THE BOYCOTT.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 660, 10 November 1909, Page 8

THE BOYCOTT.

MOIRE STRONG OPINIONS. MINISTEWAUST PRESS IS Interesting. - k i " ~~~~~ , j The action of tho. Ward Administration in boycotting The DommoN in the matter of Government advertisements although ite circulation is twice as , great as that/if the most widely-circnlated "Ministerialist journal in Wellington city or pxcmnco continues fco form the anbject of comment m otJicr centres Tho Chnstchnrch ''Press" thinks that in rejecting Mi. Wnghf s motion on Friday last, which 1 ' embodies " and honest principle on which to deal with tho State advertising," , tho .Honeo " has placed both itself and tho Government in an nnonnable position" Krugemm Rovlved. s ' » "By opposing it (thei'Tress" continues)they , certainly give colour to 'the supposition that, liko President Kruger, they regard the advertising expenditure as a fund which is 'to bo used not so much to buy publicity for/ tho 1 State's business and requirements as to purchase snpport' for the Government. Charges were made during the debate as to tho Government having boycotted one or two country journals which had thg tomonty to oppose the Ministry, but at is onlj fair to say that as regards the loading k centres the advertising eoams to bo fairry apportioned, regardless of pohtics, with tho one exception of Thf DoKZSiox. This exception is the more nnfortun'ate because no fewer than six members of tho Ministry and ono ex-Mimster (Mr WNab) are shareholders in the. rival morning paper, the ' New Zealand Times' One -would have thought that their connection with tho latter would have made them doubly anxious to avoid even the appearance of unfairness to lls opponent, bntjthcy evidently did not look at the matter r In that light. I A Significant Fact ''it is significant that whilst Messrs Buchanan add Herdman, being shareholders in The Dominion, did not vote on Mr Wrighfs motion, four, of the Ministers interested in the 'New Zealand Times ' voted against tbe motion lastly, wo feol,ibound to say that tho Prime Minister's admission that Government advoiti«emenh had beon given Jto a weekly newspaper which has attained an unenviable notoriety before tho Courts shows that while btrict control seems* to be exercised over the Advertising Department In regard to The Do'inmov, the supervision has beon lamentably lax in another direction To withhold adver- • tisements from a high-class , daily paper of large circulation, apparently for no other reason than'because of its opposition views, and to give (pubhc money to a journal which the Government has been asked -to suppress on account of its vile effect on the morals of tho community, is a conrso of action nhich 'nil 'the special pleading in the world cannot justify "

