THE PRESS AND THE GOVERNMENT.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 657, 6 November 1909, Page 4

THE PRESS AND THE GOVERNMENT.

■.- C - : v Public opinion in. this country to-day will assuredly bo unanimous as to the action of- the House of Reptcscntatives in rejecting, the following motiqn yesterday by 36 votes to! 18:' ''That in ,the opinion of thiß House; Government advertisements should be supplied to newspapers regard-: less of political convictions, i with , : a;.View,' oniy ; of securing "the best return to the taxpayers for the money; so /expended.'!' In other words, 36 members of the House, including every,Ministarpresent,' affirmed, i the' principle that in the handling of the trust moneys of the p'eoplo the Government of the day should not; be gui'ded by" ' the honest and. economical principle that the best return must be got for . this, particular- expenditure of the taxpayers' money/By ; rejecting the proposition that the political opinions ;of : newspapers should not be considered; in thc.'allocation. of Government advertising th'o House-'ac-tually endorsed > the Krugerian doctrine that' the Government of the day is justified: in Using; if riot actually bound to : use,'the money of the people to'subsidise its own party organs for party purposes.' Even tho staunchcst; supporters of the • : Government throughout i the Dominion, j we think, will shrink, from extending | their approval to the amazing doctrine to which their representatives in the House havo subscribed after' due deliberation and with open dyes. 'Party loyaliy we can understand, but if ever there w,is an occasion upon which, the. party follower could stand up for right'conduct without incurring the suspicion of party disloyalty, this was one. Their act was really wanton in its badness, for they were only asked to affirm a principle eo plain and honest, and,§o easy to practise,, that it is quite impossible to understand /why even a dishonest Government should object to it. v ■ ■ . The occasion which gave rise to tho debate was the boycott of The Dominion by < the Ward Administration in the matter of Government advertising.lt was quite properly pointed out during the debate that the attitude of the Government in this respect was prejudicial to the public interest, and. an abuse of the trust reposed in them by the public. The fact that the circulation of The Dominion is more than twice as great as that of any . morning paper published in Wellington city or province ' really settles the question for all honest men,. It is bad enough that the taxpayers' money should be wasted on unprofitable advertising.. It is : bad that this waste-should be so directed as to penalise the majority of the people in a province for daring to support a newspaper that dislikes the Government. But what can the public think of the conduct of the Government in view of tho disclosures, made to the House as to the i interests held by mcmljcrs of the Cabinet, and supporters of the Government, in the ; local jnprning papor to which the advertisements. are given ? One would think that tho very fact that; so many Minis- ■ ters are shareholders in our morning con- • temporary would make them doubly eareI fulnot to givo any ground for., suspicion ■ that that paper .was unduly favoured at the. expense of its rival. But apparI. ;ently : ; Ministersare not at all sensitive !' on that point. It is not netesaary to

recapitulate here the .arguments; used and the facts adduced during the: do-' bafe. ; It was' made perfectly clear to all that the boycott arises but of the antagonism of the Government to this paper. Some members even appeared to hold that tho Government really have the right to do as.they please with State funds—that the ■ interests of tho;' public' should,;■'. be subordinated, to the., interests .of tho party in power. Mr. Laurenson, for instance, enlarged.his theory of . Liberalism by suggesting that the Government had no right to givo so much' advertising Tto pipers , that'.'; opposed thorn—if no were Promicr, he said, he would not bo so generous. In other words, the money is not to bo spent because tho expenditure' is justified,, on. tho return .received, but to subsidise or penalise a newspaper as the case may' be. Certainly this .was about the lowest .note struck in the debate, but it .is characteristic of the political morals of the Socialist section of the Govsriimont party. '. We are extremely pleased that the wholo position should have bsen ventilated in Parliament, and placed on permanent record." It is impossible to' believe that the' country • can endorse the policy laid down by the Government in relation to the press of the country,, as rc-corded by' toe voting yesterday, and we feel certain that when, the dangers underlying it are fully .realised 'tho Ward Administration will sorely repent its .action, Nobody will fail to note that tho Government did not attempt any defence of its faction, but relied solely on a policy of desperate excuse. It was very natural/of Sir Joseph Ward to insinuate that The Dominion's circulation \is shadowy, or bogus, or something of tho sort. It is sufficient to say that thero is not the slightest foundation whatever for. a statement so grotesque; The ; genuine paid circulation of this journal is, as stated in our frequent but never : answered- challenges, twice as great as that of tho largest Ministerialist. journal' in the .^Wellington' city .'or province'. : Sir Joseph Ward's-policy is not of much actual importance to The Dominion, as * .newspaper—although the business' of keeping; on; the watch for the advertisements' which four -readers must see,- and the invasion' of our space, are rather.' a nuisanco—but it is of-.very • great.-im-portance to ,the public. Wo are. sure that','the country / will' not tolerate' this Binal transformation of a decayed LibiraUsm into uriabashcd Krugcrism:.: • V ' ' ' . ' ...'■ /'.'.1:!,,'-./'