THE UPPER House of the bi-cameral legislature yesterday sank to arguably one of its lowest levels in more than a decade.

Bitter verbal attacks and insults were traded liberally across the political divide during deliberations on an amendment to the Trade Act.

The drama that unfolded prompted a response from President of the Senate, Dr Oswald Harding, that could be deemed historic.

For the first time in his capacity as president of the Senate, Dr Harding rose from his chair and demanded silence, banging the gavel.

"I am not going to tolerate this in this Senate," Dr Harding declared, adding that the behaviour of his colleagues did not add to the dignity of the Senate.

Name-calling

Name-calling started after Opposition senators raised concern about a provision in the bill that would impose a two-year custodial sentence for flouting the law.

In particular, Section 16 of the Trade Act states: "All persons summoned to attend to give evidence or to produce any paper, book, record or document before the commission (Prices Commission) shall be bound to obey the summons served upon them."

Leader of Government Business in the Senate, Dorothy Lightbourne, defended the move to increase the current penalty from three months to two years in prison.

too harsh

However, Opposition senators Mark Golding and K.D. Knight insisted that the penalty was too harsh for an infringement that was not a criminal offence.

A response from Senator Lightbourne to a question from Leader of Opposition Business A.J. Nicholson set the stage for the verbal tirade.

Senator Nicholson wanted to know whether a greater or lesser penalty than the two years proposed for a person who failed to appear before the Prices Commission could be imposed on a person who disobeyed a summons to appear before a court for a serious offence.

Senator Lightbourne described Nicholson's question as foolish, saying the argument was nonsensical.

Senator Knight retorted, calling Lightbourne's comment idiotic.

Personal verbal attacks were then traded between Knight and Lightbourne, with Government senators Desmond McKenzie and Dr Ronald Robinson joining the verbal mêlée. Labels and allegations used in the exchange could not be included in this story.

hung heads in shame

The debate descended into chaos with some senators hanging their heads in shame at the behaviour of their colleagues.

It was a day Opposition Senator Navel Clarke would want to erase from his mind, as he intervened to stop what had deteriorated into a brawl.

"It is appropriate for you to rule them out of order," he said to Dr Harding.

"We are sinking to a low level, which we have never seen in this Senate before. I have never, in my 16 years, uttered any such thing to any member, none from both sides, so I don't want people to listen to people speaking and saying it is nonsense or idiotic. I would like to see this stop," he said.

"The language being used across the floor is not parliamentary and that will cause reactions from other people," Dr Harding cautioned.

Knight, Lightbourne, Nicholson and Clarke

apology

Senator Lightbourne apologised for referring to Nicholson's question as nonsensical, but Knight remained unrepentant.

He said May's parliamentary procedure, one of the leading authorities on parliamentary conduct and procedure, did not prohibit calling a parliamentarian an idiot.

"On my part, the word I used was parliamentary," he added.

The Opposition called for a divide with Knight, calling the controversial provision draconian. The result of the vote was 10 for and six against. The bill was passed with two amendments.

edmond.campbell@gleanerjm.com