PRESS TELEGRAMS.

Evening Star, Issue 4133, 26 May 1876, Page 4

PRESS TELEGRAMS.

{From Hansard.)

Mr Pyke did not consider the Commissioner of Customs understood the question. The evening papers desired to get on the same terms a sufficient quantity of intelligence to satisfy their readers. The present arrangements suited neither the morning papers nor the evening papers, because the wires at night became blocked by messages intended for the next day’s evening papers. He thought if the Commissioner of Customs would allow the evening papers to get a larger amount of intelligence transmitted during the day such an arrangement would oblige b.ith the evening and morning papers, Mr Reynolds understood the question very well. It was desired that during the daytime the evening papers should be able to send a larger number of words. That would frequently block the wires, so that the paying public could not have their telegrams transmitted, and the department would be throwing away profitable work. He thought the newspapers had nothing to complain of under the existing arrangement. No doubt it was somewhat hard that the evening papers should have to pay full rates for any words transmitted over the 200 words. Mr Sheehan said the Commissioner had not made sufficient answer the resolution [of Sir George Grey.] He thought the evening papers were unfairly handicapped against the morning papers. The excuse for charging the extra rate was that if lower rates were allowed to the evening papers they might, by the transmission of tneir messages, stop private telegrams; but the fact was that they sent these long messages now and got them through by paying the ordinary rate. The conclusion he drew from that was that the evening papers were paying for the telegrams sent by the morning papers—that they paid full rates to enable the morning papers to send theirs at a reduced rate. If the Commissioner showed it caused a difference of a serious character to the revence he would not support the motion of the member for Auckland City West, but if he did not show that, then the Hoose ought to make the reduction. The House must remember the resolution did not ask them to give the evening papers power to send messages at Is per 100 words, but to make some reduction, so as to place them on a fair footing with the morning papers. It appeared - from the return laid before the House that the charge to the evening papers was at least three times as much as to the morning papers ; and seeing the good these papers did in spreading news abroad and letting the public know what took place in that House, he thought this slight concession ought to be made to them. Major AtlrinsDn hoped the House would consider this matter seriously before it adapted such a resolution. The Telegraph 1 department was now worked at a considerable lost, and the remedy the Government would have to propose, if such a resolution as this was carried, was, not that the evening papers should receive their messages at a lower rate, but that the morning papers should pay more, and it was quite clear that the public would not benefit by that change. If that was the proposal which the honorable ' gentleman made to the Government, they would be prepared to consider it. The telegraph was a loss to the Government at present of about L12,U00 a year, and the loss would be considerably increased if this concession was made. He was given to understand that exactly the same rule applied in England as applied here, their day rates being the same as ours. It had been found necessary to make a distinction there, and it was only reasonable that a distinction should be made here. He must warn the House that, if it considered that these evening papers were unfairly handicapped, the Government would have to come down with a proposition to increase the charge to the morning papers Mr O’Conor was glad to hear the remarks of the Colonial Treasurer, because the hon. gentleman had sounded the true key-note of the dispute between the newspaper proprietors. • One class had an advantage conferred upon it by the State, which the other did not enjoy. _ The true remedy might be to raise the price of telegrams ; if it was necessary to do so, it should be done instantly, because certainly that department ought to pay. In sending telegrams to the morning papers the country was really at mere cost, for the department was compelled to keep youths and others employed overtime and working at night to very late hours. All that certainly was extra labor and extra convenience ; and it would be much fairer to ask an additional payment for that than to throw the burden upon those who used the telegraph during ordinary business hours. The question of clogging the wires could be easily settled by arranging that precedence should not be given to messages at reduced rates when the wires were required for other purposes. The evening papers should pay the same rate as the morning papers, but when the line became clogged the messages should not be forwarded unless the higher rates were paid. Mr Fitzherbert could not see why there should be any difference between the charges made to morning and evening papers, which he understood to be the gravamen of the complaint. It had been said that the department did not pay, but perhaps that had been rather misstated. If it did not pay it might be owing to a profuseness and lavish expenditure in sending long letters of an official character by telegraph. If there were numerous Government messages transmitted he could not say there was not value received and, therefore, it was not a correct statement to say that there was L 12.000 of loss. It struck him that newspapers, whether i morning or evening, should be classed alike, : and that they should reverse the tariff so that the department should be self-support-ing. Mr Swanson pointed out that what the evening papers complained ef was the morning papers being charged a lower rate ; they would not care if they were not handicapped by the morning papers, at the public expense, getting telegrams at a quarter of the price the evening papers paid. The plan proposed by the Colonial Treasurer would be acceptable to the evening papers, and would do away with one complaint at all events.