PARLIAMENT OPENED

Gisborne Times, Volume XXX, Issue 3451, 16 February 1912, Page 5

PARLIAMENT OPENED

MEMBERS SWORN IN. Y. - . * CHOICE OF SPEAKER. SIR ARTHUR GU'NNESS RE-ELECTED COURTEOUS SPEECHES. ADJOURNMENT UNTIL TO-DAY. [PER pfilisi ASSOCIATION.) WELLINGTON, Feb. 15. The eighteenth Parliament was opened in the Legislative Council by the Commissioners at 2.30 o’clock this afternoon . Members of the House, who had been, summoned to the Council Chamber, then retired to the House to be sworn in.

In the House members were sworn in, the only absentee being Mr. Wilford (member for Hutt). The election of a Speaker was . then proceeded with. Mr. HANAN, in moving that the hon. member for Grey (Sir A. Guinness) be elected Speaker, referred to the fact that Sir Arthur had been a member since 1884, and that he had been Speaker of three Parliaments. Mr. Hunan also made eulogistic references to the manner in which Parliament had been conducted under the Speakership of Sir Arthur Guinness. Mr. MYERS seconded the motion, associating himself with the sentiments expressed by the mover- He said he was sure that Sir Arthur Guinness s presence in the chair would prevent all such regrettable scenes as had occurred in some of the Australian Parliaments. Sir Joseph Ward congratulated the House upon its choice of a Speaker, and referred to Sir Arthur’s long experience as a Parliamentarian and his qualifications for the position. He was very glad to find the nomination received with extreme cordiality on the opposite side of the House, and he was pleased to see that the Speaker had the goodwill of every member of the, House. _ Mr. MASSEY congratulated the Speaker on his re-election. In his desire to make the New Zealand Par lament a model Parliament, the Speaker would have the assistance of every member of the House. He hoped the term would be a particularly pleasing one, and that he should rule the proceedings of the House with the same tact, purpose, and dignity as m previous yG Mr.' ISII’T announced that lie would speak on ' behalf of the Independent members. (Laughter.) He offered congratulations to the Speaker on his reelsS° ARTHUR GUINNESS tendered his sincere thanks for the honor conferred upon him —the highest honor m the, gift of the House. He was fully aware of the responsibility of the office, and would to the best of his ability preserve the dignity of the House. e would also endeavor strictly to observe due courtesy to all members without regard to friendships, personal or politlCSir JOSEPH WARD moved the adjournment of the House at 330 p.m. until 2.30 p.m. on Friday.

ANOTHER ACCOUNT. A QUIET CEREMONIAL. S LSPECIAL TO TIMES.] WELLINGTON., Feb. 15. The first session of the eighteenth. Parliament of New Zealand was opened bv the Commission this afternoon. ‘The proceedings were formal, the reelection of Sir A. R. Guinness to the position of Speaker of tlie House ot Representatives being completed without opposition. „ Members of the Lower House assembled in the Chamber, all the members except Mr. T- M. Wilford (Hutt), who is absent in England, being present. It was unusual to see so full an attendance of members. The members of the House were immediately summoned to the Legislative Council, "where all the members of the Upper House were assembled. Lady Ward, Miss Ward, and Mrs. R. McKenzie were the only ladies present on the floor of the Chamber, but a number of other ladies, wives of members, were admitted to the Press Gallery.. Parliament was opened by a Commission, consisting of Sir Charles Bowen (Speaker of the Legislative Council), ; Hon J. McGowan. Hon. AY . D. H. Bail- . lie, Sir Geo. McLean, Hon- T. Kelly, Hon. J. E. .Tenkmson, and Hon. C. t±. Mills. Tlie ceremony was brief and uninteresting. It concluded with a promise that to-morrow the Governor for whose absence an apology was made in the usual quaint terms, would declare- ( the reason for calling Parliament toaether, and members of the House of Representatives were then greeted to return to the House and elect a Speak €1 Members were, all in their places again at twenty minutes to three.. The limited accommodation m the public and other galleries was taxed to its utmost capacity. Most of the on lookers were women. Members were swmm in by the Cleric of the House (Mr. H- Ottersoii) in alphabetical or- , der and in batches of four. 1 Mr Massey, on going up to be sworn in, took the' opportunity of going ovei to the front Government bench to shake hands with Sir Joseph Maid. ‘ The swearing-in occupied twenty-two next business was the election of ti M? P J k A: Hanan (Invercargill) was quickly on his feet to propose the election oif Sir A. R. Gunness. According to old custom, the. Clerk, standing, up in his place at the table, simply pomte<Mr £l°Myers (Auckland East) seconded the motion, and there being no other nomination Sir Arthur Guinness was called by the. House to the chair •without ay question being put... He was conducted to the chair by Irs pioposcr and seconder. , . , . 1 Mr Isitt’s refernce to his being an Independent member was; received with general -laughter from both sides of the House, for everyone now recognises Mr. Isitt as a strong partisan of the Government. , • C - The proceedings were brief and most dccoroiis. Next week, however, the Chamber will,.no.doubt, be the scene of more stirring incidents. GOSSIP FROM THE LOBBIES. THE NO CONFIDENCE DEBATE. | SPECIAL TO TIMES.] WELLINGTON, Feb. .15.. ' The speech from tlie Throne, winch is due to be delivered to Parliament tomorrow afternoon, is being looked forward to with the keenest interest. When the House resumes after listenins* to tlie Governor'® f\ddress 3 notice will be given of the Address-m-Reply,

