The Press and the Traffic.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3731, 9 February 1891, Page 2

The Press and the Traffic.

The brewery interest-include? npany wealthy shareholders, who are also connected with eur banking institu* tions. Where these same capitalists '■> are not directly behind a newspaper 1 their friends are ; thus brewery, bank and newspaper, bound together l by the golden thread of self interest, | fight -with their newspaper—for it! whose interests. Tho massea.of course» I For centuries the masses havo been ij regarded as tho logitimuto prey of the ? capitalist and monopolist. Their -./ v weaknesses a .id vices have, boon pandered to by the avarice of monoy J seeking men. More fortunes have j been won from pandering to man's !j degradation than have ever fallen to •' the lot of honest toilers- atyj whilst j millions of worthy oil from tho cradle until tney fall 1 nto the grave with poverty scarcely over more than twenty four hours ahead of theui, the men who neither toil or spin, but who cater to our common weaknesses, wax exceeding rich, arc exalted in tho Councils of tho nations and the liijuor traffic lius giren birth t-o my Lords Guinness and Allppp— Britain's hereditary peers created by tho liquor traffic, and honors heaped upon them for service rendered I The liquor trafiic tho world over has a firm grip of tho newspaper press. We recall the very instructive remarks of Mr W. P. Rceveff, uttored during tho recent election campaign, when he challenged eithSS? of the Christchurch dailies to ad" vocato Prohibition. He did not enlarge upon the challenge, but his words were chock full of meaning. We know, with Mr Reeves, that the influence of tho liquor interest is an " insuperable barrier to the advocacy by the daily press of Prohibition, even if the salvation of the people depended up their support. Under v these circumstances, and in view of these facts, we trust to the intuitioas ot the people to measure the woith of opinionsoxpressedjjj—