WASTING TIME

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXXIV, Issue 5, 29 October 1924, Page 2

WASTING TIME

STONEWALLING A BILL. HOLDING UP THE GAMING MEASURE. (Special Correspondent.) Press Gallery, Saturday. No one was aware tititij this week that Hansard could be utilised as a modem concrete-mixer for stonewalls. The Last time there was a genuine stonewall was away back in the dark ages of 1913, since which time such tilings have been forgotten. Practically all this week has been devoted to an effort to erect a wall round the Gaming Amendment Bill, but surveyed from a, distance of twenty-four hours if appeals to have been really a veiy puny affair, not even as good as the walls of Jericho which fell over at the trumpet's sound. Unlike the walls of Jericho, the Gaming Bill stonewall crumbled when the trumpeters ceased from sounding, but took their Parliamentary bugles with them, into the lobbies in a state of high dudgeon because the Chairman of Committees refused to change his mind to suit their ideas of carrying on opposition.

That the whole of the week has been literally wasted is not to be denied. Here were eighty legislators all bursting} over with enthusiasm to gallivant, away from their Parliamentary duties, at the end of next week, and counting up the minutes almost, when a trifle of a Bill of eight clauses is thrown amongst them to ruminate over, and they decide to fight over it instead.

WARNINGS WHICH WERE "BLUFF."

Early warning was given by "Mr J. McCombs, who seemed to be the ringleader of the stonewallers, that there was a) distinct possibility of trouble, for on Tuesday he announced that there were something like 200 amendments which he personally was aware of (he had a small list of 77 himself). Well, it is one thing to try to put "the wind uip" ai Government with a bluff about a multitude of amendments, but in a race of this sort the Government is mostly in front, and can generally manage, to hold its own by. the time the last division bell is sounding. Far from the 200 amendments being moved, Jess than a tenth of them were actually put forward, but some of them had a pretty good

The sitting on. the Gaming Amendment Bill opened at 3.40 p.m. on W ednesday and terminated at 8.5 p.m on Friday, the House only rising for meals. It had a few amusing features, however, which relieved the monotony to a certain extent. At various stages estimates were made as to the cost to the country which the debate was incurring, but this became a somewhat trite argument and did not survive long before it was placed on the "index expurgatorius" of "tedious repetitions." As a ma tter of fact, it was. remarkable to note how on Friday, the Chairman or Committees exhibited an extraordinary facility for detecting these tedious repetitions," and lost no time in ruling them out of order it only needed a member to repeat some aspect of a subject for about the second time when the guillotine came down on hiV „., „ c . ash> and he was told abruptly to resume his seat. This process became somewhat disconcerting to the stonewallers, and Mr Holland had to admit that it was proving difficult to find fresh arguments, while Mr Sullivan pleaded that if the Chairman continued to be so drastic in cutting the cackle it would be out of order for a member to breathe. Perhaps the most humorous suggestion made during the course of the struggle was in the early hours of Friday morning after Mr "Wright had moved a dilatory amendment to excise the word "hunt" from the Clause dealing with the proposed increase in totalisator permits. Mr Langstone, the Labor member for Wairmarino, whimsically decided oppose the amendment because it was unpatriotic, for the Prince of Walss was a noted hunter. Deep concern was voiced by Mr O'Brien for the safety of the Prince of Wales if the hunt clubs' were to be retained in the clause. His Royal Highness was continually tumbling off hunters, and here Parliament had an opportunity to teach the Old .Country a lesson in reducing the risk of the Prince of Wales losing his life. Although Mr Wright was out of the Chamber ab the time, Mr Sullivan appealed to the member for Wellington Suburbs to withdraw the amendment.

GOVERNOR AND "TOTE"

PERMITS.

Mr Harris,, fresh from the sparkling water of the Waiteniata,, had a bright inspiration on Friday morning just before noon. This was to the effect that the Governor-General should be the authority to allocate totalisatorj permits instead of the Minister of Internal Affairs. He admitted that if the amendment were

carried they would to a certain extent be working in the dark because /the present Governou-Genoral was i going away shortly, but tho most that could be hoped for was that his successor would hare some knowledge oi racing, so that he might* be able to distribute tlie permits equitably and satisfactorily. The Labor members feigned a faeling of doubt as to the wisdom of this proposal, and Mr Armstrong remarked that he was not sure whether it would not be wise to confer the power of allocation on Judges of the Supreme Court.

And so the farce went on until ten minutes before 4 o'clock on Friday afternoon when tho stonewall collapsed with dramatic suddenness admidst a scene that is unparallelled in New Zealand Parliamentary history. The opponents of the Bill claimed' that the Chairman of Committees had not accepted the word oi Mr McCombs that he had called for a division on the amendment moved by Mr Harris with reference to the Governor-General and walked out of the' Chamber in a body, refusing to return although given to understand that they could have a division on the amendment and be free to carry on the opposition to the Bill from that point. That would still have enabled Mr Harris to move tho amendment of which he had previously given notice, namely, that before the Gov-ernor-General allocated any permits a referendum of tho electors must first of all be taken, but they stolidly declined to accept the invitation to come back during the Committee stages of the Bill. Meanwhile an amusing scene) was in progress in the Chamber. The Standing Orders provide that if a member wishes to speak after the doors have been locked for a division he must cover his head. Points of order were flying labouft like dust in a Canterbury nor'wester, and members were picking up the first thing available with which to cover their capita. Newspapers or sheets of foolscap were mostly pressed into the service, but as stationery must have been at a premium on the Labor benches, presumably having all been used up in writing out the 200 amendments to the Bill, Mr Sullivan dashed out into the lobby and returned with a slouch hat for Mr Holland which was several sizes larger than that with which the Labor Leader is usually adorned. Mr Witty was amongst those who offered some momentary comment on the situation, and a point of order was raised by Mr Holland that the member for Rflccarton was not covered. "Yes, I am," retorted Mr Witty, obviously referring to Mr Holland's capillary poverty, "I've got more on than you have."

THE END. To get the Bill through' in the Absence of the erstwhile stonewallers was a matter of only 30 minutes, and after the measure had been formally reported the protestanfc members trooped into the Chamber and took their seats. Rumour had it that they were going to say some bard things about the Chairman of Committees on the third reading. Their luck was out, though, for the Prime Minister at once moved that the third reading bo postponed until next sitting day, and the House immediately adjourned, much to the disappointment of the occupants of the crowded public galleries who had assembled in anticipation of a lively evening's entertainment.