EDITING A COMPANY'S NEWSPAPER.

Tuapeka Times, Volume VI, Issue 297, 9 October 1873, Page 7

EDITING A COMPANY'S NEWSPAPER.

(By Snyder, in the "Auckland Herald.') Two days since I was struck exceeding melancholy in feeling compelled to listen to a narrative touching the misfortunes of an old and esteemed friend. He is a newspaper editor. By nature he is jovial, and by nature a man who could adopt any policy required of him, but, as he told me in the course of oitir conversation he was not up to the mark in advocating a "no policy principle." " You see," he says, " the newspaper I am on belongs to a lot of shareholders, and everyone of them have his own particular views how a paper should be written. One lot don't approve of the Government being written down ; another don't believe in it being written up ; and a third lot wish to know what the deuce newspapers want meddling with the Government at all for. I'm not a bad hand at a newspaper, as youjtnow, but sometimes I feel that if my mother had^never brought me into the world I should have been a much happier

man ; or. if my father had made a shoemaker of me, I should have been a more useful member of society. " The cLjrk in the office who takes the advertisements for our paper, says he'll have to drop down to drinking or something worse to relieve the nipntal torture he is made to endure. One shareholder brings him an advertisement, and wants it done at half-price, and the advertisement must, of course, be placed at the top of a column, so that, the clerk says, without the columns can be made all tops, the advertising shareholders will refuse to pay any more calls. "Eeferring back to my own case. Before I begin to write an article, I have to go to the manager for a sal * ject, and he's about as much puzzled as lam what to do. The other day we had a long talk together as to what i should be the question to be discussed for the next article. He said he was quite sure he didn't know ; for if we praised the policy of the present Government, we should have nine-tenths of the customers highly indignant, and if we didn't praise it vp — well, we could guess the consequences — perhaps - a month's notice to move on. Then the manager rested his throbbing brow upon his bloodless hands, and thought intensely for thirty-five minutes, when his countenance became suddenly il- . luminated ; he sat erect in his seat and in joyous accents exclaimed, " ' I have it — write about the Khan of Khiva.' " " Poor fellow ; he had forgotthn for the moment that I had used up all that the geography books said about Khiva, and all that travellers had avid about the Khan." " ' Yes,' said he pathetically, ' I see that wont do ; can't you write abont some social or domestic subject — milk for instance 1 I know my penn'orth of' milk contains a considerable admixture of water. Go in about adulterations. It's popular, you know.' " " I said it struck me somewhat that we had lately been dealing on too many milk and water subjects. He admitted this at once, and suggested ' soap ' as a good subject, but I told him if the article was to be as soft as those which had gone before, I thought the public had quite as much, or perhaps a little more than they cared for." " The manager then placed his now burning brow upon his trembling palm for another thirty-five minutes, when he said, "'I think you should go in for a policy, which may be designated the 'evasive' — something for instance in the following style: — " We believe that the policy of the present Government has been dictated by wise considerations. There are, it is true, those who consider it the very reverse. It is seldom even the deepest thinkers view a question from both sides, knowing thai-, should they make the attempt, it might lead them into a labyrinth of conjectural fallacies, devoi<J s cT'aßfi'Gftesis, and alike unsatisfactory to those who think one way, as those who think another. To eri 1 ia human, to forgive divine.' That's something of the sort of thing. If it doesn't please all the shared holders, it will not displease them, because they won't know how to pick holes in it.'" , "Snvder, my dear fellow, you are out of doors, and abotit a good bit. Do look up something for me, 'in which I shall be able to get back ever so little of my long lost self-respect and independence. I don't care what it is, so long as it is not to edit a shareholders' newspaper. I don't mind driving a cab, or a watering-cart^ or running messages, or being check-taker at a theatre, or being messenger in a Government office at £50 per annum, where I have to touch my hn.t to all to whom I open the door. I wouldn't mind placing myself between two boards, announcing the fact of some draper ruining himself by selling off under cost price. Do, Snyder, there*B a good fellow, do look out for me," and I said I would.

One of thfe Dallam Tower passengers says :: — v The sailors came and conducted tbe ladies to the forecastle, where they did everything in their power to make all comfortable, turning out from their bunks, giving up their bedding and blankets, and lending us what dfy shirts they had with a hearty good-will, which none of us can ever forget. When I say that they lent us dry things, it mutt not be ■ supposed that any one of ua, ladies included were really dry for the the first four days. For three days there were sixtyof ua crowded together in this hovel ; nine or ten of us were obliged to sleep on the floor on some hay, which was soon wet through ; others could not even find room on the hay, and had to sit shivering all night. All the crockery being smashed, and all the knives and forks either broken or washed away, we had to take our meat, &c, in our hands, and to make our fingers and teeth serve for knives and forks. All this time we were begrimed with dirt, and had no opportunity of getting clean, as no water was allowed fop washing." Apropos of making the voyage to Melbourne via the Cape in 45 or 48 days, it may be as well to say that the Windsor Caßtle, belonging to Donald Currie and Co., on^ber lasfc trip, made i the run out from Dartmouth to Table Bay in 23 days. The run home vraa made in a little over 22 days.