The Wanganui Chronicle. "Nulla Dies Sine Linea." THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1912. THE HINE-WARD INCIDENT.

Wanganui Chronicle, Issue 12856, 24 October 1912, Page 4

The Wanganui Chronicle. "Nulla Dies Sine Linea." THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1912. THE HINE-WARD INCIDENT.

The House of Representatives, in passing, a formal vote of censure on Sir Joseph Ward for his refusal to show proper respect to the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, did tho only thing possible consistent with the dignity of Parliament. There is no apparent reason why Sir Joseph Ward should have taken umbrage at the.question put to him by Mr. Hine, but, on the other haiicl, it is quite clear that his allusion to the Chairman's action as a "downright piece of impertinence" was an offence which could not be permitted to go unchallenged. Making duo allowance for the probability that he used thesfe words in a moment of anger and while smarting under the sting of a fancied insult, tho ex-Prime Minister ought certainly to have withdrawn them when called upon to do so. He preferred not to do sq, and by his obstinacy compelled tlie House to censure him. Sir Joseph declared that ho accepted tho censure of the House with equanimity. Perhaps so. But tho fact remains that an incident, rightly described by Mr. Newman as "sordid and squalid," has cost tho country some hundreds of pounds and occasioned an unnecessary interference with tho conduct of the country's Parliamentary business., Moreover, Sir Joseph Ward's attitude is not reassuring for the future. If when members of Parliament are called to give evidence before properly constituted Committees they are going to mak& unwelcome questions an excuse for indulgence ■•« insubordinate behaviour wo may have frequent repetitions of those sordid and expensive incidents. It is certainly not desirable that the tone of bitterness in political controversy should bo accentuated. It has already bocomo too apparent on both sides of tho ocean. Mr. Ay quith recently described it as "tho new stylo* in political warfare. Tn a speech at Belfast the Leader of tho Opposition doclared that the Prime Minister was selling his convictions in tho matter of Homo Rule. Mr. Asquith in tho Houso of Commons called u|jon Mr. Bonar Law to say whether ho really believed the Premier was capabJo o! soiling his convictions "You haven't any to sell,'" was tho rough rejoinder. Mr. Asquith replied in even temper and with biting emphasis: "This is tho new style. We are getting on." Tho new style is not unknown in New Zealand, in Australia it is fairly common, while in the Unit-ud States it us already old. Senator Dixon called the President recently "a receiver of stolen goods," an allegation which was doubtless regarded by Mr. Taft as ''a. downright piece of impertinence." in the matter of the Hine-Ward incident thero was little if any justification for the assumption that tho v, which Sir Joseph Ward objected was intended to bo offensive, but oven if it had been openly and intentionally insulting a politician of Sir Joseph's standing and oxporienc-e would have appeared to much hotter advantage had ho emulated tho quiet dignity of Mi. Asqiiith, respected the office of the man who had offended him, and entered his protest in a manner which would not hnvo set, at de-fiance tho rules of the House.