THE PRESS.

Colonist, Volume III, Issue 265, 4 May 1860, Page 4

THE PRESS.

(JVom th* Xarlbbrough Pf««.)

To the Proprietors.'—As steam is to jth© material, so is the press to the intellectual, world. As the former, with all its power and utility, is frequently the cause of great mischief and destruction; so the latter, with all its boasted benefits, is sometimes fraught with danger to the well-being and liberties of the people. .

The press, figuratively speaking, is undoubtedly the prime mover, the nmrrice of literature and science. And yet did science, and literature, and art exist in the highest degree without the press; and statesmen, and poets, and orators, and painters, and authors lived and wrought wonders in their generation—wonders even to the present egotistical and press-ridden age.

The press is divided into two sections—the book press and the newspaper press. The former is used by men who have, or think they have,, something new, something beneficial, moral, or material, to communicate to the world. The latter is a commercial speculation, and writers are hired in the same manner as the artizans who are employed in the mechanical getting up of newspapers which now teem all over the world. ,

Formerly, and even now in some countries, newspapers; were the mere vehicles of useful intelligence*' carefully collated, or of the"thought* of nnsaid correspondents; and the proprietors were held responsible and severely punished for misleading the public on matter* of fact, and for creating, for selfish purposes, what are termed " panics." It can scarcely be quftstioned that the legitimate and proper functions of a newspaper is tt strict neutrality in con* troversial matters, and a strong denunciation of all acts of injustice and every infringement of the laws of humanity. "Who is the more enlightened after rea#rig an elaborate and verbose essay (called a "leader" or an "editorial"), in which the writer laboriously endeavors to convince the public that wrong is right—that in* justice is justice ? Or who is made a better or wiser man by reading column upon column of invective, however epigrammatic, attractive, and terse, when he reflects that such are not the honest unbiassed conclusions which the writer may himself have formed, but are merely written "to order;" perhaps by

Some bookful blockhead, ignorantly read, With heaps of learned lumber in his head; or by some spleen-disordered, disappointed candidate for place or pelf, who

Wkh wicked malice, studious to defame,

Scorn all his joy, laughter all his aim. Well enough may the poor reader become bewildered in floundering through some of theae hebdomadal, bi-weekly, or daily lucubrations, besprinkled with Latin or French phrases, endeavoring in vain to discover a meaning in the long-winded, inflated, sparse-period paragraphs. ♦ The English tongue driven almost out of kind, Dismembered, hacked, maimed, rent, and torn,

Defaced, patched, marred, and made in scorn.

The newspaper press has been called by some a public instructor; by others, a vehicle to bring back the dark ages. Some have likened it to the air we breathe, without it we die ; others have declared that it is an emanation of venality and prostitution. Others, again, have pronounced it to be a new, a magnificent, and a saving discovery; while on the opposite side it has been called an old and rotten sore, that pollutes, absorbs, and will extinguish. One calls it the palladium of liberty; another says, that since the reign of newspapers tliere has been no greatness and no honor, save amongst those who refuse to walk in the path of the multitude. One writer, speaking of newspapers, says, the writer is degraded because he does not believe what he writes—the reader because he believes what he reads.

This catalogue of contrarieties might be extended indefinitely; /but enough has been given, for the present, at least, to put the reader in a thoughtful mood, and induce him to bring his own judgment to bear on all matters brought before him, and to show him. that there is " ample room and verge enough" for him to exercise that judgment, and not allow the opinion, even of an editor, to overrule it, and hy so doing transform the man into a child.' .

Thus, shortly, are placed before the reader some antagonistic views held by different men on the good and the evil of the newspaper press, especially aa they relate to the " leaders," bo called*

This has been done to convince the public that your paper (it is hoped) will be conducted on as independent grounds as possible, and will maintain a strict impartiality in all mattersseeking nothing but the truth, and the social and individual good of the province. And although it may disdain to praotice on the ignorance and stupidity of mankind, yet may it not refrain from exposing; public errors, detec : ting hidden secrets, and restraining governing power. By the above remarks, culled from -various, sources, it will be seen that an editor's duty is looked upon in a somewhat higher light than to write smart articles against a political opponent; to gratify perhaps, under the guise of a ■" leader/ his private spite against some individual, or to rim down works of great public utility, in order' to forward his own private interest, or that of those who employ them; or, worse still, that of some smail coterie by whom he is looked up to as a " star," or made use of as a tool. v \

: Your paper, theD, will not be the vehicle of a party or faction. Everything of that character can be left to the "Correspondence" department, for which "a clear stage- and >no favor?' should be the motto; and in which all who think '■whattheylist may write what they think. The: results anil conclusions of honest minds, com-; bating for what each considers the truth will, always find ready admission into your columns.; and though hard hitting may not be discountenanced, it should be understood that no foul blow will be permitted, and of a foul blow you alone should be the final umpire. " .. Letters, brief and to the point, on all subjects,; should be earnestly solicited and readily admitted. Aud it is not necessary, for a man who. seeks the truth and tries \to remedy a grievance, to be versed in what has been well termed "book language and pen-and-ink terms"; • r-the plain recital of a grievance, or,the rough description of any point relating to the good of the/ public should be as- welconie ;ia your iColiimnssas 'the elaborate ve^ions of more learned nien. With tfcese sentiments, in /wbp ■"it is trusted you and your readers wijl, in, (the; main, coincide, you can oheerfully :i iatw the lists, and heartily say, . May God defend the right 1 i Trows*.