notice that the Minister for Lands was sound asleep, with a copy of the Hawke's Bay Herald covering his upper works. The dress suit of the member for Newtown, who appeared to have prepared himself for the fray by lots of sleep, shone luminously in a somnolent House. Mr Field and Mr Lawry and tlie Minister for Public Works appeared at 11.20 p.m. to be absolutely oblivious to criticism. They were palpably the most comfortable members -in the Chamber. Public Works, being a Minister, felt it incumbent on him to wake up and endeavor to quell an incipient disturbance. (Pei Press Association.) The House resumed at 2.30, and the stonewall proceeded on the Criminal Code Amendment Bill. Mr Herries argued that progress ought to be reported, on account of Trafalgar, a great 'battle fought for the liberty which tho Bill .sought to circumscribe. Mr Taylor, following in the same line, said among the Bills on the order paper 'whiah ouglit to be preferred to this one was the Naval Defence Bill, whicii was ! an outcome of tho Trafalgar spirit. Mr Laurenson urged the necessity foi passing the Bill to prevent penniless adventurers from getting on a platform and ' villifying, the -personal character of public men. For his part, if anyone villified him and he could not reach the villifyer by legal process lie would get redress some other way, if necessary by bullet or knife. I Mir Herdman condemned the appointment of the judges to become Commissioners on the Audit case, as subversive of the publio liberties. Sir Joseph Ward pointed out that newspaper proprietors were amenable to thc criminal law for publishing statements o' Ipersons not so amenable. Mr Duthie urged that men in the position of Mr Meikle would suffer injustice if the Bill passed. Mr Fisher 6aid he was perfectly prepared to go on till Saturday night, and after Sunday's rest to go oir fresh foi the whole of next week. ■ During the sitting Messrs Graham and .Hawkins were named for interjecting. They apologised, and their apologies were accepted. Mr Graham's explanation win that he only repeated anotlier member's interjections in obedience to a request from one of the speakers, who had not heard it. Mr Hawkins pleaded inadvertence. Mr Buchanan* and Sir W. Russell ques. tioned the ruling of the chair. Sir Joseph Ward and Mr Hull-Jonc* asked the Cbmmittee t(J support thc chair. Mr Millar explained that he had determined to strictly enforce- tho order against interjections on account of the unusua. circumstances of the case. He warned hon. members that he would also enforc< the standing order 177 against wilful ob struction whenever he felt satisfied then was obstruction. At 5.30 the House adjourned till 7.& on the voices, for the sake of the healtl ■ of hon. members. 1 Tlie House resumed at 7.30, and wenl ' on discussing the motion to report pro ' gress on the Criminal Code Amendmeni 1 Bill. After an hour, Mr Herries off ere-. 1 to withdraw opposition if the Premiei ', would accept an amendment exceptinf " from the scope of the Bill all legitimat< ; criticism of the public conduct of publh men. i Mr Bedford, speaking of the compro ! mise of the previous morning, isaid he 1 Was prepared to accept the first part re ; ferring to public meetings and meeting! ■ by invitation or advertisement. The se 1 cond part ho '-.objected to,' referring tc • public places. 1 Mr Seddon replied that there were pub lie places in the chief cities in whicii thousunds congregated, , and there slan 1 derers must be stopped. Regarding thc proposal made by Air Herriesj he de clined to make any distinction in favoi of any citizen. There was, however, nt • danger, for clause 5 of the Criminal Code 1 Act, with wliich this Bill would, if it passed, be read, offered a complete safe fuard against abuse, and the Bill went uilher by providing that before then could be- a- prosecution a magistrate musl be .satisfied that there. had been a defama tory statement, z The discussion continued, and after #up ' per Mi" Hawkins suggested a compromisi on the. ground -'that opponents, of : the Bill had made their protest and a fail compromise was open. Mr Hunan, .speaking for a compromise i suggested that a line should* be drawi: between serious cases and others, the serious ones being imputations of, indict ' able offences, certain vices, etc. 