The Anglo-Maori Warder. TUESDAY, APRIL 25, 1848. Vogue ia galère.

Anglo-Maori Warder, Volume 1, Issue 1, 25 April 1848, Page 2

The Anglo-Maori Warder. TUESDAY, APRIL 25, 1848. Vogue ia galère.

A new Journal is born into the world; the youngest of three in a settlement which counts as yet but a poor five thousand souls. That there should be room for a third, in so small a community, is not one of the least striking signs of the tunes. It will he of course expected, that its career should be commenced by a confession of faith ; that the line of country uh'ch it «ill take | should be pointed out at fiiat pome; off; so that by remaining openly committed i" a fixed piinciple of conduct, some sort of guarantee should be given for future consistency and good faith. Some few yeais ago, if it were roundly stated, that a journal would be conducted mi Whig, on Radical, or on Tory piinciples, all was told. There was at that time little individuality of opinion ; nothing was then required in explanation, but to rally to the war-cry of a partv, the doctrines of which were sure to be familiar to ev. ry reader. Rut those reverend and ancient watchwords are now scarcely more than imaginary names. In the tolonies, such distinctions cannot be properly said ever to ha\e existed at all, whilst in England they are rolling fast away. The old land-marks have been moved ; the disintegration of party is complete. For the present, the thai forcer, of the political w >rld, aie alino.sl without discipline, or ev,m distinguishing marks. Friend is hardly lo be known from foe ; amity to-day may be enmity to-morrow ; the war is conducted much in the fashion of the condottieri, or free companies of the middle ages, Mways ready to enlist on either side, as might suit their good plersure for the time. One thing only can be clearly seen, that while dissensions are no less hitter, political attachments have become languid, and void of trust. The change may he for the better; but we can hardly bring curseUes to think it. All is now in the cDnfusion of a transition state, passing on to some new order of things. Kveiy man must now " wait upon Providence" for his future principles, the old ones being extirpate, root and branch. It is certain, indeed, that we shall nut long remain without forming again into a new set of well detined and grand divisions; the uniform experience of history is proof enough : but uh.eh, among the many seedling parties that are springing up from the decayed remains of those that have fallen, will ultimately overtop and choke up the rest, it would be idle as yet to prophesy. The chances are, that the Conservative party, for one, will be yet legenerate, under some ether name. Young blood has been transfused into its \eins, the effect of which is already shewn in fresh though still unregulattd activity of motion. But until it has a name, we must likewise remain without, and be content to travel onwards with the times incognito. We were good Conservatives once ; and still sometimes look back with wishful longing, to the old city we have been forced to leave behind. Rut no man's perceptions can be any longer blinded to all that has taken place in the last few years ; none indeed, save those " Rip Van Winkles of Politics," as they have been shrewdly termed, who sleep out half a century at a stretch, to wake and find themselves utterly at fault, puzzled and bewildered by the altered face of e\ery thing around them. The old principle of inert and passive resistance to innovation is extinct. Action is now the word for all ; equally for the supporters, as for the demolishers, of our ancient institutions. A government in these times must move on; .until the state vessel begins tu gather way, she will not answer the helm. You are more likely to keep the coach upon its wheels by steady guidance of a runaway team, than by exhausting your strength in a vain endeavour to pull them up So much for profession of theoretical principles : another matter, of mote immediate and practical importance, must now be entered upon The influence of the pi ess—whethc it be well or ill-conducted, used or abused—over that very soci ty which supports it, is no longei doubtful. And to 'hat influence, its responsibility is proportionate. Nevertheless, it cannot be denied, th.it the Colonial press has seldom come up to what might have been required and expected of it. It cannot be said,to have kept pare, either in morals or lit sty Ic, with its elder sister at home. Let us transcribe from an English paper a few remarkable lines, and ask ourselves honeslh whether we have any right lo share in .111 eulo_-v so well deserved elsewhere. '• We do not rememi\i the time, be it said without mvidiousiicss o: disicsprii.in which the pie.s .it large put futtli so much that appeared to us to be excellent sense. There Is. as a general ilur.utn Istlc, .1 breadth of purpose, a substance, a coolness of judgment. and an impartiality, peuihai to the peiwd. Even in the journals from which we most differ, we recognize a hugeness of policy. and an appeal to aigunient that command respect Against this, there is unfortunately, little

