A PARLIAMENTARY SECRET SOCIETY.

Tuapeka Times, Volume XLIV, Issue 5964, 27 July 1912, Page 4

A PARLIAMENTARY SECRET SOCIETY.

A secret Society with eminently | commendable aims has been establish- j cd amongst the members of tho Aus- I tralian Federal Parliament. It is not a party organisation, and its principal object is to .-debar. members from making dreary and irrelevant speeches. The society, which rejoioes in the high-sounding title of " The Antediluvian Order ot the Grinning' Skull and tho KJory GadgKina," had its origin "in the visit of the Pearling Commission to' Queensland. These perijrajtefcio pariiataentaiy bodies do not as a rule add to the gaiety of nat/ions. a nd the Pearling Commission was no exoeption until one of its members, Mr Elliott Johnston, conceived the idea of a burlesque secret society. His fellow members entered into the fun of the thins, and found to their surprise that the innoce»t travesty was doing a great deal to make their work pleasant and also to oXpoditc it. The society has many secret signs and ceremonies, and oertain ominous-looking badges. The first sign invented had the ef||uivalent meaning of " shut up." It consisted in crookin-ir ihp riffht arm, with the Uppers of tlvn riilit hand making snaky movements, while the left hand moved up and down behind tihe right elbow &s if pulling a string. Any member who had this sign conveyed to him. had to ceaso talking immediately. Should a member disregard the " desist -ign," a ropy of the sacred badge of the Rampant Serpent degree is placed beneath his nose, and this has never been known to fail. It represent* a skull and crossbones, a snake rampant, and a bleedine heart pierced by a dagger. Half in jest and half in earnest, members have carijed the signs into the legislative chamber. At any moment any one of tin mi may-lm seen giving a too-talkative member tho " elbow shake." Unfortunately for the full success of the society's aims, nil the memltens are not vet)-in-itiated, but it is hoped when- all are brothers of the Gory Gadffetina fraternity, boredom and ennui will fold their wings and flv the House.