',1 A Correspondent's Comments. > The Parliamentary correspondent of the "Otago Daily Times" says , "The attitude assumed by the Ministerial party in the House regarding newspaper adver■f tisinn has provoked an Uriusual rmount of comment Ihe feeling is very general that'tho I Government has made a great mistake in t oragginir the party at ats heels in opposing such a. jnst and democratic principle as was affirmed ( m Mr Wright's amendment on Friday afternoon; indeed, it is only the most ix--1 N treme Ministerial partisans who defend the attitude of the Government and of its majority fe tho Honse, and even have little to say m its favour Tlwy seem to realise that thej ere 'on a wry bad wicket' "There is a good deal lof comment (the correspondent goes on) both amongst members and 1 in tire city on the fact that whilo /the 'New Zealand Times' published the list of shareholders of The Dominion lead by Mr Poole, w .and.the.out-of-date and consequently mislead tWpat to publish the list of its mln share h fsm "SS^ M '- Wright It also c3nvraii., efitly omitted to report the -fict (admitted by llr Poolo himself) that the list of land values wfes several £eais old, and that several of the , estates mentioned had since been cut up 1 'When a division was called for, Messrs itucniman and Herdman, who are Doimaov shareholders, walked out of tho House and abstained from voting, but tho fivo Ministerial- , Ist* interested in the Ministerial journal re corded their votes against Mr Wright's amendment." 6 , A Paltry Device. In lfa mail summary, the "Otago Daily Times, which had a strong editorial on Saturday (qnoted'in Monday's Dominion) returns to the subject ae fdllowg— «*" Th £^ oT€ [ l,m S nt has shown lts wsentment Of cnti6iem by the somewhat paltry device of reftWDg to Rive advertisements to an Oppoi"ui 10,1I 0,1 / 1, * 1 T^ 1 ? I ,** ha 3 heen successfully established in Wellington Since the object of an advertrament 13 to gain publicity, ond as it stated, and not demed.that the bej , - cotted journal oniovs a larger circulation thiji others which are favoured with Govprnnenf patronage, the Government, 1 ovon though it d «« entrench-itself behmd the flimsy barter »l tho Adiortismg Department, does not apncivT ma dignified light" ' A Really Frank Opmio;. Aβ noted on Monday) l .the Ministerialist press as ajwhole realises thav* ih'best policy is dis l Weetlyjo suppres- the affair The Dunedin i _ htar, for instanco; at stains from editorial comment, lut in e special article on SSiJ^K" 1 s arlla, n e nf: it • refers to I Friday's debate Its frankness is at onco de ' ;*rt. 8 ft , 6tar ' m S', This 16 its mmmary Of the debate "On the ono side, it was a queihon of not receiving Government adver 1 tisements, on tho other, of misrepresentation ano, onticwm that goes beyond the Konoralh TOcoenised limits of fairness It Iβ rather a I pretty situation, to which tho ordinary moth Bds of compromise to bring about a settle ' me ?£ "Sjdd be difficult of application , Thus, If the Government were to concedo a point and give "The Dominion" the coveted advertisements, the criticism might not be tempered one jot, because the Opposition journal would possibly sav it was not going to allow it to be raid that its silence could bo purchased or itsi principle;, modified for tho sake of the filthy lucre that hangs to the Government ad vortisement So loth parties Way have to go en and make the be*t of things a? they are inie rather entertaining httlo «qnabblo is for the Opposition ind their official otgan to seo to a hntsh, and they can be trusted to keep it > alxve 1 The "Stari" it will be noted, phrnly regards S.n t of th ? ""'"nnient m boycotting Tim DoimrtdN as being duo to tho views held by the papor It even goes so far ai to' stato m a most matter of-faot way that if the Govornmont "conceded" a poml and gave the II paper the advertisements "tiie cnmcisii warn Hot be tbbpprfd ONB jot because, etc " In other words, tho Danedm Government journal enspects that Tire Dominion could not 1 bo t)nb*d to change its opinions" by being given trovomment advertisements hhich its circnlation entitles it ( toj, and therefore tho Government could not oe expected to take the risk j£ giving the paper the advertisements This , frank disregard for tho public interest and political moralitr is probably the most lllumin--1 ating comment on the situation yot made It sweeps away all the specious arguments and 1 pretexts advanced in defence of an -ndefeEsible position- the questions of economy, of tho business returnueceived for the money expended I of mis-spending public money to servo party ► ends count for nothing If a papor will not , modify or change its political viows in return for Government advertisenents, the Govern I ment cannot be expected to give it the advorfcsoraenw This is what our contemporary's I unmmmg up of the position amounts to Tho disclosures which have followed on the expo- ; 1 wire of tho boycott of TtfE Domikiov by tho Ward Administration have boon productive of , (ivon more, valuable information in the public f interest tb>n we anticipated

[ "■ THE "BOYCOTT" OF THE "OOMINIW"; \ Sir,—Tho only excuse the Minister had on i Friday night tow that tho old-established i papers were best entitled to the Government s advertisements, This served for the occasion, j but there is a proverb about cortain people re- ; quiring good memories. Let me give a case in , - p6mt. When the now defunct "Era" was t started in Pabiatua, the people behind the yen-' i turo thought of everything out registering the [ embryo Liberal ' organ ' w a neu^apea: ; to ' enablo it to go through the post., when tho I first issue came into tire hands of tho postal olhcors there was a great i commotion. The paper was not registered a3 a newspapor, and 1 could not go throagh tho ofheo for dehvery, j but it, was on the list of papers that were to i > roceive ,Government advertising 1'! ISo mnca, I then, for that aspect of'tho question. I One member referred to fhe .debate as "a ! I »raete of tiraft" onrte jgawrog th*J>ict Oat sa|

