PULPIT AND PRESS. Peace, Perfect Peace!

Free Lance, Volume III, Issue 121, 25 October 1902, Page 8

PULPIT AND PRESS. Peace, Perfect Peace !

SOME weeks ago a clerical person up North remarked, in a loud voice, that the devil was behind the press In effect, he regretted that the hireling newspapers accepted advertisements for money when they might starve themselves out of the country by printing all the matter the said clerical person could supply free. Then, a quaint clerical revolutionist offered to supply to a certain paper enough sermon each n eck to crowd out the sinful sporting news. The paper, not wishing to rush its circulation up by leaps and bounds, did not take the cleric seriously. Of course, the gentlemen of the cloth, are entitled to their convictions, and only now and again an extremist here and there pops up to make harrow - ing lemarks about things he may understand, but probably does not * * * Bishop Julius, whose opinions are hardly parsonical in the ordinary acceptation of the term, has stepped ir-to the breach as a quasi-advocate of the press. He said that churchmen and the clergy were apt to forget that the press was not an organ of the Church. This is encouraging to the press, and may possibly save pressmen a great deal of weary wading through clerical "copy" intended for sporting readers, who at present do not know what is

good for them. Always providing, of oouisc, the clergy take the hint. ♦ * • It is a comfort to know that the Bishop, who has a manly, straightforward way of dealing with his subjects, thinks that the press in New Zealand is generally on the side of right. As everyone believes his side to be right, this covers every paper in the colonies. The churchmen who do not agree with Dr. Julius — and they are many — have the opportunity of springing literary surprises on the public. They can legitimately bring out rival papers in every centre of the colony, filled with what, mi their opinion, will be interesting matter for the average reader. The average reader likes variety. * • • It was very quaint of Bishop Julius to say that the press served the public with what it wanted, rather than what it needed. If one went into a baker's shop and asked for bread, one would expect to get a loaf, and if the baker told one that what one needed was dry flour, one would probably regard him as eccentric. Unfortunately, however, unless the newspaper industry is cornered by a philanthropic combine of millionaires, who will give thei people what they need, but what they do not want, there is no hope of any alteration taking place. • • • Do you remember the words Dickens puts into the mouth of Sleary, the lisping "horserider." To the historic Gradgrind, the man of hard facts, he said — "Thquire, thake hands firtht and latht! Don't be croth with uth poor vagabondth. People mutht be amuthed. They can't be alwayth a learnin', nor yet they can't be alwayth a workin' they ant made for it. Yon mutht have uth Thquire. Do the withe thing and the kind thing too, and make the best of uth ; not the wurtht!" Which, with slight alteration, might be deemed to be tolerably good advice to the clergy in their dealing with the press.