THE HERALD ON MR BALANCE'S OPPONENTS.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume XXII, Issue 7112, 11 May 1880, Page 2

THE HERALD ON MR BALANCE'S OPPONENTS.

4 TO THE EDITOR OF THE WVI NGAHTJI CUUONICLE. Sip., — If there is cue thing a newspaper editor should foster, it i 3 the spirit of fair and impartial criticism. This is what is expected by every reader, of whatever shade his opinions may be, and it is what every reader should, aa far as practicable, insist upon, I had hoped that none of the display of animus to which the public has been treated in the Herald of the last two days would have been indulged in, and that Mr Balance's victory at his meeting had been sufficiently great to h-xve in", duced him to criticise only hU opponents' ojnnions, without adopting the bombastic style of referring to small personalities, as a means of silencing their arguments. Such personalities as the Herald contained last night and to-night stamp the writer as being of a very contemptible disposition—one ready to say all the disagreeable things possible of an opponent's personal appearance and hiatory, &c, if by so doing the reader's attention may be diverted from the real point under" consideration. I consider the references to the gentlemen who were invited on " Mr Bill men's platform '' (sic) to express their opinions, were in extremely bad taste— in fact, unpardonable. The Editor of the Herald is not the only individual who must merit ' the censure of those who take an indepen- ; dent stand. Mr Pharazyu's unwarrantable and unproved assertion that Mr ' Ballanco was directly responsible for the rowdyism which characterised the recep- ■ tion of the oppositionists, may indeed be ' palliated on account of theuugentlemanly ' way in which the " rowdies " treated him, ' but cannot be excused. Sir, in conclusion, ' I trust that the readers of each paper may ' express their disapproval of criticism of a 1 character which is too often ssen now-a-days, in a way at once convincing and deterrent. — I am, &c, M ay 8. John Bum. I An Indiana momber of the Legislature, searching for a boarding-house, and ( being told one meal a day was not r counted, engaped board at fiye hotels and c takes one meal at each. $