The Daily News. FRIDAY, AUGUST 25, 1911. HOME PAPERS AND THE COLONIES.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 54, 25 August 1911, Page 4

The Daily News. FRIDAY, AUGUST 25, 1911. HOME PAPERS AND THE COLONIES.

Now and then colonial zealots become virtuously indignant that the doings of Australians and New Zealanders do not' receive so- much notice in the British press as, say, the doings of the French or the Germans. Less than a year ago the Chief Justice carefully measured up the space devoted to New Zealand news in the English papers and found that it was exceedingly limited—a few inches a month. The trouble is that Australasian news is "small stuff" to the millions at Home who have the vaguest possible idea about the dominions. Australian and New Zealand news is generally a record of peaceful progress. We supply very few sensations; The little "scenes" that are important to us are watery enough by the time they reach Home and are sandwiched in between records of international happenings, great strikes, rumors of wars, the doings of the Imperial Parliament, and so on. The New Zealand journalists'who correspond for the London papers hold sinecures, for very little ever happens in this country that is considered of sufficient importance to publish in London. It is even rather unusual for writers (other than news gatherers) to obtain space in British magazines for descriptive articles about Australia or New Zealand, and it is only by convincing the British public that they are missing good things that greater space will be. afforded to our doings. Sir George Read the other day in London made a speech deploring (comically, of course) the absence of colonial news in British ppers. He drew contrasts showing that Australian politics ought to be of greater interest to the Billingsgate fish porter than a little affair in Servia where only a few hundred folk were killed. Sir George Reid spoke more in pity than in anger, feeling that the British public is not being fairly treated. He said: "The majestic growth of the glorious white continent of industry and happiness scarcely ever sent a glimmer of sunshine into the English press. There was more said about the Tichborne claimant and Wagga Wagga in Britain many years ago than has been said about Australia ever since, and unless we get up some first-class tragedy or crime we do not seem able to arrest the attention of the people of the Imperial city." On the whole, it is extremely hard to blame the millions of London for not concerning themselves about us. It is unlikely that they will glow with delight at a paragraph about the cutting up of the Saltbush areas, the building of the Barrenjack dam, the Mokau trouble, or Mr. Massey's latest challenge. Our doings are of extreme importance to us, but of little consequence to anybody else. It is, however, remarkable that some continental papers—particularly some in France—habitually print extensive correspondence from both Australia and New Zealand, but all these ileal in gossipping fashion with small affairs which if retailed to British papers would inevitably find the waste-paper baskets. Of course, if a severe earthquake occurred—say the North Island disappeared—British readers would know something about it, and somebody would probably remark that New Zealand was the place where the natives ate missionaries. We must be less peaceful and less progressive if we want to "get into" the British press. A civil war or a big railway smash, the burning of Parliament House, a general strike, the defeat of the Government, or a horror of exceptional violence might even get into the Times. In the meantime. Australia and New Zealand really have no time to worry over the ill-trentmcnt meted out to them by the English papers—and the English papers don't know they are.illtreating us. It cannot be said the Australasian papers despise the British

press, which is so kindly placed at the disposal of overseas people, through a remarkable sptcies of "reciprocity" which makes British brainwork the free property of all. We must not grumble if the "reciprocity" is single-barrelled, and no doubt British journalists will continue to work gratis for the colonies.