The Manawatu Standard (PUBLISHED DAILY.) THURSDAY,. JULY 30, 1885. MR. BUNNY'S IDIOSYNCRACIES.

Manawatu Standard, Volume X, Issue 52, 30 July 1885, Page 2

The Manawatu Standard (PUBLISHED DAILY.)

THURSDAY,. JULY 30, 1885. MR. BUNNY'S IDIOSYNCRACIES.

The Oldest Daily Newspaper on the ..'-- West Uoas:.

\i ..... -; - — ■ • . . .-^ - The- Wellington morning paper hps the following :-—" The members tf^fthe LaniJ Board had a shprt disj^iission^esterdfty..,w»th reference to -advertising, the- sale of the new 'Uwwnsb/ip . .of .vHunterville, .Mjr 'iB-ONNY was father severe "on some of the country newspapers. . He 'said he did not see the utility of advertising m such papers as the Manawatu Standard, which did not circulate beyond the Square m Palmerston North. It had lately called Mr MAsaiN ah old fogey, but the only way it could get the fact made known was by sending him (Mr Bunny) a special copy. 1 ' Mr Bunny made either a wilful or in- ( advertent mis-statement m speaking as he did. The Standard never called Mr Mason "an old fogey." 1 It was the Manawatu Times . which did so. Nor did the Standard. ever send Mr Bunny -a special copy. With regard to Mr Bunny^s Opinion of the Standard's circula- * tionj > that is a matter of very little consequence. What has aroused Me Bunny's ire against thfe Standard -is tlie" fHct that we strongly ..protested against his being appointed to value' the land for the. PaimerstoniWaitapu Small Farm Associa-; tioni on the grounds that he had expressed strong prejudice against small farm associations getting their choice of land. In conversation with Mr.BuNNY,when up m Palmerston, we found that his principal- bete noir. m this district, m the way of newspapers, was our local contemporary, m Wellington, the New Zealand Times, and m Hawke's Bay, the Woodville Examiner, all of which he" went for 11 m proper style. He was rather sore because certain newspapers, among them the Standard, insisted upon and ultimately received payment for an. advertising account which the Waste Land Board, sought to repudiate. Some of the newspapers accepted Mr ,^.g^Y'9;terms, ; .but-the--STAN.riA»D declined to entertain any compromise, and eyentuallygot paid m full, much to Mr Bunny's chagrin and indignation. . Our local con'tenrpoTaTy—brought matters H:o a climax by threatening legal proceedings against the Board, unless the account were paid, and- when the ,Boar,d applied to Mr Ballance for the assistance of the Law Officers, of the Crown to defend the case, the Minister advised jthe Board, as they had transacted their business m such a loose and unsatisfactory way, to ' settle the various claims and look pleasant. Meantime, several of the newspapers had been cajoled or inliinidated into accepting lesser amounts, and Mr Bunny informed us verbally that it. was his firm determination, if the Manawatu Times won the lawsuit, against the Board for the whole amount of its claim, to move at "the 1 next meeting of the Board that every other newspaper be paid m full. It is long ago since Mr Bunny must have learnt the lesson that honesty, is the best policy; and even he will admit that it is as dishonest, from a moral point of •jyiew,i.to!' attempt to injure a 5 newspaper by malicious rikisrepresentatiori, as from a legal point of view, for an individual to prove false to any trust reposed m him. We republish elsewhere the article alluded to by Mr Bunny, m which it will be seen that Mr Mason's name is riot mentioned. We have opposed, and will oppose, Mr Bunny's cattempts to injure small farm associations, which, m our opinion, are likely to prove highly beneficial to the country.