THE Wairarapa Mercury. MONDAY, JUNE 17, 1867. TOWN EDITION. THE PRINTING ESTABLISHMENT OF STAFFORD & CO.

Wairarapa Standard, Volume I, Issue 24, 17 June 1867, Page 2

THE Wairarapa Mercury. MONDAY, JUNE 17, 1867. TOWN EDITION. THE PRINTING ESTABLISHMENT OF STAFFORD & CO.

In common with the rest of our brother journalists we have received a circular from the new printing firm of E. W. Stafford & Co announcing that it is their intention to add to their already extensive printing and publishing establishment the business of Parliamentary Reporters.. In the language of their circular, “ they are making arrangements to engage a short-hand reporting staff, and have the reports printed of the debates in both houses of the General Assembly fi'om day to day at their printing office.” We can see no objection to their doing* this, provided they do it at their own risk and expense. Having commenced business as printers and publishers there is no rsason why they should not engage a reporting staff and publish daily reports of the debates. It appears to us that they are bound to do this, seeing that it is owing to their printingestablishment being in existence that no other printing firm can, without a subsidy, satisfactorily accomplish that object. Their proposal however, to print from day to day the debates of both Houses of the General Assembly is one thing, and the mode in which they propose to do it another.' On certain terms they propose to forward to each newspaper office in the colony printed slips of the speeches, including those delivered the preceding night. This appears to us a very silly, round-about, and expensive way of doing what might be done more wisely,expeditiously,andcheaply. Having a large printing office, and a short-hand reporting staff, why should they not publish a daily newspaper? Such a newspaper could be obtained by the various newspaper offices in the colony at a trifling cost compared with that which they propose to charge for-their printed slips, and, as it- would be purchased by a much larger number of persons, the gross would be much greater than they will be likely to be under their present proposal. Our proposal has also this great advantage to recommend it to the approval of the firm: —They can write their own comments, on their own speeches, in their own journal, instead of occupying ■ the editorial columns of other journals, as at present, for that purpose. They can bepraise themselves, and blacken their opponents without let or hindrance, and without, as at present, being forced to hide 1 their, light under a bushel. Major Richardson, in rhetorical periods, can

praise' Mr Richmond, Mr Richmond, in his classic style, eulogise Major Richardson, and both fall into raptures on the business qualifications of our incompable Treasurer, without any chance of detection. This consideration alone is sufficient to recommend it to their approval. It lias also this recommendation for the approval of the public. When some “ New Zealand Statesman ” accepts a non-political appointment, or a member of the Opposition secures a seat on the Treasury benches, his praises will be sung, not as at present in the editorial columns of our contemporaries, but in the more congenial columns'of the Government print, and will consequently be more likely than now to be estimated at their intrinsic worth.

If the Opposition should object to the firm printing a newspaper containing leading articles, seeing that it would be no advantage to them to have their speeches accurately reported in one column and mercilessly pulled to pieces in another, we have only to reply that there is no absolute necessity for the proposed daily newspaper to contain leading articles, and that if such necessity exists there is no reason why the firm should not go a step farther, and print one daily paper for the Government, and another for the Opposition. In England it often happens that newspapers ot a totally opposite character are issued from the same printing office. The “ Observer ” the Sunday newspaper under Her Majesty’s special patronage, was at one time issued from the same office as Bell’s ..Life,” the special organ of the “ Fancy.” This proposal has every advantage to recommend it. The colony will for the first time be supplied with two first-class metropolitan daily papers, and the colonists will for the first time have an opportunity of knowing- what their representatives have said and done, and of judging, under the most favorable conditions, the measures and policy of the Government and its opponents. When all these advantages can be secured at a much less nett cost than it will entail to carry out their present proposal we do not think that the firm can have any hesitation in taking our friendly suggestion into their favorable consideration. The person who makes the suggestion, though living in the Wairarapa, has been more or less connected with newspapers and newspaper offices since the year of the passing of the Reform Bill, when at least some of our present legislators were in their frocks and trowsers. He thinks therefore that on this ground alone it is at least worth considering. In common with most of our contemporaries we object to pay for mere slips, but we shall have no objection to subscribe to one or both daily papers. The public will not tolerate any more useless expenditure, and the daily papers will cost less to them than the daily slips which the firm propose to issue. Economy ought not always to obtrude itself in the face of a promising enterprize, but on the score of economy alone, the newspaper would be preferable to the slips. We do not expect that the Wellington newspapers will look favourably on our proposal, but when individual interests, stand in the way of the general interest the former must give way. The Government reporting staff and the Government newspaper are but the natural, legitimate, and necessary offspring, in a small place like Wellington, of a Government Printing office. Throw Government printing open to public competition, and no Government subsidy, reporting staff, or newspaper would bo required.