THE Temuka Leader. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 1891.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2249, 3 September 1891, Page 2

THE Temuka Leader. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 1891.

MR BRYCE’S RESIGNATION. The Bryce farce has been played, and the curtain has fallen, perhaps for ever, on the political career of Mr Bryce. We cannot say that we feel very much grieved at it, Mr Bryce was undoubtedly honest and honorable above the average politician, but he was the most thorough-going Tory in Parliament. In a speech he recently delivered he proposed that votes should be taken away from any one who did not possess property, and no doubt if he had a majority at his back in Parliament he would abolish the residential qualification. But he is now down, and it is useless to discuss his political opinions. It is more to the point to discuss the circumstances under which he resigned. In order to make that point clear, we shall repeat the whole story. The Hon. John McKenzie, in reply to an attack upon him, stated that the Hon. R. Campbell had said that he had “squared it” with Mr Richardson with regard to two runs in Otago. He was immediately called to order, and he immediately withdrew the charge. Next Mr Richardson moved for a committee to inquire into the matter, and the Government opposed it, on the ground that the charge had been withbrawn, that therefore it did not exist, and there was nothing to inquire into. The Hon. Mr Ballance, who is universally admitted to be one of the most courteous and amiable men in the House, was speaking to this point when Mr Bryce jumped up, and said Mr Ballance “ought to be ashamed of himself.” Of course this implied that the Premier was doing something disgraceful, which ought to cause him to be “ ashamed of himself,” and Mr Bryce was called upon to withdraw the language, but he refused to do so. The galleries were cleared, an unseemly scene followed, and a vote of censure on Mr Bryce was carried. Mr Bryce then explained that he was interrupted in the middle of a sentence; what he was going to say was that “ the Premier ought to be ashamed of himself for relying on a technicality to prevent an inquiry into the charge made against Mr Richardson.” We cannot see that this improves the position of Mr Bryce very much. He still says the “ Premier ought to be ashamed of himself.” But putting that aside, and looking at the whole affair from the Opposition point of view, we cannot find any justification for the action taken by Mr Bryce. Now, let us suppose that the Hon. John McKenzie uttered a most atrocious libel on Mr Richardson, and that the latter gentleman was most cruelly wronged in being refused a committee of inquiry, what has that to do with Mr Bryce’s violation of the standing orders of the House ? Nothing whatsoever. Mr Bryce, according to the best authorities, was guilty of offending against the rules of debate, and consequently deserved punishment. But putting it again in the most favorable light possible, and supposing the Premier was wrong, and ought to be ashamed of himself, and supposing still further that the Speaker in calling on Mr Bryce to withdraw the offensive terms was wrong, it was Mr Bryce’s place to bow to the decision of the chair. Every day in the week members are called to order, and on all occasions, whether they believe themselves right or wrong, they always submit to the Speaker’s ruling. This is absolutely necessary. How could order be preserved if this were not so ? It is most astQipsljing to find an old Parliamentarian like sryce declining to acknowledge this. We should not have believed it possible had not the actual facts been so patent. Putting Ministerialists in the worst possible light, and regarding Mr Bryce as absolutely right, ' bis ftcpiQn in defying the authority of the cha}r, even if the ruling of the Speaker was wrong, was indefensible. Right or wrong the Speaker’s ruling must be maintained, ov else there would be nothing but chaos, confusion, and disorder. Speakers are but human, they may err like- other mortals, they have very often very nice points, and very difficult questions to decide on the spur of the moment, and every latitude should be give not them. It is absolutely indefensible to defy a Speaker’s authority, the proper course being to remove him from his position if he proves incompetent to fill it. But while he is in it his authority should not be defied, or order could not be main- J 1 tained. '

We have not to put the matter in an impartial light before our readers. We have shown that if every one else had been wrong, Mr Bryce could not possibly have been right, and consequently it is astonishing how men claiming to be respectable can pose as apologists for him now. Amongst these we find the respectable Mr Rolleston, but we ought not to feel surprised at anything he does. He has never shown any keen appreciation of the fitness of things, he is not above doing very equivocal things when it suits him, and in this matter it suited him to have a slap at the Speaker, Mr Rolleston was a candidate for the Speakership, and was defeated by Major Steward, and now this afforded him a good chance to give the Speaker a snub., But Mr Rolleston counted without his host, he was badly defeated, and served him right, for he ought to be ashamed of himself for having backed up a man who had set Parliamentary etiquette qnd usage at defiance. Mr Bryce is no martyr; he was guilty of an irregularity, it was a trivial one had he, like all other members, withdrawn the matter complained of, but in setting the Speaker’s ruling at defiance he very seriously compromised himself, and the House did perfectly right in insisting on his submission. But this is an old habit of his; unless he can get all his own way he will not submit to anything else. When Sir John Hall was Premier Mr Bryce was one of his colleagues, but the former had to resign through him. Again he resigned his position in .the Atkinson Ministry because he could not get his own way. Now he has resigned his seat in Parliament because he is not allowed privileges' which no other member would claim. He is very little loss anywhere; he is a very much over-rated man and Parliament will get on much better without him.