NOTES OF THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1725, 16 April 1913, Page 6

NOTES OF THE DAY.

•"A Traveller," writing'.in. the London Morning Post, has somo interesting 'things to say on the subject of "Empire Journalism." He bases his opinions on the standard set by the English newspapers, and judged by this standard he finds the press of Eastern Canada disappointing. Its faults are stated to be: "Exaggerated headlines, unduo accentuation of the sensationalism .of crime, flippancy, in dealing with public affairs, lack of careful reports of events of domestic and foreign political interest." However, the writei\sces hope for better things in the fact that "as ono moves West the Canadian newspapers seem to improve, in national consciousness at any rate, until at Vancouver there are papers which show an aggressive note of Canadian patriotism." "A Traveller" is much rcoro favourably impressed by Australian journalism, and states that in the chief centres there are daily newspapers fairly comparable with the greatest of the British provincial journals. The one respect in which they fall short is in the news from abroad, which the. critic considers to be inadequate, and on that account sometimes misleading. It is, of course, only natural that a visitor from England should take a special interest in the news from the Home Land, and that very fact_ tends to discount the value of his judgment in this matter. He expects too much. 'The opinion of this travelling critic upon New Zealand journalism is interesting, though there is room for difference of opinion about it-. He writes:—"ln New Zealand I found the press almost as vigorous as in Australia, but with a more provincial note, due to the fact, I suppose, that in a much smaller community there is a greater concentration on local trifles. But in Imperial matters, the New Zealand papers are more pronounced in expressions of affection for the Mother .Country than are those of Australia. New Zealand has a 'colonial,' Australia a 'national,' Imperialism." It is very doubtful whether provincialism and "local trifles" are more prominent in the best New Zealand papers than in the Australian press. Many competent I judges consider the opposite to be the case.

Eve!ey now and then the unsuspecting citizon picks up his daily paper and reads with a litt-lo shock of surprise that he has been engaged in some worthy enterprise of which until that moment he has been in a state of most sublime ignorance. It is not that his name is ever attached to the work in question, but he is told in one of many forms that: "Citizens have decided to present so-and-so with a mark of their esteem," or that "An illuminated address from the citizens of Blank was handed to Jin. Jonfs," or something of the kind, Nobody ever hears very much, nothing at all, of theso public-spirited movements until the occasion of the presentation, and one may be pardoned for sometimes wondering at the generous and self-sacrificing spirit of the enthusiastic little circle of people who lorganise the presentations and do all the work and then so obligingly place all the credit on the shoulders of the public at- large. We are reminded of this little peculiarity of the times by an announcement from the Town Clerk summoning the populace to attend the presentation of "a citizens' gift" of a portrait, in oila to H.M.S. New Zealand, the

portrait in question being that of Sir Joseph Ward, Bart. There is nothing to be learned from the advertisement as to who tho citizens are who mado the presentation; as to who painted tho portrait, or oven as to whether Sir Joseph Ward has been consulted in tho matter. Presumably, however, tho Mayor lias been informed on these points, and Sir Joseph Ward is willing that his portrait should bo handed over with duo ceremony to the officers of the vessel. If we remember aright, the vessel already possesses a presentation photograph of Mr. Seddon, and this fact possibly has stirred to action tho friends of Sir Joseph Ward. It docs not matter very much who was responsible for the presentation; Sir Joseph Ward's portrait will, we have no doubt, prove an ceptable addition to the warship's portrait gallery.

London newspapers to hand, dated May 5, the day before the London County Council election took place, show that in the Radical London journals a special effort was being made to hypnotise the citizens of London into turning out the Reformers in favour of the so-called "Progressives." It will be remembered that a cable message recorded that thb LabourSocialists who have'masqueraded as "Progressives" were pretty badly beaten. They were quite confident of winning, apparently, for there was a note of jubilant confidence in the pre-election issues of the Radical press. The Daily Neivs, for example, on the eve of the election printed in the most prominent place in its pages a forcibly-written and well-displayed picco of rhetoric, which ought to have moved the electors, but didn't. We find a familiar note in tho appeal. There are references to the Reform victory as having been produced by "an unparalleled campaign of falsehood." "You remember,"•the manifesto said, with black type for emphasis, "the cry of 'wastrels,' the silly fictions ._ . the libels, the abuse. And it was asked, quite in the vein of our own Oppositionists' force, "What do you think of that nightmare of mendacity to;day t What do yo.u think of the press that engineers it? What do you think of the party that came in on its .infamous tide 1 . . . AVhat have they done for you, the common people? . . . Their clients are the Trusts. . . . What is their policy? Nothing. . . What is the alternative? It is to vote for the Progressives." Exactly, it will be seen, as if Mr. Massey was the target. And for all its half-million circulation, the Daily News was found guilty, by the London electors, of talking breezy rubbish. Perhaps it is unnecessary to stress the delightful resemblance between the Daily News's manifesto and the entertaining hysterics of our own Opposition friends.