The weirdest day in parlimentary history.
OUT OF ORDER!
Late 19th century prime minister Alexander Mackenzie was known for his brutally honest demeanor, rarely using diplomatic niceties to achieve whatever he wanted. When parliamentary opponents challenged him on rules of order, he would often refuse their requests outright. On the last day of the spring session, a group of French members of the House wanted to continue speaking after a particularly long and drawn-out debate. Opponents clamored to prevent this from happening, appealing to Mackenzie to adjourn the session. When the prime minister blithely denied their request, they came up with an outrageous strategy to tire out the French speakers and hopefully end the session.
The French opposition waited until points of order were introduced to the floor, at which time they began all manner of disruptive activities: making sounds with tin trumpets, banging on their desks, imitating barnyard animals, releasing rubber balloons, throwing their stationery supplies around the room with reckless abandon, and even tossing books of bills and laws onto the floor. The mayhem drowned out the sound of the Speaker of the House as well as the French speakers.
To add further distraction, the opposition began belting out songs (“Marseillaise,” “A la Claire Fontaine,” and “The Raftsman’s Chorus”), which, surprisingly, the songs struck a common chord among members of the House, and soon the entire assembly was singing along. The camaraderie was not to last, though, as when the French speakers resumed control of the floor, the opposition immediately launched into its chaotic assault. The speakers responded with a filibuster of their own, lengthening their speeches with extracts from whatever books and periodicals were at hand.
The madcap exchange, which went on to include a paper-airplane war between the two camps, went on throughout the night. The next day, the sleep-deprived group joined together in an impromptu rendition of “God Save the Queen,” thus concluding the bizarre event with an appropriate dash of patriotic spirit.
You aren’t allowed to keep a cow in your house in St. John’s, Newfoundland.