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Poverty Bay Standard, Volume XI, Issue 1319, 21 June 1883, Page 2

We would not touch upon the subject which caused a considerable amount of discussion at the Borough Council meeting held on Tuesday last were we not compelled, in self-defence, to do so, We refer to the matter of advertising by the Borough Council. Having no seat at the Council Board, we are reluctantly compelled to avail ourselves of the only means we have in our power of combating I he influence exercised there by our rivals. Had not Cr. Chrisp— not content with exercising his influence silently, but throw-

ing aside all decency-rose and stloke on this subject, caustically retnarkiog that the Council had already lo*t a good deal of money lately by paying the “Herald” 3s. per inch, —at the same time forgetting to state that the Council's loss was his gain,—we should have felt it incumbent on us to keep silent while the matter was sub j'idice.ACr. sitting at the Board and adjudieating on matters affecting his own pocket, not indirectly, but directly and distinctly, is something rather tf>o much even for Gisborne. We intend to deal with this question shortly in a different manner. At present we w‘ ill content ourselves with protesting against such a flagrant breach of all law and decettey. Whilst we h »ve outspoken straightforward men in the Council like Cr. Whinray proved himself to be on Tuesday night, we hhve little fear of the machinations of th.ose who go there to enrich themselves at the eost of the ratepayers. The influences at work were shown upon two previous occasions—once upon the occasion of our reverting to our triweekly form of issue, and again at the last meeting of the Harbour Board—when the Town Clerk thought it consistent with his duty to rise and inform the Board that complaints had been made to him by tenderers that the Standard did not give sufficient notice. It never occurred to any Councillor to ask the Clerk who had made the complaint. It was left to us to ask, and at the same time to answer this question. On the night for the closing of certain tenders for the Borough, our reporter entered the Council room at 7 o’clock. There were present, the Chairman, the Clerk, and a gentleman who was evidently writing out a tender, which he finished at 7.15 and banded to the tllerk, who thereupon informed him that he was too lale as tenders closed at 7p m. punctually. The man expressed his annoyance and stated *’ 1 only had my attention called to the advertisement about two hours ago." Now the advertisement for this tender had been in several previous issues of our paper; consequently, if we had published every five minutes, it would not have averted this gentleman’s mishap He had not lookod at the papers at all, and it was only by having his attention called to the matter, “ two hours previously,” that he knew of it at all. This is the “ complaint,” — one of the straws clutched at —used against us An advertisement sent to us cannot be delayed by any possibility longer than one day. Tenders always got a fortnights notice, and advertisements are paid for at so much per insertion, consequently a tri-weekly paper is quite as efficacious for the purpose required and twice as economical as any daily.