and notice will he given by Mr Massey of liis intention to propose an amendment. .

Tlie usual adjournment will then be made until Tuesday afternoon, and from the moment that Mr Massey moves Ihis no-confidence motion at the conclusion of his speech—the third in the course of the debate—the proceedings will be of unusual interest. ■ At present . t it is impossible to say how long the 'debate will last or when the crucial division will be takeiiu. It will largely depend l upon the attitude and the speech of the Prime Minister. So far as the Opposition is concerned its members will be ready to take the division at once or to debate the point :ifc issue as long •-as the Government wishes. . . \ The general opinion is that two days should suffice for the debate. . THE INDEPENDENTS. The Independent members' were very ’ tguch annoyed to-day at the action of Mr Isitt in . taking upon himself to speak oil their behalf. . One of them interjected: “Why don’t you speak for yonf.&elf, and as the House emptied the same jpember was heard to give vent to his feelifigc: m still more forcible language. MR. PAYNE’S PLEDGES.

Just at the present moment Mr Payne, the new member for Grey Lynn, is very much talked about in the lobbies and out of them. Tlie reason for this is because of the uncertainty that exists as to how his vote will be cast on the no-confidence motion against the present Government. After Mr Payne’s election pledges to his constituents and his subsequent assurances, there should, of course, be no doubt whatever on the subject. He is pledged up to the hilt to vote against the Government. It is, however, being freely stated by certain members of the Government party that Mr Payne will be found voting to keep Sir Joseph Ward in office, or, at all events; that he can be depended upon'to absent himself from the crucial division by pairing with Mr Wilford, a Government supporter, who is not at present in New Zealand. . ~ The latter contingency would, or course, be as much a breaking of his election pledge as the former. Mr Payne seems unable for the present to make up his own mind on the subject-. Some of his prominent constituents at present in Wellington have interviewed him on the matter, and have expressed anxiety regarding his attitude in connection with the present political crisis. WILL THERE BE ANOTHER ELECTION?

Though there is now practically no doubt about tlie defeat of the Government, it does not follow that in subsequent- divisions Mr Massey’s majority will be sufficiently large to prevent another appeal to the country sooner than most people contemplate. If the statements now being made by members of the Government party are correct, and Mr Massey is not given a sufficient majority to carry on with, there will certainly be another general election about the middle of next winter —say in July or August—because it is quite clear that there is not the remotest possibility of a party being formed on the other side of the House with sufficient members or sufficient strength to carry on the business of Parliament before that time.

