JOURNALS AND JOURNALISTS.

Tuapeka Times, Volume V, Issue 222, 2 May 1872, Page 4

JOURNALS AND JOURNALISTS.

Scotia's bard sang — " Oh, that some power the gift would gie us To see ourselves as others see us." If in his wisdom the Creator had bestowed that gift on the editor and proprietor of the " Brace Herald," the readers of that. journal would be spared the infliction of much senseless bombast and sickening self-landation from the pens of thost> gentlemen. Some time ago, the proprietor of the " Tuapeka Times " deemed the experiment of increasing its size worth trying. While making arrangements for that purpose, the proprietor of fches "Bruce Herald" purchased the plant of the " Standard," and announced, in "high falutin" terms, his iutention of also increasing the size of his journal. The week before the " Herald" succeeded in completing its arrangements, the '' Tuapeka Times" was issued in its enlarged form ; and this, which fairly took the wind out of the " Herald's " sails, appears to have aroused' the ire of the proprietor of that journal. His ire seems to have been intensified when ho found that the addition to this journal, although printed on a single sheet, contained, in consequence of its being printed in much smaller type, quite as much matter as he added to his newspaper. Besides which, the fact of our preferring not to announce the projected increase in the size of the - t% T.T." until it was actually effected caused it to be altogether unex peefced by the proprietor of the- " Herald." Hugging himself with the idea that he was going to do something unprecedented in the history of Otago journalism, and entering into a gigantic enterprise, which no other newspaper proprietor could attempt, the enlargement of the "Tuapeka Times" taking place, and. being treated as an ordinary affair, rather staggered. him, and inflicted a severe wound in liis amour propre. That such was the case is pretty evident from the article which appeared in the first issue of, the enlarged "Herald," which is certainly a curiosity in journalistic literature, and which displays more than his average imbecility on the part of the writer. The writer of that article deems it necessary, in announcing the increased size of the " Herald," to touch upon every conceivable subjeot under heaven, and to sing the praises of the proprietor of the journal, and the journal itself, in a style unspeakably nauseating, and to mutilate the English language in a more savage manner than he usually dt>es.

We have been induced to make these remarks in consequence of a letter which appeared in the '* Bruce Herald " of the 24th nit., signed "Paul Pry," which, from internal evidence, appears to have been written hy the" c editor of that journal — who, pat parentJiese, is a recent recruit to the ranks of journalism, and still in the awjeward squad, of which he bids fair to remain a permanent member. The letter conveys" the astonishing information to the public that the " Tuapeka Times" supplement is printed in Dunedin. Well, it is printed in Dunedin, and printed there for a very, good reason — because the work can be done cheaper there than in Lawrence. The fact of its being a reprint of the " Evening Star " does not affect its value. The " Witness n is a reprint of the ""Daily Tiroes ; " the " Hokitifca fceader "is a reprint of the " West Coast Times ; " ■ the Auektandl weekly papers are reprints ;of the dailies - % and in many large cities !in Australia, England,, and America the same thing is dqne. " Paul Pry " exhibits his profound ignorance «»f journal- , ism when he states that the printing of a portion, of a country newspaper in a metropolitan printing office is something new. Parts. of nearly all the country papers in England are printed in Lorir don ; and many country pnpers in Ame rica receive supplements printed in New "» ork, Chicago, and othp,r great cities One firm in London alone — C'assoll, Vctter f and Galpin— prints supplements to

150 different country newspapers. The place where a newspaper is printed matters little to the reader as long as its contents are readable and, valuable. We consider the supplement published by us a very good one, and worth more than two of the " Bruce Herald's " additional sheets for the value of the matter contained in it, and we are sure the public will coincide with us. The only objectionable features we see in it are quotations from the " Herald," which we shall take care will not be repeated. True, there were one or two mistakes in the first two or three issues of the supplement. They were almost impossible to avoid, from the peculiar circumstances of the case ; but we have now made arrangements which will prevent their repitition. As "Paul Pry" refers to the telegrams in our supplement, we leave it to our readers to say whether it is not more creditable to pay for them than steal them wholesale, as our contemporary does.

. We may state that the proprietor of the " Herald," although under the transparent disguise of " Paul Pry,'" exhibits such virtuous horror at our presuming to issue a reprint of the " Evening Star " as a supplement, was actually in treaty for the same thing, and did not get ib simply because he was out-general-led by the proprietor of this journal. Our readers will thus see the motives which dictated " Paul Pry's" effusion. We are nofc^ afraid to submit the respective, merits of the " Tuapeka Times » anfl the " Bruce Herald " to the test of public opinion. There is one thing which we would draw attention to, and that is thatarticles which appearin the " Tuapeka Times " are couched Jn intelligible language, and that its columns are free from those half-column wordjumbles which, because they commence with a' capital letter and end with a " full point," are dignified with the name of sentences, in which the literary agonies of the editor of the " Bruce Herald " are transerred to its readers. But we can easily account for the frightful literary miscarriages of the '* Herald." Its editor received his journalistic education as a-book-keeper in a newspaper office in Geelong, the name of which city is synonymous throughout the colonies for stagnation, and evidently he has not recovered from the catalepsy residence in that city created. Another thing we desire to point put, and that is that our readers do not rnn the risk of being attacked with Bannerman-cum-Gillies on the brain. An American editor once said of a brother of the quill that he was fit only to edit a handbill. If that editor had read the " Bruce Herald," he would not have given the editor of that journal credit for ability sufficient to enable him to accomplish that literary feat. We recommend the proprietor of the " Bruce Herald " to devote the profits of the extra c reflation his journal will obtain ou ac- | count of its increased size — if they amount to a sufficient sum — in purchasing^ set of school books, and to engage a schoolboy to teach his editor and himself how to. write English. It would be the best enterprise he ever undertook.