The Wairarapa Daily. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17, 1885. PRESS PRIVILEGES.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume VII, Issue 2122, 17 October 1885, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17, 1885. PRESS PRIVILEGES.

There are several points in the relations between the local bodies in the Wairirapa and the Press which we think will be none the worse for being considered by both sides, We have nerer seen a place in which there was more unwillingness to supply information that comes within the meaning of

the term legitimate news. The officer? are in all casea perfectly willing to afford news to the public through tho channels of the Press, but they are in many instances prevented from doing so. In Wellington, the reports' that are to be presented at tho meetings of the City Council are, whenever it is deemed that it ciin be done without inquiry, published in the local papers, and some of them are actually written ont and sent to the different offices, together with a notice of the day and hour of meeting. The report of, the Public Works Committee, for instance, invariably appears in print a day or two before the meeting of the Council. In Masterton the reports coming before any of the local bodies are as invariably kept private till the meeting takes place. We think that the question might fairly be considered, with the view ot conceding a point or two to the Press. These reports would suffer nothing by appearing in print, and the members concerned in it would be better able to grasp it by perusing it 111 their newspaper, than by simply hearing it read by their Secretary, There are, of course, occasions where untimely publicity might do a great deal of injury. In such cases it would, be only right and proper that the interests concerned are protected. A practice has also grown up amongst local bodies to go into Committee of the whole whenever it is desired to exclude reporters, and an impression prevails that this course is perfectly legal, We think we can show that this is an error. We have only to look to the Parliamentary practice for a precedent. When the House of Representatives goes into Committee of the whole, the reporters do not leave their places, but continue to take notes of whatever strikes them as worth reporting. It is only on very rare occasions that the Press and the public are excluded. We do not think that such a thing has occurred since the seat of Government has been at Wellington. If the business of the country can be conducted in such an open manner, we think that local bodies need have little fear that their affairs will be injured. As a rule a reporter is not so news-hungry as to do injury, and besides that, he knows that by offending those on whom he depends for a good deal of news, he injures himself more than anybody elea, We commend the siijects we have touched upon to the members of local bodies, and trust that tjjey will readily fall in with ouf views, end grani the privileges we ask for,