THE NEW ZEALAND PRESS.

Wairarapa Standard, Volume I, Issue 33, 19 August 1867, Page 2

THE NEW ZEALAND PRESS.

Referring to the present status' of the' Press of New, Zealand Mr. Stafford recently made some remarks which, though to a great extent true and easily to he accounted lor, were the reverse of complimentary. He expressed his regret that the, press of the colony did not' occupy the position it ought to do; he’ said that he did not think that at any former period he had know the press to have less influence than it had now; and he added that he would he very glad to see a different state of affairs As regards the position of the press of the colony there can be no question that Mr. Stafford is right, and we believe that, the position it occupies is owing in part to unavoidable circumstances, and in part to the hostile attitude assumed in relation to it by Mr. Stafford himself. Unlike Victoria, New South Wales, or South Australia, there is no metropolitan town in New Zealand occupying the position of Melbourne, Sydney, or Adelaide. Wellington, with regard to its press, would have occupied this position had it not been for the establishment of a Government Printing Office, and the imposition of a postage tax on newspapers., The trade and population of the seat of government axe not sufficiently extensive to justify any one in attempting to establish a first-class daily, or even a first-class weekly newspaper. If the printing required by thegovernment had been thrown open .to public competition that of itself would Lave counterbalanced any disadvantages Wellington labors under owing to its limited trade and population. It would* not however have been sufficient to cause tho successful establishment of a really metropolitan journal. A great deal hasbeen said about the necessity of steam communication, railways, and electrictelegraphs, to render New Zealand one united colony. A really metropolitan press would do more to secure this-des-ideratum than the whole three together, and would do it in one hundredth part the time, and at one hundreth part the cost. A metropolitan press—a press which would have a general circulation throughout New Zealand —could not have been established at Auckland under any circumstances, because it was too far removed from the centre, and because its inhabitants had really less community of ideas, interests, and feelings with those held by the settlers in other parts of New Zealand than exists between the inhabitants of Victoria, or Queensland, and those of New South Wales. With Wellington it would bo very different, if newspapers had been allowed to go free by post, hut Mr Stafford by virtually prohibiting the circulation of newspapers through the post office has been the means not only of preventing tho formation of that public opinion he professes to desire, hut of elevating the press of the colony from the low position it at present occupies.

With regard to the present compared with the past influence possessed by the press of the colony we have no doubt Mr Stafford is right. It does not possess the influence it had formerly because public opinion was more united—less conflicting—then than now. There was formerly as far as public opinion went, only two colonies in New Zealand, viz., the settlement at Auckland, and the settlements founded by the New Zealand Company. The press of both divisions of the colon)", then called New Ulster and New Munster in official documents but nowhere else, was unanimous in its condemnation of Sir Georg-e Grey; that of New Ulster because he opposed the monstrous claims of the purchasers of Native tands; that of New Munster because he was opposed to the granting

of Representative Institutions. It was the common object of the press of both Provinces to write Sir George Grey clown, ami to unite in demanding a Representative Government for New Zealand. This unanimity of opinion gave necesarily an influence to the press the like of which it has never since posssesed. With Representative Institutions we had six provinces instead of two, and each Province began to think that its interests were antagonistic and not in harmony with those of its neighbors. Wellington, Nelson, - Otago, and Canterbury, which had been heretofore united, began to discover that they had separate interests to promote, and separate views to maintain, tinder the Constitution Act the interests of Wellington and Auckland were really more identical than those of Wellington and Nelson, or those of Nelson and Otago, but the Seat of Government question prevented the recognition of the met, and the Auckland journals and representatives sacrificed to spite Wellington the interests of the North Island, while in the Middle Island Canterbury because jealous of Otago, and the other Southern Provinces afraid of both. Had the removal of the Seat of a.——.out been affected at the time the Constitution Act was operation these evils would have been avoided; as this was not done that unity of opinion which had previously given such an influence to the press of the colony was effectually destroyed, and the result is that there is scarcely two journals in thejcolony, that pull together. The abolition of the postage tax on newspapers, now the Seat of Government has been removed to a central position, would render the creation of a common opinion possible and restore to the press of the colony the influence it formerly exercised There is a marked improvement in the tone and character of the press of the colony now over that which formerly prevailed, and if its influence is less it can only be to the operation of some such causes as those above referred to.