CORRESPONDENCE

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10686, 5 August 1912, Page 5

CORRESPONDENCE

MR HE.BTVMA.N AND FREEDOM,? OF THE PRESS. (To. the Editor) ■ ' ' . Sir,— New Zealand lie so often accused of hnvii>2 a weakness for "experimental legislation" that i't conies ap a isurpropa to find that we still have in our House rf Representatives some "reTcs" '"if a bygfb? ago, who would, cf they could, crirtai-1 the fl-eedom of 'the press. - s It \<i well for society .tha.t the power of -such men is l;imfted, and that they are numerically few. if(\r t'hto rnia ri who would in&iii': 'on n ! gned articles in> the press wftulcl ilikbwifie demand the abolition <)J vote by 'ballot, and the return of open vofj-nig. The change would be a* -consistent in the one- crrae as in th? othclr, .and is as likely to happen. Th? acfcs of public men may be eaid to bo public property, and while as legislators they do theiir duty to the country, they have nothing .to fear from, ''iournal-'r.m, > or -otihorw'ise. It 'is -only when in their .importance they .imagine themselves aVve rebuke that they are likely to ■suffer, as did Lord Oielmefo.nl on. one -occasion, when in a speech at an af-ter-d:nner function, ho imputed amwertliv political n-otrver. to w.vr crtrTreDombntp. To tfbis Archibald Forces replied that he bad nothing whatever to do with pontics, liis duty was'to wrte r.f tilings a* he saw them ard to criticise when Yes. to fl-.iticiso even my Lord Chelmsford of n«ed .be. Even Mej«n.i Herdman, Hill and Co. will -linve critricism freely he-stowed oi"!r|':lip,m if t'hev deiserve it, and they may well Hive in w-liokisom* dread of the same. _ They «ecim to forget we are living iu the twent'eth c<\'iitn.ry. and that ouir 'fore-, suffered "ifine. imnrisonment and the p'llforv far their advocuov and deffnri-v cf the Freedom of the Pws. J*:s JBrito'i-. we re.vero t<he memories of tlv'->se- imon, from -MS-it'On- to' Oob--I>ett, for the legacy thov .bequeathed its. Wflwit Burns iso-id of reliorioup liberty m:w w.°Tl a.'oplv to political "Our father's Wood the kettle "bought. And who would di-ne ito .'h'H 'tHeavens the <.acre-Ti<riou:s d^?,, Skill fuel 'be to no'il it. s ', lam, etc.; FREEDOM.