SESSION NOTES.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume VI, Issue 1736, 6 September 1919, Page 11

SESSION NOTES.

JOTTINGS FROM THE GALLERY.

"ESKIMO SOCKS" OF LIBERALISM

[From Our Own Parliamentary Reporter.]

WELLINGTON, September 6. It is strange that Mr H. Holland (Grey) should run to the Polar regions for illustrations to his fiery expressions of Labour sentiments. He did so again in the House of Representatives last night, by placing it on record in "Hansard" that amongst a certain race of the Eskimos there exists a superstition that a sick child will get well if its mother does not change her socks. "The Liberal Party in this House," said Mr Holland, "is a very sick baby, but its leaders are neither changing their socks nor wearing them as before. They have dyed their socks. Years ago they were blue. Then came the War, and the socks were dyed red, white and blue, while the Liberals joined in with the Reformers. Now they have left the Reformers and have dyed their socks a very faint pink, in the hope that they may pass them off on the workers of the country for Labour's red." Mr P. Fraser (Wellington Central): But they are still very blue! Mr Holland: Yes! The blue tinge is still there—but they are not going to get the workers with any camouflage .of that kind, and that *dving" process—you can spell it either way, with the "e" or without it.

"Guttersnipe" Journalism,

The breachTbetween Parliamentary Labour and the "Maoriland Worker" has been widened. The revelation that there was a breach came last night, when "" Mr H. E. Holland (Grey) expressed regret that the paper should have so stooped as to cast ugly reflections upon those members of Parliament who have seryed their country with honour at the Front'

Mr R. Semple (Wellington South) washed his hands of any association with the offensive article. "I want," he said, "to disassociate myself from the statement which" was read out here last night. I regret that such a statement has been irfade, and I want to say that it is not part of the Labour Party's policy to stoop to the gutter in order to vilify'its political opponents." Mr R: A. Wright (Wellington Suburbs): Who was responsible for the article? Mr Semple: I don't know, but I can say this—the article in question is written in gutter language, and the man who is responsible for penning it is nothing more than a guttersnipe. A Challenge to Hard Toil. . Mr R. Semple (Wellington South), "talking coar in the House last evening, was ticking off the number of days .lost every year by the miners. "There are 26 pay Saturdays," he said, "upon which the men do not work." Mr R. A. Wright (Wellington Suburbs): Why? Mr Semple; Recause if you had been working underground for five days you would be very glad to crawl out on the sixth and stay at home. I'm willing to put the dungarees on with any other hon. member, and start work to-morrow morning in any of the coal mines of this country. I'll work side by side with him and I'll guarantee he would cry enough before the six days were up. Hon. A. M. Myers (Auckland East): I'll give a gold medal to the one who * hews the most coal.

Mr Semple: Then I'll enter for the competition. . An hon. member: No going slow! Mr Semple: No! I'll make the man who comes with me go pretty hard. There will be no going slow. "Boy Officers." A complaint against the "boy officers" who, lie contended, were allowed practically to domineer the departments set up to deal with returned soldiers' applications, was made by Mr H. E. Holland.(Grey) in his Address-in-Reply speech last evening. He haa dne definite instance—a lieutenant, aged 23, who had, by Red Tape regulations, to sign every letter sent out by the office. When applications had to be declined the clerks form of writing was, "I regret to say that your application cannot be granted." One morning he received a memo, from this young officer who had to sign -the letters. It was simply this, "I have no regrets when writing to the blanky soldiers." Mr H. G. Ell (Christchurch South): That man should go! Mr Holland: Yes! He should go, and there are other men who should go. One of them is Lieutenant Crampton. Then the hon. member for Grey broke away to protest against the white-washing court-martial which had been set up to deal with Crampton, when the Government should, after the finding of the Magistrate who investigated the cruelties at the Wanganui detention barracks, have relieved the officer of his commission. He again asked the Minister of Defence to make available to the House the papers connected with Crampton's "unsavoury" term of office in Samoa. "East is East, and West is West." Speaking of the Hon. A. M. Myers in the House last night, Mr P. Fraser mistakenly referred to him as the hon. member for Auckland West "East," corrected the ex-Minister.

"Oh, well I" conceded Mr Fraser, "East. There's not much difference;" "Oh! yes!" objected Mr Myers, "East is east and west is west" "And never the twain shall meet," supplemented Mr R. McCallum (Wairau). "There is not much difference," persisted Mr Fraser. "Both are Liberals. The only difference is that one is 8 Prohibitionist and the other is not—and one was a Minister, and the other would probably like to be." Caught Napping. Hon. members should make a practice of taking a trip round their electorates before the session commences, else they are liable to get caught up on points of local interest by watchful Ministers. There was an instance yesterday afternoon. Mr R. A. Wright (Wellington Suburbs) was giving notice to ask the Minister of Justice proposed to erect police- stations at Karori and Island Bay, when Mr T. M. Wilford (exMinister of Marine) interjected that it had been done already at Karori. "When?" demanded Mr Wright. "Oh," replied Mr Wilford, "about eight'months ago." . The "Habitually Thirsty."

