THE PRESS ASSOCIATION.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXXXII, Issue 191, 21 August 1900, Page 2

THE PRESS ASSOCIATION.

DIRECTORS VIEWS ON ENTRANCE FEBB. (PER PKKSS ASSOCIATION.) Wellington, August 20. The Directors of tho Prtsa Association have during the past week been in communication with the Premier 01 the subject of the agitation now going on in Parliament respecting entrance fees charged by the Association. A deputation from the Board also had at interview with Mr Seddon, at which the matter was fully dwcussed, At the Premier's request the views of tht directors were reduced to writing in a letter, of which the following is a copy: —United Press Association, limited, Wellington, August 20th, 1900. To the Might Hon. the Premier. Dsar Sir,—l have much pleasure in informing you that tho directors of the Association havo had your communication

before them and have given it mos j careful consideration. They understand the points at issue are practical!) j confined to the two questions, of en- 1 trance fees, and placing of subscribers on the same footing as shareholders with respect to entrance fees. While admitting that it is a question on which there may naturally be some division of opinion, the directors feel that it if. impossible, in view of the circumstances, to abandon them, as is practically suggested by a number of members of the House. The Association was not established without a great expenditure, the burden of which fell mostly on a comparatively small num-

berof newspapers. They had to pay heavily in the earlier days of its existence, in order to build up the services which the press of the colony now enjo>s, and especially the cable service, in those days the cable charges were much higher than now, and leading papers paid thousands of pounds to establish a service and keep it going. In addition, news collected in New Zealand by a large and expensive staff of chief newspapers is placed at tlu disposal of all subscribers, ind it would be manifestly unfair to allow anyone to come in now for nothing, or practically nothing, and* enjoy the advantage of services so complete, for which others have paid heavily. Without an entrance fee the most ephemeral of publications could demand to bi placed on the same footing as the rest, and take the full advantage of the services afforded and withdraw at will. To show how obis would work it may be mentioned .hat the Association, in order to obtain t cable service, has to enter into a contact for a fixed term, usually thret /ears, at a fixed price. Oace having catered into that contract, it has made tself liable for thu total outlay of som</ siiing like £15,000, and this expendi ure has to be divided as nearly a p jssible, among those who subscribe U no service. Should, then, one or mor.

lewspipjrs obtain advantage of tbit <ervice who have no intention of fultilling their agreement to the end of he term, it is manifest that a gap ii> he income of the Association must Ik made good by the remainder, and thitwe venture to say is what would inevitably happen if there were no. mtunce fee. That fee is at least h partial guarantee of bona, fides of .th. applicant, and that no pecuniary losivill be sustained by his admission. The directors of the Association, whih <iot admitting the present foes are toe ■iigh, are conscious they have been h j ourca of soma criticism, and will not uaintain that exact rate at which they should be fixed, is not open to debate. L'hey are aware of the agitition that it on on the subject, and are anxious hat if a fair and reasonable compromise is likely to be accepted, it should uot be urged they stood in the way. To meet, therefore, objections which have been raised, they are prepared to agree to reduce the present rates by me-half. The fees will then range for daily papers from £75 in small districts to £450 in the four metropolitan towns. For papers other than dailies the reduction will (as has always been the case) be made so that for a little triweekly, say in a country village, the charge will only be £SO, and for this sum it will at once be able to enjoy the excellent service of cable and local news at a smaller cost, we have reason to believe, than in any other country in the world. Now, with respect to the second point, the Association, which is really a co-operative body organised for the purpose of inter-supply of news among its members, and not for the purpose of making profits, is a registered joint stock company. This is for the convenience of working and not for trading on ordinary commercial lines. Being, however, under the Companies Act, it cannot admit subscribers to identically the s»me footing as shareholders, though, for all practical purposes, they have always been so treated; for instance, occasionally, rebates, not dividends bo it understood, have been paid, and the money lias invariably been distributed to all subscribers, not to shareholders ulono. Directors have done their best to excite interest in the affairs of the Association, even to the extent of paying the expenses of shareholders to induce a full attendance at meetings, and all suggestions or complaints from subscribers have always received exactly the same attention as though these subscribers had been actual members of the company. While, therefore, not legally able to treat subscribers as shareholders to tho extent of giving them votes, the directors desire to

point out that it is open to any subscriber to acquire a vote by taking a share in the company, which wo beliuvo is all that is aimed at; indeed thoy see no objection to the suggestion made by yourself, at the interview the diiectors had with you on Saturday, that it should be made compulsory on each subscriber to take up at least one share. The acquisition of shares is the only method we are aware of by which subscribers can obtain the footing of .shareholders in a registered company, and it is ono which will readily attain the object mentioned in your memorandum. Shareholders have, of course, a voics in tho election of directors, and the conduct of the business at meetings of tho Oompiny. Beyond tho concessions mentioned above tho directors of tho Association are not prepared to go, and thfiy commend them to the consideration b)th of yoursolf and of tho 42 mornbers whom you assure us are interesting tkmaelves in the matter,

ir i ii fiiriiiii i ■ -«w——Yours faithfully, L. ltetnpiu, chairman." JIL ,