The Manawatu Standard. (PUBLISHED DAILY.) The Oldest Daily Newspaper on the West Coast. WEDNESDAY. AUGUST 19, 1885. BOROUGH COUNCIL ADVERTISING.

Manawatu Standard, Volume X, Issue 68, 19 August 1885, Page 2

The Manawatu Standard. (PUBLISHED DAILY.) The Oldest Daily Newspaper on the West Coast. WEDNESDAY. AUGUST 19, 1885. BOROUGH COUNCIL ADVERTISING.

The local newspaper which represents the views of the three members of the Finance Committee who are so bitterly opposed to the Staxdakd, and who lose no opportunity m public and private of trying to traduce and injure us, made some statements m last night's issue of a more than usually untruthful character. It would fain make the piiblic believe that the said three members of the Finance Committee move m the matter of giving all the advertising to the Time*, to the exclusion of the Standard, solely aqd entirely m the interests of the ratepayers ! What utter nonsense ! The three individuals referred to are Cjrs James King, Soloman Abrahams, and William Park. Two of them, Cis Abrahams and Park, are directly interested m the Times as local agents, and as directly interested m unwavering opposition to the Standard. The same two per-sons-have never forgotten that the Standard adversely criticised their action as members of the Finance Committee, m objecting t© the legality of some accounts while passing others m which they themselves were directly or indirectly interested. Neither have the public forgotten their action on that occasion, nor are the ratepayers likely to do so when the time comes to; test the estimation m which they are Held as municipal representatives. Cr Jamfs King •is bitterly opposed to us because his views and ours did not agree with regard to- Racing Club matters. Because of ths diversity of opinion he woinS'go to any length to injure us^AJI those Crs cannot deny that tn> Standard has the largest circulation m the whole district of any newspaper published within its boundaries. Have not they all tried their utmost to damage and depreciate that circulation. Not a move which has not been tried with this object m view. What has been their success ? They have been forced to admit that by one after another they, have been told m so many words, " No, we will not give "up the Standard and take the " Times to please you, or because "you happen' to have a grudije "against the Standard. We have "subscribed to the Standard for " years past, we like the paper and " are not going to give it up for your " satisfaction." There is not one of the members of the Finance Committee referred to who, if they would speak the truth, 'could deny the correctness of the above. Tlie reason Stakdard circulates so mujch more extensively than any other district newspaper is because it is most m favour with the reading public, because it gives the largest amount of reading mat- ■ ter ' m eacli days issue, because its reports are most complete and impartial,] because it issues 1 a large gratis supplement every Saturday, and because it seeks to discharge its duty conscientiously, without fear or favour. These are the causes which combined have made the Standard so popular and have given it the wide circulation m town and country it now has. No unbiased persons attempt to deny the fact that as regards circulation the ; Standard now occupies and ; has- done for a long time past the premier,; position m the district. Even ' oujr opponents m the Borough Council &rk forced to admit this. The three members of the Finance Committee alluded to have not attempted to disguise their feelings with regard to the Standard. All the town knows that they hate us to the same degree that a certain personage is popularly believed to have an antipathy to holy water. They make no secret of it. They admit it openly, and tacitly acknowledge their bitter animosity towards us, which they would go to any length to gratify. Did not two of them respectively move and second a motion, at the annual meeting of the Racing Club to act m a similar way as they now seek to badger the Borough Council into doing ? And was not their proposition indignantly discountenanced first by the meeting of "members and afterwards by the Committee? Yet they are not satisfied They would now use the Borough Council as a means toM'ards the attainment of their cherished ends. Their spite and bitterness knows no limits. They would crush us if they could, though they know right well that m taking the advertisements from the Stavdakj), their object is not to benefit the ratePffyerj?, lj«,s simply to wreak yen?