"My friend the hon. member for Christchurch North," said Mr R. McCallum (Wairau), in moving the introduction of: his New Protection Bill this afternoon, "is for ever complaining about the habitual drunkard, but we never hear any expression of sympathy for the. habitually thirsty." (Laughter.) The. member for Wairau had got on to this subject in explaining that, the principle of his Bill was to protect the consumer. "I would not trust a single hotel-keeper to put water with any liquor," he decfared, and the House roared with laughterThen Mr McCallum begged leave to explain himself. He belieyed lhat advantage -was often tak\n, in "breaking-down" liquor, to put in some harmful substance—say, methylated spirits—which was far cheaper than ordinary spirits. The introduction of this Bill was supported by Dr A. K. Newman (Wellington East), who claimed that all the cost of the War with Germany wbuld be largely in vain if we were now to allow the trusts of friendly countries to spread their tentacles over New Zealan'd. .

Municipal Amalgamation. A Municipal Corporations Amendment Bill was introduced in the House yesterday afternoon by Mr J. P. Luke (Wellington North). He explained that it provided that, when adjacent boroughs were merged into a metropolitan area, the special rates which had been leviable in those outer areas should be paid out of the general rate fund. Several hon. members who spoke to the motion for leave to introduce the Bill were strong in urging that the Bill should be referred, say, to the Internal Affairs Department. Mr H. G. Ell (Christchurch South) said that consideration should be given to the Bill, in order that any other amendments required in this very important law could be dealt with this session. Hon. G. W. Russell (Avon) said that a Bill proposing to apply to the Whole Dominion must have very careful consideration. It was desirable that the absorption of outer areas in cities should be encouraged. He thought that very soon the City of Christchurch would extend from Riccarton to New Brighton, and include the whole of that area, with probably Sumner as well, The Bill was introduced and read a first time/ and notice was given of a motion to refer it to the Statutes Revision Committee.

Right of Criminal Appeal.

Last session a Bill, under the charge of the then Minister of Jus-

tice (Hon. T. M. Wilford), passed through all its stages in the House of Representatives, and then got lost in "another placed as Parliamentary language styles the Upper House. That was the Crimes Amendment Bill, the object of which is to afford to a person convicted on a criminal charge the same right of appeal which is at present extended to the disputants in civil actions. Mr Wilford's Bill, which he introduced again yesterday afternoon, allows for an appeal against a verdict, or sentence, or both, or on a point of law. It provides also that, if the Appeal Court finds the verdict to have been a correct one, but considers that it was not followed by a sufficient sentence, the Court may increase the sentence. This is intended to guard against appeals by men who have been correctly found guilty, the suggestion being that they will not be keen to risk a confirmation of their guilt.

"I am making the process of appeal so simple," Mr Wilford, "that a layman can understand exactly how he is to go about it." Supporting the Bill, the Hon. Sir John Findlay, K.C. (Hawke's Bay) said that, with all respect to our judges, he had listened to some of those with the widest knowledge and experience summing up, but, in his honest judgment, proceeding upon what was "altogether a wrong assumption. Very frequently those had been the strongest of our judges, and a strong judge proceeding upon a wrong view of the evidence might force his opinion on certain juries. In that way he had seen what he considered to be miscarriages of justice.

The Bill was read a first time. A Shady Past.

A plea on behalf of the rather careless youth who afterwards settles down to decent citizenship, only to find some ill record from the past thrown up in his face, was made by Mr W. T. Jennings (Taumarunui) yesterday, when that member was speaking to the motion to introduce the Crimes Amendment Bill. Mr Jennings contended that there should be some revising judges, who should have power to expunge from the court records all mention of earlier offences like petty thefts, if it could be shown that the person concerned was making amends in his after life for the earlier wildness. Prison-bred Savagery. Jack London's wolf-dog White Fang was introduced to the House yesterday afternoon by Mr H. E. Holland (Grey). The hon. member was illustrating his conception of what New Zealand's prison system produced in our prisoners. When White Fang was being prepared for a fight with another dog he was kept away by himself, clear of all his usual associations, and fed on the poorest of food, the idea being to bring to the surface all the wolf that was in him. That was what New Zealand did with her prisoners, said Mr Holland, and the result was the same—the