'Mr Hawkins repeated his argument foi a compromise, and asked the. Committee 1 to divide the motion to report; pio gress, the result to bo a test of the Com mittee's feeling towards a compromise. The Committee divided, and at 10.4" the motion was lost on division. Aye* 21, noes 35. Mr Taylor moved that the Chairmai leavo tlie chair, and -was ruled, out oi 1 mdel*. Mr Fisher moved the, -motion Mr Fisher admitted some need for tin ' Bill., urging, however, that some line bi drawn protecting the transactions bf pri vale and semi-privale life. He knew - that there was a majority for a eompro mise, and hoped the motion for leaving the chair, tv ensure a compromise, woulc be carried. , A COMPROMISE EFFECTED. After the telegraph office closed, short!--before* 2 a.m., a compromise was effected and tlie stonewall ended. The Premie* 1 submitted tine follbwing new clause (u place of the other in the Bill) as the final position of tlie Gqverninent : •"Every per son wlu*-. without legal justification oj excuse, speaks any words which are like • Ty to injure the reputation of any othei person by exposing such person, to hatred or contempt, or to injure, him in his pro fession or trade, is 'guilty of criminal de lamation, which is hereby declared to b< ! an offence, provided that the speaking 0. such words shall not constitute or be deemed to 'ebns-t.it'Ute an' offence unfes* spoken within the hewing of not less thar 20 persons at a meeting io v \vliich thc public are invited to attend or have ap 1 cess ; provided further tluit up proceed j ings in respect qf an offence against tliif Act s l hall.*bte commenced jifter the,,expira ,■ ,tion of two mouths 'after the- commissibii of the offence.' _Tije .pi'o^-isibns of sectioiif 4, 5, ,6," .and 7' ! Qf',tlio'j(3r_ninal .Code Amendment Act, -19Ql,"sh?U mutatis urn. tandis extend and" apply ' ( tb all pas^ 61 criminal defamation, p-*».y\'ded tj-iat lbefpijc the making of any order under - sector 5 of that Act iu 'respect 'of any offences of criminal defamation a judge 'or magistrate making such order, shall be satisfied that there is reasonable ground fot Om** prosecution." 1 ' Mi* Massey said tho new clause was .1 • decided and if it had been ■ submitted at) £ p'oio^k on the preceding afteruqpu this .pi'btracted Rebate would not- have -taken plage'.- v ' "' Mr Bedford, on behalf of ,the Ne.w Liberal party, accepted the Premier's .proposals, and the House agreed to the ißill iu its amended form.The Bill was put through finicl stages, and the stonewall brought to a close after 28 hours' sitting. At 2.10 aj£. the House rose until 11 a.m. on Monday*^

i Tlie ager? of a couple who* were married in -Cambridge. Otago, last week, totalled nearly 140 year's, the venturesome* bride■grooin beiug considerably over 70 ycursfc.

I Dr J. F. Kennedy, secretary of the ) lowa State Board of Health, has issued ■ an ultimatum to* lowa doctors and surI gcons to remove their beards, contend- - mg they are insanitary and carry diM-n.sc germs. M. Scrpollet, the French builder of " fast automobiles, is proposing to con--5 .••truct a car wliich shall luive a weight - of only 3301b witliout the generator or J 'boiler, and which will develop 'over 200 1 h.p. It is expected that this will achieve a speed of 125 miles an hour. t A new process for preserving perish- , able fruit and food products has been f discovered and tested with perfect success in California. It is said that by the use of a vacuum fresh fruit may be kept from j spoiling, and the promoters of the new [.'] process say that by this means fresh fruit . ! can be kept perfectly fresh for three . ' month:). Decay is warded off in the most remarkable manner. It is claimed that . this new vacuum process will revolutionr ise the transportation of fruits and vegetr ables from California. So satisfied are .. the holders of the new method that arc, rangements are being completed to ship l large quantities of pears and plums to ._■ British ports during the coming season, q and from the elaborate tests that have _ been made it seems that the possible loss in transit will now be reduced to a very t small percentage indeed. Under the pres sent system tons of pears and plums go . bad in transit during tlie season, and the 3 monetary loss in. this way is naturally •; --erinus. It is even expected that in com. _ ing years, and possibly in 1906, Californian fresh cherries will be despatched to . England preserved by the vacuum process to compete with the early French . fruits. It is also thought probable that s selected Californian peaches may make . their acpuaintance with the British pub. 3 lie, as well as grapes.