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South Canterbury Times, Issue 2088, 1 December 1879, Page 2

The following announcement lias appeared as a sort of preface, in italics, over certain Eoad Board advertisements in the “ Ashburton Mail ” for some time past; —“ The Mount Somers Eoad Board, consisting of Messrs W. 0. Walker, Isaac Taylor, Donald Cameron, A. McParlano, and W. S. Peters, having by resolution decided to withdraw their advertisements from this journal, the jiropriotor intimates that in order that the readers of the ‘ Mail,’ including contractors and others, may be placed at no disadvantage, all notices relative to public works are inserted free.” It seems that the “Mail,” at the last general election, supported the candidature for Coleridge of a gentleman who is said at one time to have pounced upon a portion of the Hon. W. S. Peters’ squatterdom, and the Board, of which Mr Peters is the leading spirit, resolved that the 4 Mail,’ although the district newspaper, should no longer have their advcrtisc-

ments. It seems a pity that while penalties, are provided for bribery and corruption?at elections no punishment is provided •to meet the the cases of political partisans who venture to turn a public office to vindictive account against honest, outspoken and independent journals. If newspapers in New Zealand are not to be degraded and rendered worse than useless, the manifestations of intolerance, of which the sudden withdrawal of advertisements by deliberate resolutions at election times is clearly indicative, demands the prompt attention of Parliament. The purity of the Press is essential to the preservation of the purity of Parliament, and for members of local bodies who so far forget themselves as to allow their political predilections to regulate the expenditure of funds entrusted to their keeping, it is desirable that there should be a far more substantial punishment than the popular loathing which a paltry despotism excites. It certainly seems an anomaly that while New Zealand assumes to have a free pi’ess, local bodies of the Mount Somers type should be privileged at an important juncture when a contested Parliamentary election isgoingon,to suddenly deprive a district newspaper of its support as far as they are able to do so. The resolution of the Mount Somers Hoad Board may not have been prompted bv political partisanship or hatred, it may not have been a revengful resolution, but if a dastardly blow, aimed during a general election at the liberty of the_ Press, was rendered an indictable offence, they would evidently have some difficulty in escaping from the circumstantial evidence.