To the Electors of the Christchurch Country District.

Lyttelton Times, Volume V, Issue 326, 15 December 1855, Page 7

To the Electors of the Christchurch Country District.

The Editor of the " Canterbury Standard," in his leading article of Thursday last, has thought proper to upon my inabiliry to furnish him with a report of my speech, delivered at the meeting of the Colonists' Society, on the 27th ult., and stigmatizes my reasons for declining to do so as eccentric. He, moreover, proceeds to argue that it is no fault of his if the public are not in a position to know more of my political sentiments " than is contained in that meagre address of mine, which appears from week to week in his paper-" I might, if so disposed, complain of the unfairness of this reasoning upon the ground that the editor of the " Standard" is an openly.avowed partisan of one, if not two of the candidates; that the influence he possesses, small though it may be, he is exerting for the especial service of one of them ; and that the article in (.juestion is simply one of those claptraps intended 10 serve this end. I need not, I am sure, apologise to you, the electors of the Christchurch Country District, for not furnishing the report of this speechFirst, because you have all had much better opportunity of arriving at a satisfactory conclusion in reference to my opinions than any report of the speech in question could have afforded you in the columns of the " Standard." They have been submitted to you at two meetings of the electors in Kaiapoi, three meetings in Papanui, two in Riccarton, one in Lyttelton, and one in Christchurch; and judging from the number of electors present-at those meetings, and from the enthusiasm which prevailed ;it them, I venture to believe that you at least do not share the opinion so dogmatically hud down by the "Standard;" that so far as Messrs. Ollivier and Brittin are concerned, " the electors know no more of their politics than contained in their meagre addresses." I ask you, gentlemen, whether you are satisfied that the editor of a newspaper is discharging his duty to you, his patrons, if

he does not provide the machinery by which you shall become acquainted with the sayings of your public men. I ask you whether you will accept their personal reports as the fairest exposition of those sayings 1 We cannot too loudly condemn this system, it is a perversion of the independence of the press, and renders it subservient to private ends and objects. But, it is said, there is no reporting skill to enable the editor to supply:these sayings and doings of public raon in any other way. I observe, however, that the "Standard" hat Issued its 80th No.: can we believe that this difficulty has onlyjust presented itself? if bo, what reliance are we to place on any of itti past reports? Yon require surely something upon which you can ruly, beyond merely-qualified leading articles), the political partizanship of which in disguised cinder so thin aveil. I stated in my letter to the editor, that I had neither notes of what I spoke upon, nor time to furnish the report. These reasons should surely kave satisfied him. It seems, however, that personal avocations, home duties, and the attendance at no less than four meetings during the week, of which our punctiliouH editor ought to have been aware, these were all to be put aside, were all to be considered an secondary to the great duty I owed, not to the public, for might I not rather say to the editor of the " Standard ?" to furnish a report of a xpeeclifthe substance of which you had already heard in all quarters of the district. Youwill not be misled by this evident bolstering up of a party at the c»st of their opponents : nor will yon, lam persuaded, allow yourselves to be influenced by his tinsel-reasoning. There are those who heard the repnted editor of the " Standard1' state that the opinions which had been expressed by the three candidates, were so satisfactory it was difficult to choose from among them, that it was indeed to be regretted they could not send them all to represent them in the General Assembly; and if thin be true, how happens it that he should now say he knows no more of my political opinions than is contained in that meagre address of mine which appears in hid paper. ■ I am, Gentlemen, yoar obedient servant, JOHN OLLIVIER. [We very reluctantly insert Mr. Ollivier'u letter even as an advertisement. He has violated one of the commonest rules of good taste in first assuming a certain individual to he the editor of our contemporary the '• Standard, "and in then attacking him under that character. We have frequently refused letters on the grounds of their violating such well-known rules of newspaper controversy. We had occasion on 'Wednesday to allude to the consequences of such practices in the management of the Colonial Press. After mature consideration we have inserted Mr. Ollivier's letter, as this will be the last opportunity that he could avail himself of before the election for addressing the public, and because Mr. Hull has forwarded to us for publication a communication on the subject of the election. Hereafter, under any circumstances, we shall refuse to publish any communication which shall thus violate one of those rules which have contributed to maintain the English Press in the iadependen t position which it now occupies.— Ed. L. T.]