NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 539, 21 June 1909, Page 6

NOTES OF THE DAY.

Thb Boveral thousand peoplo who witnessed 1 Sir Joseph Ward s departure on Friday last: will be interested to learn that the Press Association informed the press of the country next' clay that "it may safely be said that the Prime Minister was accorded'a really hearty sendoff." It is time that those in charge of the Association's affairs gave their attention to tho class of news.that is being sent out from Wellington. We remarked on- the biased and inaccurate account sent out by tho same agency a. few days ago in connection with tho mass meeting of citizens, and the subsequent street demonstration. The whole of the papers served by: the Association were given a coloured account. ! of the proceedings on •that occasion, and havo been misled again in connection with the Peime Minister's departure. We have already expressed our condemnation of the demonstration _ made on Friday last. It was indefensible. But that is no reason why the whole of the newspaper-reading pub-: lie of the country should be told what was untrue concerning it. The Press Association professes to exist to supply its readers with correct reports of current events. Party and personal bias are rigorously excluded under its rules. Yet its Wellington agent has on two: recent occasions sent out reports that are plainly partisan. Should those in charge of tho affairs of the Press Association nave any doubt on this point, we would commend to their perusal the editorial comment which appeared in the columns of the local Ministerial journal on- Saturday. If there is one paper raoro than another in New Zealand likely to give a pleasant colouring to the Prime Minister's sendoff,' it is the local' Ministerial journal/ Here are some extracts from its comments: i Tho majority of the large crowd • which assembled on' the wharf to seo the departure of the Manuka were thero to "see.,tho fun." The "fun" commenced when Commissioner Dihnio ushered a passe of shame-faced police down tho lane in advanoo of the Prime Minister's .carriage A section of the crowd found in the incident a good excuse for hooting, and resumed this ex- • erciso when Sir Joseph Ward passed by. Fmthlisiasts hero and there raised a cheer, but the great majority were silent and impassive. An unemployed land agent, with a little band of adolescents in one coiner, made farm-yard ejaculations in cracked voices, and others' bemoaned the Mopnrturc of the Prime Minister in the language of the Zon at feeding-time. Thero was no ■ bad humour, and the protostaiUs did not take themselves very seriously. Attempts ,nt vocalisation of the "sollr-apfile-tfee" order were net very successful, but every cheer was. rounded aft ay diaoonaelafce "boos."

This is a description from the editorial columns of tho Government journal, which could hardly be charged with erring on tho side of overstating tho unpleasantness that occurred. Would any reasonable person regard tho scene as described above as depicting "a really hearty Bend-off"? No doubt, the incident wa3 an unpleasant one, but the people are orrtitled to know the facts. There might bo differences of opinion as to tho volume of hoots and cheers, but not as to the general effect. There will always be disagreements between newspapers in their editorial columns, where matters of opinion are concerned. The public interest requires such discussions. But with news it is a different matter, and when tho largest news service in the country—a professedly impartial service —pevmits itself to be used by partisans, and the public is thus misled on questions of fact, it is striking at the high repute in which the great bulk of the press of the country is quite properly hold, and should bo promptly checked.

As a private citizen Kb, Hislop is of course at liberty to hold whatever opinions he chooses upon tho conduct of municipal affairs. That liberty, however, cannot be held to excuse him making personal reflections upon the present Mayor's discharge of his duties, and making them with an assumption of special authority derived from his own former occupancy of the Mayoral chair. In an interview which we printed on Saturday, ho suggested in the plainest possible _ way that, the Oity Treasurer's recantation of hiii statement upon the abattoirs loan was extracted from him under a threat from the Mayor. Nothing could be moro improper than such a suggestion as that. The Mayor had made an official statement on the subject, and the City Treasurer, on his own authority, made a different statement to the press. If the City Treasurer had been right, he could have relied upon the Mayor to come round to his view, or, in the last resort, he could have relied upon the support of the Council. Had he been sure of his ground, he would not have written his letter of withdrawal, which. Mb. Hib : lop forgets, was accepted by the Council as a return to correctness. The Mayor had to defend his statement, and he took tho only proper means' of doing' it. Tho question is not whether the Corporation officials can supply information to the press, but whether they are to have the unrestricted right of supplying erroneous information;. We do not think'that the officers of the Council will find their lot harsher or-more difficult under the present Mayor than it was under his predecessor in office^

The deputation o' unemployed which waited upon tho Farmers' Union Executive at Uhristchu'rch last week was told sorue plain'home truths. The deputation had been told there was plenty of work to do in the country, and wanted to know where this wort was to be . had. To which the. Union Executive replied in effect that the men had not been misinformed; there was plenty of work to do in the country if the mon were prepared ,to do it at its value. : The attitude of the farmers appears to be that they are prepared to let out their work on contract, but they are not prepared to pay weekly-'wages.'- There is nothing at all objectionable'in this, provided that the work is let out at a rate that will enable the average worker to earn fair wages. No reasonable person could object to this. But tho attitude of the r-'armers' Union is significant of the growing fooling that tue best: results are not obtainable under the" weekly wage system, it was stated very bluntly'by one speaker that "ho knew too much to allow men to ,'camp' bu him at a weekly wage, with tucker.". The same speaker added that ho was prepared to take on six men next day at contract rates, which would give them good, fair wages. Talk of this kind cannot be misunderstood. The farmer has not been having the best of times during the past two years. Ho is not spending money so freely in consequence, and what he'spends he wants to see a fair return for. His method of .ensuring this is'to insist on the contract, instead of the weekly wage, system, and tie is in the position, in most cases .just now, to have his way., So long as the contract rates offered are fair and reasonable, the honest worker will offer no objection to this; 1 but the labour agitator and the opponents of the exertion wage may-be expected to raise the usual protest.