SATURDAY, MARCH 11. 1899.

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Issue 42, 11 March 1899, Page 3

SATURDAY, MARCH 11. 1899.

On Saturday. February 28th. the Wauii dc Tmi-s contained a lo^il p'lrpoitin:; to comment on the application ot the Adv •<- Titkk ior a shard of the County Council's advertising. Piessure on our space prevented a reply last week. The Council went into committee on the subject, as a matter of course, but before doing so one of the members mado a remark which the Times' leporter has twisted to suit his own particular purpose. The member said (a question that might bettor have been asked about the Times) " Haa the paper much of a circulation in the d'stuct," and this is rendered by the t.nthful chronicler as " one member expressed a doubt as to its circulation." This is contrary to fact, and no one knows it so well as the -writer of the local. Another member is repoited to have said that he ne\er heaid of the paper. This lemark was not made. Is it likely that a paper which has been turning out 100 per cent, nioi'e copies than the Times for the past nine months should not even be heard of. We are reluctantly compelled to think that the Times' reporter has tried to woik oft a little jealousy and spite at the cost of his \er.ieit\. Our first thought was to treat the renrarks with contempt, but knowing that there are still some in the commuuity who believe all the\ sue •' in print," we think it better to Like notice, A pappi depends m.nnlv 0,1 <i,l\ertisements ioi its income, and when th^re are two papers iniiiiino the one with the largest en dilation gets, 01 should get, the profeience. On this giound we cannot allow oui cv dilation to be doubted when we know that we issue many more than the Tunes. Wo challenge that paper to publish it-, circulation on the date the local refeired to was published. "We will then publish ours and {ea,\e the figuies to speak tor fchemsehes. It does seem a pit\ that a papci should go out ot its way to attack another, and should show such a lamentable di&iegaid for tmth in so doing. While w e are about it, we might ask what good has the Tunes e\er done lor the town or district, except by existing as an advertising medium of a kind? Has it ever advocated any reforms, or in fact, been able to form and express an opinion on such ? Never to our knowledge, but if we are mistaken we uiav be corrected in the ne^S issue of the. Times. In any case a two line local will be sufficient space to devote to the list. The real duty of a paper, judging by the Times, is to get an unlimited number of adveitisements, the circulation of the paper being unknown to any ot the advertisers. Of course any opposition to a would-be monopoly must be strongly opposed, but we did not think that even the Times would have descended to the public and private backbiting that ltg proprietor has seen fit to indulge in,