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New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4574, 17 November 1875, Page 2

The Press Agency is one of those institutions which come up as naturally for abuse as does the Civil Service or pastoral tenancy. But this is no reason why the Agency should be vilified without cause. We have ourselves before now, when smarting under the infliction of an incomprehensible or useless telegram, indulged in a little gentle chastening of the Agency, not always perhaps justified by subsequent inquiry. But we never attributed any worse crime to the Press Agency than carelessness in the selection of its agents. Therefore -we can with clean hands defend the Agency from such unjust attacks as have been made upon them in Auckland. In that city the Herald and Star, because the Agency’s telegram, in mentioning the arrival of the Superintendents at the Dunedin railway station, stated that bootings were mingled with the cheers, has attacked the conductors of the Agency and accused them of the meanest and most paltry motives, as well as of a perversion of facts. In reality, all published accounts from Dunedin corroborate the Press agent there ; but the truth is that what the Auckland papers evidently wanted was a distorted telegram, that would have left out all about the bootings and mentioned only the cheers. Again, the Agency recently telegraphed, as a very proper item of news, ; the notice in the Government Gazette from the Colonial Treasurer, calling upon Road Boards to prepare the returns necessary to entitle them to their shares of the grant in aid. For this the Daily Southern Cross fell foul of the Agency, accused it of pandering to the Ministry, and of getting advertising for the Government gratis, and wound up by asking that the cost of this particular telegram (which would be about sixpence) should be refunded. For the first of these accusations we are unable to account, inasmuch as it is simply nonsensical ; for the second, the reason may be found in the fact that the Cross is, if report belies it not, one of those papers which appropriates all the news it can, and for that which it has to pay pays upon a scale calculated on the lowest possible basis of literary meanness.

That matter of the Piako swamp last session succeeded in dividing parliamentary and public interest with the Abolition Bill, and the' depravity of every one who did not vote against the Government. Under these circumstances, the following from the Auckland Star is worth reading :—“ A gentleman, who has just returned from the Waikato, and who paid a visit to the Piako swamp run, the property of Messrs. Russell, Taylor, Thos. Morrin, Murdoch, and others, speaks very highly of the enterprise shown by the purchasers in the extensive improvements, buildings, &c., &c., which have been steadily going on there during the last eighteen months. The day our correspondent left, 150 head of splendid bullocks arrived on Mr. Thomas Morrin’s portion of the run. It is expected that in the course of a few years the whole provincial market can be supplied with fat bullocks from there. The land seems to be well suited for grazing purposes, and when we recollect the extensive area of the run, we can fairly endorse the conclusion of our correspondent. There are several other large holdings taken up in the surrounding portion of the district, and altogether this portion of the province is destined ere long to become not only important, but prosperous. Several of the new arrivals, who proceeded to the Waikato a few weeks back, and who have gone to the Piako, have all found employment at draining, ditching and fencing.” It is all very well to accuse those who are intrusted with the management of the Wellington Athenaeum with the blame of more than one discomfort attached to that establishment. The authorities have not been in the past, perhaps, altogether blameless in respect to the existence of abuses, but one abuse has existed, and does exist, which it is really beyond the power of committee or custodian to prevent. That abuse is the continual removal of newspapers and periodicals from the tables of the readingroom. Without a detective officer ever present in the room it would be impossible to prevent this disgraceful system (for it has grown into a system) of petty pilfering. It is needless to say that the only possible remedy is one which could not be adopted, and that reliance has necessarily to be placed on the common honesty of frequenters of the institution. It is evident that this reliance is not justified by results, those ■ results seeming to indicate that nothing but uncommon dishonesty prevails amongst those who use the reading-room. We really cannot see how anything can be done to stop the practices of which so much complaint is justly made, unless by driving a sense of shame into the- pilferers. It is in the hope of accomplishing that task that we have written.

In despite of all that has been written to- the contrary, it is evident that the landed estate which has been purchased for the North Island will not be so worthless as some would have us believe. The Taranahi Herald informs us that three more blocks of land that have been purchased from the natives are declared by the Governor to be waste lands of the Crown, and can now he sold and dealt with according to the provisions of the Waste Lands Act of this province. The total quantity of land in these blocks is stated at 38,900 acres, but ns some 1100 acres are reserved for native purposes, the area may be put down in round numbers at 37,000 acres. The blocks are the Manganui, 11,200 acres. Waipuku-Patea, 20,700 acres ; and Waipuku, 7000 acres ; and adjoining the Moa block. The handing over to this province of these blocks will enable the Government to go on with the settlement inland with increased vigor. ;