The Times. Published on Tuesday and Friday Afternoons. Motto: Public service. TUESDAY, JULY 6, 1920. THE FUNCTIONS OF A PROVINCIAL PAPER.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 9, Issue 546, 6 July 1920, Page 2

The Times. Published on Tuesday and Friday Afternoons. Motto: Public service. TUESDAY, JULY 6, 1920. THE FUNCTIONS OF A PROVINCIAL PAPER.

Xhe cordial references made by several of the speakers at the recent dinner tendered to Mr. Win, Roulstonto the part played by "The Times" in promoting the progress and welfare o? Pukekohe- and the counties in Which it circulates, encourage us to make to our readers a frank and full exposition of the view we take of cxm mission, and the aims that actuatoailJ.' It has often been in our mind to take our wide circle of friends into our confidence in this wanner, but the fear that we should b» misunderstood, and a natural Winking from saying anything that could possibly be construed into an attempt to blow our own trumpet ■has withheld us. However, now that the trumpet has been blown for us with evident sincerity by men who cannot be suspected of having mere"ly the desire to flatter, we no longer hesitate to explicitly state what our aims and desires are, believing as we f<Jo that the effect will be increased StMkperation with us on the part of tnoie who desire that nothing shall he felt undone that can improve the mosperity of the extremely desirable portion of New Zealand in which "T|e Times" circulates. lii.the first place, let us make our position quite clear by reminding our that, a newspaper is in the first place Commercial undertaking, not a charitable or philanthropic institution. It must be quite plain that a paper that did not pay its way would be of very little use to the district in which it was issued; but on the other hand a journal which had no higher ideal than' the mere earning of dividends would not merely be useless but a hindrance and detriment. Possessing full cognisance of these facts the management of "The Times" has for the last five years done all in its power to make it pay, and at the same time to make it, so far as lay within their capacity, of service to the community. With these ends in view it has not distributed its earnings, but has devoted them to the improvement of the paper itself in the belief that it should grow in quality and efficiency with the district whose growth it tends to promote, so that ultimately it may become the most up-to-date, leliable, and well-inform-ed country journal in New Zealand. To attain this result not only demands that we should ourselves put into the task the very best work that we are capable of, but that we should receive in turn the hearty cooperation of the public. Without that assistance we cannot hope to achieve more than a qualified success. The last three years have been difr' ficult and trying ones for newspapers everywhere, and have witnessed the extinction of many long-estab-lished ones, not merely in country districts, but in great cities also. Even the wealthiest of them have had to walk warily, and that "The Times" has continued to progress, and instalnew and modern machinery, is primarily due to the growing recognition that as an advertising medium it is unrivalled by any provincial paper, owing to the extent and general prosperity of the large area in which it circulates; an area which is constantly extending as the inhabitants of outlying districts be | come apprised of its value to them as a news-purveyor. We have every confidence that our progress in the future will be as marked as it has been in the past, even more so, because the people are evidently learning that we are as useful, we might say as indispensable, to them as they are to us.

We do not pretend to rival the city dailies in the dissemiation of international or general news. Our function is a narrower, though not a lower, one- that of gathering and publishing all local news that comes within our purview which is likelv to be interesting and useful to our readers: at the same timo we do what we Cicii to guide the public mind in directions which we nonestly conceive will conduce to the advancement and well-being of the community we serve. And we always endeavour to write in all sincerity, even in cases where too much candour tells against our own material interest for the moment, because we believe that in public j >urn-

als, as in public men, sincerity is the one trait that always wins through in the end, and that the reputation of possessing it is invaluable to either the individual or the paper.

We have written these few lines in the hope of increasing the mutual goodwill that already exists between us and our readers. If we did not appreciate the words of approbation mid encouragement lhat we receive from time to time we should be more or less than mortal. We do indeed appreciate them very highly, not merely as an expression >f goodwill, hut as a con fii mat ion of our belief that the ideal we set out to attain i- gradually becoming realised. We think we cannot better conclude this article ihan by quoting what we said in our lirst leader six \ears ago, adding that our desire is exactly the same today as it was then, but also we have the satisfaction of knowing that what was at that time merely an abstract aspiration is now rapidly becoming a eon-

crete reality:In all matters affecting the public interest we propose to be outspoken and candid. With a man'-; private character or affaiis we have, of course, nothing to do. We reserve to ourselves the ris'.hl; to freely criticise his public words br actions, but we trust that this right will never be exercised without due thought for the claims of cour-

tesy and consideration, without which no paper can long- expect to retain either its self-respect or its friends. We have lived long enough to learn that the world is composed of people of every shade of opinion, and that there is in most matters room

for an honest difference, and we hope that the mere fact that we cannot agree with anyone upon some question of public policy will never make us oblivious to the fact -CTii' he is entitled to think as even if his reasons for so Jlinking are entirely unconvincing So, with- malice towards with charity for all, with firmness for the right, as it is given to the faulty judgment of man to see the right, we will strive to carry on the work we have entered upon. That we shall make mistakes is not impossible, but they will be errors of the judgment, not faults of the heart, and our one hope is to achieve, and having achieved, to cherish a newspaper which will prove a lasting uenefit to the district in which our hopes and interests are centred,