The Dunstan Times. FRIDAY, APRIL 8th, 1881.

Dunstan Times, Issue 990, 8 April 1881, Page 2

The Dunstan Times. FRIDAY, APRIL Bth, 1881.

Beneath the rule of men entirely Just The pen is mightier than the sword.

In the course of our experience we have seen some wonderful things in journalism. Independence and ignorance usually accompany each other, and when by the force of means the owner of such attributes is enabled to purchase a few spare pounds of damaged type and a patent mangle he sets up as an edito”, and claims to sit in judgment on all mankind. But the old jSSsopian story holds true. The ass is only an ass, though concealed in the skin of the lion. So it fares with the self-created arbiters of opinion who, sticking feathers in their hats, call themselves—editors. These remarks are called forth by the consummate ignorance and brazen impudence displayed in five words,—no more—which have ap peared, appropriately on the first day of April, in our eccentric contemporary, the “ Lake Wakatip Mail,” (By the way, it is somewhat remarkable that our Queenstown friend cannot even spell the name of his own ■district correctly.) The words to Which we refer are those printed in italics below : “ When the hon. the Premier was here the other day his attention was called, Unto the costly and extravagant expenditure of County Councils, but of Vincent County especially.” It would be interesting to know who was the full-blown patriot who had the audacity and impertinence to call the attention of the Premier to the affairs of a foreign local body. We venture to say that the editor of the “ Mail ” dares not divulge the name of this obtrusive and malicious interviewer. We challenge him to do so, and if he refuses to respond let all men understand what a malignant coward he is. Then, again, he writes as follows : “ It was remarked that a Eoyal Commis-

sion would unearth abuses quite equal to :that in the organisation of the Civil servants.” Now, who *•' remarked ” anything of the sort 1 The inference sought to he conveyed is that it was the Premier. Bnt the more reasonable presumption is that itwas the same mean, crawling thing that wrote the article in question. Mr Hall is, as we are informed, a gentleman in the true sense of the word ; and therefore,being a gentleman, he is no more capable of using the expressions inferentially attributed to hiss than he is of writing a lying paragraph for an obscure | journal. Bnt the most lovely part of I the Wakatip scribe’s leader has yet to come. Here it is. Mark the almighty “ we” : “Still, wb do not think it is necessary to issue such a Commission, as the abuses are flagrant enough, and can be easily counted. Who are “we ” that we know better than the Premier, or legislate what is necessary ? Powers above us ! Has it come to this that the progress of legislation and administration —nay, even of the passage ot the comets is to depend upon what the “WE ’ of the Ultima Thule of New Zealand think about it 1 Is it eyen possible for such a “ we ” to “ think ” a thought worthy 'of the most imperfect of type 1 Truth to say, there is very little doubt but that the wlnole thing is a fabrication. Any man with brains rt xiding the article can see very clearly that the Wakatip editor introduced the i.nention of "Vincent County—whereof 7 he knows nothing--simply is a cloak to veil a vicious ana spiteful attack di the Lake County cCounhl and the officers thereof. The thin" is quite too thin to deceive auy3ne.° Whether from a wholesome fear of the law of libel, or from a vain desire to mask the malice of the thing from the men attacked, concerns us not. It is enough to know that in the endeavour to conceal his purpose, the writer sheltered himself behind the Vincent County Council thereby committing two serious offences against the laws of God and man. His utter ignorance of public matters is made transparent. He censures the Chairman of Lake County for suspending an insolent officer because amongst other things he (the officer) might have collected more money before the end of the financial year, and tbat in consequence of the Chairman s action the Government subsidy will be lost. Why, every fool in Otago knows that subsidies have been altogether abolished. But the editor of the “ Wakatip Mail ” may plead that be is in Southland. Well, we wish Southland much joy ot him