The Chronicle. PUBLISHED DAILY. MONDAY, MARCH 14 1910. A COUNTRY PRESS.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 14 March 1910, Page 2

The Chronicle. PUBLISHED DAILY. MONDAY, MARCH 14 1910. A COUNTRY PRESS.

Whether the country or the city is the more important part of any State has been a vexed question for some thousands of years, and such Incomparable characters as Demosthenes and the O'ltegan have disturbed much air in unsuccessful efforts to say the last word.on the subject. In these times, however, the dispute is A more academic than violent, and the period is dead j wherein politicians and others could < incite these two great sections of the people to rage furiously over the relative merits N of town and country, and the superior rights of the one or the other to special consideration from the Government. Twenty years ago, when disptfta- - tions of this sort were more /re- „ quent and bitter, 13ir George Grey 1 —who was wont to expend some of his flowers of oratory in stramge channels—made in the House of * Representatives the apt statement r that those wtio were continually i

contending that' the country iras "the very life-blood of the towns-'/ should not overlook the fact 'that although the country was the lifeblood, the city was the heart which kept the blood pulsating. Wfien the groat pro-Consul uttered this simile it was scoffed at, for party purposes, aind the truth of it was left for the people of Inter times to realise. To-day, fortunately for all, the interdependence of town and country is clearly realised by the progressive minds on both sides, and there is a commendable desire shown .by the bulk of New Zealand Parliamentarians to approach all large questions from the viewpoint of all New Zealand. These facts notwithstanding, there remains a nesd for a public opinion, and a public voice, to represent the purely country viewpoint, and to utter the crystallised truth evolved from country experiences" and cogitations. All the wisdom is Mint of the city, nor is sane judgment confined to the chief centres of population. What better than a country Press could express the needs and desires of a rural or semi-rural population P Or by what method shall an agricultural and population obtain the wide publicity of its opinions necessary to impress and convince those in high places, if not through a journal which is actually of, and which exists by support from that population? The city Press, as an exponent of city opinions, and incidentally as a promulgator of leading ideas, is a charming and pleasing necessity to its chief constituents, but those country dwellers who imagine that a newspaper published at Auckland, or Wellington, or some other comparatively distant city, will suffico to safeguard thoir needs and to give them local and leading are mistaking a will-o'-the-wisp for a more substantial luminary. The city Press "is " the city Press; its views are circumscribed by its civic boundaries; and the country Press is every whit :is much a necessity to the country as the country Member of Parliament is.

This, then, is the answer to tho;;e who in.sk what good end is served by them in giving support to the newspapers published in their mid-.t, instead of confining their subscription to the larger and more diversified city newspapers that they m.'iy procure by waiting a few hours longer on each day. It is the city Press that magnifies info " a national need" the theories and protestations of the "leasehold party"—to give an obvious illustration. Possibly the contention is true in regard to the majority of the purely city population; but if that should prove to be actually the case, the stronger is the reason for the country population having an articulate mouthpiece to known its philosophies and experiences on these and kindred matter.?. A pastor,ilist and an agriculturalist both would shrink from saying whether a city boot manufacturer should run his business on co-onera-tive labour or by piecework, for they both would feel diffident because of their inexperience of such cases. But 110 such diffidence marks the city dweller when land tenure systems are discussed; and sometimes: he is led or followed by his Press, until a sectional contention is megaphoned into what erroneously seems to be a preponderance of public opinion. These are most important reasons; but there ar<; others, also, why country dwellers should support their ( press, It gives them news ■ f the events that happen in tiieir midst, av.it makes up in apposite interest what it may lack in sheeted voluminousuess. Surely it is of more interest to the dwellers in the horowhenua district to find details in their district daily newspaper of the doing* nt Levin and Shannon and Manakau, qv Otaki or Paraparaunuu than to read, at three times the length, of the haopenings of Christchurch or Auckland, or Wellington, sandwiched in with statements as to the number of nails in the boots of a Pimlico policeman, statistics about the number of "old junk" dealers in Southport, or other allegations scissored 1 rom London newspapers m order to fill unnecessary columns in one or two of the large New Zealand newspapers. This disquisition serves to introduce a personal reference. To-day the "Horowhenua Chronicle" is making its first appearance under the new management, and it is with some diffidence that a few indications of improvements are here sot forth. There have been some very good lines followed in . the paper in the past, and these will , bo followed further, biit, gradually, j some alterations will be made, to j the end tlisit a wider local field may i be regularly covered. There is local news to be got outside of Levin, ! and the "Chronicle" is determined j to have that news ere its newness j fades. In this respect our readers jj may help us at times by sending j to this office any little item of i social or general interest that may I have come to their knowledge, jj Levin is our headquarters, but our 1 field is as wide as our circulation. The principal desire of the pucsent management is to make the "Horowhenua Chronicle" a chronicle of i the chief events .of this widely ■ Settled district, while daily giving full prominence to the news of the outside world which reaches this office by cable and telegraph. The opinions awl views of our readers also will be sought, and 110 one whb "'rites us for publication need fear that his letter will be rejected be- ! snuse it may traverse some editorial 1 a pinion. Primarily the "Chro- 1 uide" i s a newspaper, -and pre- 1 pared to give. publicity to iaiiy rea- ' ler's expression of opinion. While ! trying to lead, it will riot make the :l nistake of being dogmatic, and its i iope is that its readers will recog- ' use this for truth, and be content j read . its onen ' s columns for their •• nformation, and its leaders for their * guidance or for criticism, as the » :ase may to them seem most neces- ' ary. i