The Special Wire Business.

Thames Star, Volume IX, Issue 3025, 25 October 1878, Page 1

The Special Wire Business.

(PjEB PfiESS AOBNCT.)

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

Wklmnotow, Thursday. The Premier wished to make a Minis* terial Statement, end for that purpose would move the adjournment of the House. He said he desired to make a statement with regard to, the question raised in relation to the Telegraph Department. The subject had been hastily brought on the other day, and many statements had been made which were incorrect, and which would produce an erroneous impression. The question at issue was one of the greatest magnitude, and one which had agitated Parliaments in other colonies, riz., whether free print* ing shall be allowed or not. This was a question which had agitated the nineteenth century, and when the present Government came into office they found a monopoly in existence celled, the Press* Agency, which was created in this way, that no messages to be called " collect messages " were allowed to be sent from the Australian colonies to New Zealand., But one privileged party were allowed to receive these " collect" messages, which secured them a monopoly of the Press. He directed his attention to this, and found that a general con- , ourrence of opinion in Europe was that "nothing more detrimental to the interests of the country could be, even where two or three Press Agencies existed. In England this principle was recognised by a large number of persons interested in preventing other persons from coming into competition with them. He would give as an instance the London Times, one of whose members stated that nothing could be more detrimental to the interests of any country than that such a system should be permitted to prevail. He stated that the inevitable result was that public opinion was stereotyped. He and his colleagues had consulted, and had come to the conclusion that this must cease. In England they had many Press Agencies, and the public received benefit from so many educated minds being engaged in collating and selecting, news. In England nineteen journals used special wires, and the Telegraph Department, in order to encourage the system, voluntarily submitted to a loss estimated at twenty thousand a year. Each paper paid £500 annually. He was extremely glad when the first offer was made . in this Colony to use a special' wire. The special wire system was resisted in England by the head of the Telegraph Department in the same manner as the penny postal system. It was impossible to introduce such a system in any country without a difficulty being thrown in the way. In regard to the postal system in England,, it was found impossible to introduce the penny postage . without removing the head of the 1 department and substituting another. He must say that here no willingness was displayed by the Telegraph Department inassistipg the introduction of such a system into New Zealand. < The first estimate of, the cost was £4000,. and then it was contended that no great abuse would be committed ' by,reducing it to £2000. lie maintained that the evening papers received telegrams cheaper than in England. He denied that the Government intended to create a monoply, as ,the same. Jfacilities were granted to . all *the newspapers of the colony, and an additional wire would be erected for the. press. He believed, in the arrangement lie had made, he had , consulted the interests of the public of the colony by sending the best intelligence. that could be given. It was a great advantage to have in New Zealand a kind of phantasmagoria of what takes place in Europe each day. This would place before the .people of this colony such a degree of education as the mother country enjoys. For this he had to bear such persecution as had been witnessed in the House the other night. He would rather undergo all the abuse that had been heaped on him than maintain what he believed to be a wrong monopoly to this, country, and would enable one firm to be the sole purveyors of news. . . Mr McLean said he would not follow the Premier with his history of the postal system in England, but would speak to the question. He was glad the, Premier had acknowledged that he had taken, this matter out of the hands of the Telegraph. Commissioner, and that he was himself the auther of, what he (Mr McLean) would call an iniquity. He would show that the Premier had designed to establish a monopoly, and to gag the independent portion of the JPress of the -„ colony! :By his own admission, lie had. entered into a secret agreement to gag the independent Press of the colony. He would tell the Premier and his friends, whs had been haunting the Government offices for some time past that the Premier took the editor of the Otago i Daily Times about the colony with him in order that he might manufacture telegrams for that paper, that he might manufacture telegrams from Waikatb and about the triumphal arch at Taranaki, which had been afterwards proved to be untrue. This was the gentleman who had been haunting the back-stairs of the. Ministerial offices, and carrying on secret negotiations with the Government. He (Mr McLean) was told of this, and knew that something was wrong, and he went to the Telegraph Commissioner and got him to promise that no arrangement should' be entered into officially that all. newspapers could not share in alike, and yet an arrangement was.made with three* papers, and they stipulated that they should be allowed to take in .only such other papers as they liked. The plan was to throttle the Herald in Dunedin, and the Press in Christchurch. . After that secret arrangement the three papers sent one of their number to Sydney, in order to secure a monopoly of the cable wire, but he' bad not succeeded, and another of the parties

had asked a certain person " How much money will it take to ruin the Press Agency ?" Could anyone say that a Premier was not attempting a nefarious transaction. He was astonished that the Premier could stand up in his place in the House and acknowledge himself the author of such a scheme. Dr Hodgkinson called the Speaker's attention to the expression " nefarious," and desired to know whether the hon. gentleman was in order. The Speaker said it would be desirable that strong expressions should not be used. Mr McLean said he was merely using language which the Premier had taught him in frequent speeches made in the House. That was a favourite expression j of the Premier's. The latter had stated that when he came into office he found the Press Agency had a monopoly. Why did he not give the honest history of that? Why did he not tell the House that the Telegraph Department had agreed that these collect messages should be sent, and if there was any dispute as to payment then they would return to the system of pre-payment. He challenged the Premier to examine the records of the Telegraph Department, and find one instance in which he (Mr McLean) had entered into any transaction which would not bear the light of day, and that he had never made any such nefarious arrangement as that which the Premier had been guilty of. The Premier knew perfectly well that if all the newspapers applied for special wires the department had not the means at his disposal to do it —that it would take more than two cables to do the work. He (Mr McLean) was satisfied, from his knowledge of the Telegraph Department, that the Premier could not carry' out the engagement he had entered into; but New Zealand would have none of this proposed monopoly. The Premier had been detected redhanded in this nefarious transaction. He had endeavored to put him (Mr McLean) off from day to day, and if he had succeeded he would have sent the other papers, not included in .the transaction, to the wall. And yet many of those papers had treated the present Government more fairly than they deserved. The people of New Zealand would rise as one man to prevent this attempt to throttle the Press. The Premier had found the Press of the colony coming down on him, and he was afraid it would ruin his repute. In consequence of this, the Premier came and said he had been doing all this for the human race, and that it was a very ungrateful human race; would the Premier do for the evening journals, which were injured by this special wire arrangement? The House knew the Premier entertained 8 deadly hatred against one of the partners of the Press Agency. The Premier's own friend in Dunedin sent telegrams which were a disgrace to him; and now, when the Premier attempted to give him a monopoly of the wires, a few blind follower! of the Government, who were growing less every day, supported them in this nefarious transaction. But very few'people throughout tbe-colony would approve of the action of the Premier. It would be wise now, if the Premier were to withdraw from all these contracts, which he would not be in & position to fulfil. When the Premier found that his plan had been discovered, and that he was driven into a corner, and when he had delayed replying to the application of the Press Agency asking him to come to the same terms as had been granted to the three Government organs, he replied to the second letter in less than two hours after it was written. He (Mr McLean) found that very few members of the House approved of the Premier's conduct; not even those who were favorable to the Government believed the transaction was intended to benefit the whole human race.