geance on the newspaper which has been too plain-spoken, independent, ! and impartial to suit them. Each of them knows that by doing as they propose a large number of the ratepayers would be subjected to serious injustice and inconvenience. But what do they care for that ? Not a single jot, provided the desired end, viz., loss to the Stndard is achieved. But although we have foes m the Borough ( 'ouncil. bitter unscrupulous ones, too, who will stick at nothing m their attempts to damage us, there are also members m that body who will not stand by and see an injustice dore without placing on record their protest against such a proceeding. We will leave the issue m the hands of the Council with confidence that there are those there who will deal with the question fairly and on its merits. Of course from the Times the public do not expect anything but misrepresentation on «i question of this nature. They know that it is utterly unscrupulous when the behests of its party have to be carried out. The Times knows, though of course it will not admit it, that the Standard is far and away ahead of it m circulation. Its tactics with regard to individual advertisers need scarcely be referred to here. One business nian after another has been interviewed, m order to get advertisements withdrawn from the Standard. There is not a dodge or devise known that has not been brought into operation with the same object m view, and m a number of cases the details of the tactics pursued have reached our ears from one source and another. This may be one method of making a newspaper a financial success, but it is one to which we trust we will never have occasion to descend, and a journal or party which finds it neccfissary to have recourse to such tactics must surely be reduced to the last extremity. The Times would have its readers believe that the Borough advertising is a question of little consequence to it, though giving the question all possible prominence m its editorial columns. It is well known that for months past it has been planning out the very schemes with regard to the Racing Club and the Borough Council, and various local bodies, that its partizans have left no effort untried to carry into effect. The three members of the Finance Committee make no secret of their desire to "boycott" 1 ' the Standard. It is nothing to them whether the interests of the ratepayers suffer or not, the one main issue is, and one that is never allowed to be forgotten, is to damage the Standard We need not follow our contemporary through its misrepresentation and falsehood. The public expected nothing else .from it, knowing that with itself originated the whole scheme, and the clique are only carrying out the pre-arranged details. There are men m the Borough Council who will not be influenced by statement's made to damage us which tnirr trad ucers know perhaps" better than anyone, else are utterly false. There are men m the Borough Council who will strive to deal fairly both with us and with our contemporary, apart from any personal feeling. They will en . deavour to do justice, and if a manifest injustice is sought to be perpe- i trated'they will protest against such being done. They will nave sorne regard for the interests of th e ratepayers, and they will oppose whafis not conducive to those interests. They know what an 'amount' of partizanship and bitter personal feeling our enemies m the Borough Council have sought to impart into this question. They know that the touts have been round to endeavor to work the oracle to our disadvantage. They know that no stone has been left unturned to attain the desired end, and that means the most unfair and disreputable .have been had recourse to m order to accomplish certain objects. We do not thirk those m the Borough Council who believe m fair play will permit anything so grossly and grievously unjust and improper as that to take place which is now sought to be carried into effect. The Councillors are the representatives of the ratepayers, and the latter will not endorse any course not m accordance with justice, equity, and fair play. The Times affirms that the Borough advertising should not be tendered for. We quite agree with it. The proper course . most undoubtedly is to make such reasonable arrangements with both newspapers circulating \ n the districts as will enable the ratepayers who read one or the other to obtain the desired information. We do not j | clamour that the advertisements be given to the Standard exclusively. If the announcements appear m one newspaper only, some section of the public must inevitably suffer. Therefore the fair and right thing to do is to arrange on the most economical terms possible with the two local newspapers for their insertion. This course was previously recommended to the Council, and. the recommendation was adopted. A proposal of this kind would best suit the ratepayers, and is the plan which we believe will find favor with a majority m the Borough Council, when the advertising question comes to be dealt with. We have been compelled to treat this subject at greater length than we desire because of the abominable misrepresentation which the other side has seen fit to have recourse to, but which, we believe, will defeat the object m view, and will yet recoil on those responsible for the despicable and utterly unjustifiable course that has been pur- i sued