moro important question can ever come before Parliament than tlmt ot the prostituting of the press with the monoj of the people silver since tlio accesyon to powor of tho betldon Waid partj, this sjsttm of prostitutiDg the pross, -with of the people has beon in full force, and in sonio cases tlic "bojeott" lias been continued for thirteen '\cars as in tho case of th,e "New Zealand Diirvmnn," -winch is a ■strictly non political paper Now, adveitising disbursements should be made solelv on uunlihoii basis Wo will see how this aspect of ihe case appeals to tho cnstodians of the people's puise A few weeks ago I re-do on the box «ent of tho Makim Pahintua coach Vs I watched tho dm or throw off Dominion after Dominion at each settler'* hou s e, I asked, "What about tho 'No\r Zealand Times' s ' "No "Times' on this route," nas tho roph The red herring drai>n acros- the trail bv introducing tho question of the'aroa of land hold by certain shareholders' had nothing to do with the question, but the quoting of tho names of tho shareholders of the "Times" was vory much to tho point, as it pro\ed thift the Mini trj v,as libeuil with ad\erhsing favours for it* friends Like the member who introduced this question, 1 hold no brief for The Domimo>, but I, like e\ery elector, have a big interest in tho question of the political prostituting of the pross ■with tho people's monev No more important qnes ,tion than this can over como before Parhai mont, unless wo tu=li to breed up a nation of political pimp" and panderors —I am, etc , I , x WVTCHDOG

-,"' Sir^—The .impotent: attempt of Sir Joseph 'Ward, and his party to justify.; its boycott of iTire.DOMEncdfwill surely not be,forgotten'".at .the next 'election.. Sir Joseph ■ is• reported to ;have .stated ■ that ;,the Government had extended its advertising patronage- to the two. senior .Wellington "papers/ for; years pastj' ■■■■■ Will ■he .'few 'years, back the Wellington evening.'paper.''was.' boycotted .by- the"Liberal" ,Govßmment.: for 'no. pother than political Seasons?-, .Will 'lie ;'deny v 'that the Government has used the publicimbtiey during the past few' years to -bolster-up/newspapers established against, old-stnnding: journals, for ■ no ■ other reason."than that they-are! of the "right •'■ col-- ■. Date v lie deny that, the heads of. Dβ'partmentsiiaTC Kad supplied to them a .'Hist" ,'.ai '-Dewspapeisiin' wMcVGovernment advertise-||m€nts.may.'beiinserted,,-.and that.only papers .opposed to his party have ■ been omitted from ;that list? Is it not'a fact that the "Advertising Department"; is absolutely controlled by jthft Government,;arid.that r .the advertising ei■pert; "whoever-ho :may be, is- powerless; to in■«eT,t;advertisements -without-express authority? ;It is4ntoserable,;sir, ,ta think "that in'a :countrpriwhich. .British justice and freedom,, the. ."boycott" should be ri"ornus'y ond' 'studiously' applied. If the principle 'laid down Government were;, followed ' to'.-'j.hs... logical conolitsions, no-'member havin?, , the temerity' itb- jdppose:■■ the: Government,; narticularly' if ■ he a young member, would, be entitled : to' ;<lrawra;'ppnny n's honorarium! No mhn ; who ■dared, criticise;the .admir-istfatipn. of ithe,/Got-' ■c'rnmont.'-wonld ;have a nhance of appointment ;tn.the,.p.ublic;.service. ■ No man or'woman, w>o di'l not'bW down and .'worship the'.'JTjiberal". jcMf.-.would■-, receive nn .'old-age'''pension, nr' an .advance from: the Adytincee tn "Scttlers vOfßre,'" ■or.have.'a chance'in.. a';Kn'llpt'.-Jo'r..Crown-lands.' ■If ever there 1 was : "'im nttnmpt. to mimle Hie 'press,-, to smother: the:trfi'th, to stave off/eritiInpni',". to . flout: public op.rnionfand-'tov.in'inlb'ti Inrge sentinh; of the. cqmhinhi.tj-, 'itijs'iini.'th'iS' fetched Tammany am; 'etc;;: : - '; ■:■;-.-■ :■■:"• > i- ! ~x ;" v 'V'a : ;^BmTigH.;:jtJSTicEy ;