but contrast to be shewn. And it is high time that an effort should he made to raise the character of our Colonial press. It were vain, indeed, to expect that it should cope in strength, or vie in brilliancy, with English jou. aalism ; but there is still no reason why it should not, through the willing co-operation of all concerned in its management, be elevated many degrees above its present place. Even where talent is wanting—and that alone cannot be commanded—there are many attainable virtues, strict adhe.enceto which would go far to rescue it from the ill repute under winch it lies. Impartiality and independence, both equally raie—for that writer is not independent uhoHs under the dominion of his own passions and prejudices—temper and moderation are within the reach of any one who wills them. The puerile love of popularity ; the vanity of what is miscalled fine writing ; the intemperate recklessness of strong writing may he eschewed by all vv ho choose to resist. The habit of never speaking but from conviction —that real secret of acquiring power to convince—will bear its own fruit in doubled influence : pains-taking searcli for truth, and rigid regard for it when found, must end by winning unsuspicious trust at last. These are not duties alone , they are matters of urgent self interest and policy besides. The control which the press now exercises over the strongest ministry at home, is beyond dispute. " The fourth estate" may there be said to share in government of the lealm with the other three. In the colonies, for reasons which need not be assigned, its direct influence is by no means equally great. Its immediate power cannot be said to extend beyond that of local agitation. It can raise a storm, almost at pleasure, and congratulate itself afterwards, with the liveliest satisfaction, upon its own success ; but there it is brought up, unable to gain another step. The outcry leads to nothing ; it ends where it begins; the sound of the voice of public opinion, like every other sound, dies away in the distance, and sinks down into a whisper, before it is well across the seas. It is looked upon at home, and laughed at, as a mere effusion of bilious discontent, the sole tendency of which is to prejudice the character of the community which indulges in it; to create dislike towards a turbulent and ill-affected society ; and to double official power by deadening the effect of all complaints preferred against it. The true function of the Colonial press is to serve as a check upon despatches ; to guard the English government against being misled as to the actual state of things out here. Hie illius arma, Hir-currusfuit—. For it is read, and carefully collated, as a distinct and additional channel of information ; few being any longer simple enough to place implicit reliance as a matter of course, in the accuracy of every statement that is officially received. And as we have once before observed, let accounts seem never so conflicting, if there be but enough of them, a keen and practised eye will seize upon the truth, will detect without fail •' the two grains of wheat hid in two bushels of chaff." It is in the attention paid to it by the mother country, not in the facility of agitation, that its real and efficient power must be held to lie. That is the important point to be constantly kept in view ; the one object towards which every line set down on paper should be directed; for we may rest assured that the influence of the press out here will correspond exactly to the confidence likely to be placed in its representations at home. We have touched upon matters of duty, and of policy; as a matter of good taste, we are strongly of opinion, that a Colonial journal should be made characteristic of the country it belongs to. Each colony has peculiarities and distinguishing features, which should be faithfully reflected by its press; the stronger the tinge of local colouring, the more interest will be gained in the eyes of those who do not actually reside on the spot. This result might be partially attained, by contracting the space allotted lo intelligence from beyond the seas, —at all events when it is only of a general nature, bearing on none of our own particular interests, —and by substituting inquiries after the natural resources of *he country in which we live; communications from the interior, notices of native character and habits; any subjects, trr short, of a stmilar nature, which might be leasonably expected to command more attention than a load of reprints from Sydney andEirghsh newspapers, which for the most part are stale and second-hand themselves, copied and re-copied from orre into the other, to save expenditure of time and thought. There are objections, however to the complete working out of such a scheme; one of which would be, that it might not suit the wishes of all our readeis, which have a right to be consulted, as well as out own. ■' I et not him that gitdeth on his harness, boast himself as he that putieth it off." May we be therefore nrrdeistoud to have given our idea of what a colonial journal ought to be, rather than that of what we can hope to make it. It is not tc be expected that we should be able adequately to lill up the outline that has been sketched; to accomplish such a task would lequiie greater ability and a nicer hand than is likel) to be met with at this extieme errd of the woild It Is one thing to promise the attempt, J'id .mother thing to cneage f'oi

success. Still we do not attempt to disguise the consciousness, that if honestly conducted, though with only moderate ability, it must of necessity carry with it a certain weight and influence. The weapon itself is ponderous and keen, not to be entirely disregarded, even when wielded by a feeble arm ; for it may be said of the public prints, as Hamlet said of his players, " They are the abstract, and brief chronicles of the time •. after your death you were better have a bad epitaph, than their ill report while you lived."