PERSONNEL OF THE HOUSE. -SOME EARLY IMPRESSIONS. LSPECIAL TO TIMES.] WELLINGTON. Feb. 15. Occupants of the galleries to-day w-erc more interested in the personnel of the new House that is to make history than in the formal proceedings. The members were all in the places which they will occupy throughout the fateful no-confidence debate and until a change of Government causes them to seek - fresh places on opposite sides of the Chamber. The big semi-c-ircle which comprises all the members" benches, is divided by aisles into sections. Last- session foui of these, roughlv speaking, were occupied by the Ministerialists, and two by the Opposition, but now the division is nearly equal, with the Independent and Labor members about the middle. The first section on the Speaker s rio-ht is tenanted by tlie Hons. T. Alackenzie, J. A. Millar, and D. Buddo, and Messrs J. Colvin (late Chairman of Committees), W. D. S. Macdonald, H. G. Ell (Government Whip), G. Witty and T. H. Dayev, all members of the previous Parliament. Sir J. Carroll, the Hons. R. McKenzie and A. T. Ngata are in their old places m the next section, and behind them are Messrs J. A. Hannan. R. W- Smith, J. V. Brown. Te Rangihiroa, G. W. Forbes, E.‘ H. Clark, J. Craigie, G. Laurenson and G. W. Russell. Mr J. C. Thomson having given up to Mr Hickson the seat he had previously appropriated! on the Opposition side, is now to be seated next to Mr Hannan. Sir Joseph AYard is, theiefore, spared the necessity of haying the man who defeated Sir John Fmdlay just behind him. There is one new member m tins sub-division-dapper little T. AY. Rhodes, of the Thames. In the third section two of the Independents sit together in the front row . They are Mr R. J. G. Coates (Kaipara), who is tall, fair and_ ruddy, and Mr- Harry Attmore, of Nelson, yith black hair, shaven face and a serious air. Mr W. J. Dickie, of Selwvn, rotund and largely built, wearing a - mperial and Mr MeCallum, tall with. a light beard turning grey, and rather bald, have the bench next behind Mr C. R. Parata, who has succeeded lus father as member for the Southern Maon 1 district. . Messrs T. E. Y. Seddon, A. E. Glover, H. Poland. T. Buxton. T. Iv. cley, A. T. Myers and Y. H. Reed, are in tlie same section and there are also two new members in the back row. Mr G. R. Sykes, who defeated Mr Hogg at Masterton,' is tall and everything about him seems to match ins quiet sunburnt face. Alongside him is Mr J. H. Bradney (Auckland West) with his sanguine energetic air. Foremost in the fourth section are Mr H. M. Campbell, the cheerful and sturdy sheepfarmer who won Hawke s Bay for the Reform Party, and Mr I. M" B Fisher. The substantial figure of Dr. M. Pomare (Western - Maori) shares a, bench with Mr F. A\. Dang, and behind them are the long-faced M 0. P. Lee (Tauranga) and the roundfaced Air J. S. Dickson Then come Mr W. A. Veitch (Wanganui), short and dark, Mr J- A. Dowry (TV ailcato), broad-shouldered with clean-cut firm set features, _ and Mr A. Hains (Waitemata), who is young mid slight The cheerv Socialist, Air A. H. Hiudmarsli (Wellington South), the shrewdlooking Mr J. Robertson (Otaki), the inscrutable Mr J. Payne (Grey Lynn), and the, already sufficiently well-known Mr L M. Isitt. fill the -back row. The next group is a- solid Reform phalanx comprising Messrs W. F. Massey, J. Allen, G. M. Thompson, R. H. Rhodes I (senior Opposition whip), W. G. Bulchanan, E. Newman, R. Scott, A. L.

Herdman, J. B. Hine, G- V. Pearce.. H. J. H.' Oicey. D. Buick, D. H. Guthrie (Junior Whip), and four uew members in Messrs W. H. D. Bell (Wellington Suburbs), C. K. Wilson who has just that redoubtable aspect one would look for in the victor jof Taumarunui). Mr G. Hunter (M and Mr J. H. Escott (Pahiatua). Mr Bell appears to be the younge* member in the House. He already bears a striking resemblance to his distinguished father, the well-known K.C. and ex-M-P. Mr George Hunter's cheery face is a little fuller and his hair and short moustache a little greyer than when he last sat in the House. In the front benches on the extreme left are Messrs W. H. Henries, W. Fraser. Just behind are Messrs A. S. Malcolm, F. Mander, W. Nosworthyl and G. J. Anderson. Mr C. E. Stathain (Dunedin Central) who is young and looks intellectual, is neighbored by Mr F. H. Smith (W situ ki) who, if his bearded moustache does not belie him, is a- quiet, practical man. Finally in the hack benches Mr John Bollard l has the company of his son, Mr It. F. Bollard (Raglan) whe wears the heaviest moustache in the House. Taken as a whole the new House is notable for the number of voung men among its members, and the maiden speeches of several of them are expected to be of high quality.