Wairarapa Daily Times. [ESTABLISHED 1878.] SATURDAY, MAY 19, 1894.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XV, Issue 4725, 19 May 1894, Page 2

Wairarapa Daily Times. [ESTABLISHED 1878.] SATURDAY, MAY 19, 1894.

iBECoNI) ButTION

BOYCOTTING THE PRESS, Ox Thursday last the Wellington Evening Post accused the Government of boycotting the press of New Zealand, and cited documentary i evidence in support of the charge. On Friday we looked with interest to the Ministerial organ, the New Zealand Tnms to find out what could be said on the other side, of the question but discovered not a word either to I disprove tho facts of the charge, or I the inference of corruption. This

silence on the, part of the New Zealand Times may be significant of either of two things. It may moan that Ministers are as ashamed of this boycott as they were of the other little boycott in the Parliamentary buildings, and may not defend their own actions, or it may mean that the honour of our Wellington morning contemporary will not'allow him at any cost to palliate an outrage on journalism, 6v excuse nn attempt made to gag the press of the Colony. The thing is so dirty, so pitiful, so contemptible, that ffc do not hesitate to say that there are men even in the Seddon Cabinet who will blush for it. As yet wo .<lo i)ot kiiow who the anthor of this boycott may be, though it is perhaps 1 only necessary to guess the 1 name of the most unscrupulous Minister'in power to hit the mark. Whoever to responsible for it is, in our. opinion, a fool.JSyeu Government papers will not thank. him fpr- giying them a monopoly of a few paltry advertisements, because if the new rule is to be carried out whenever a change of Ministry occurs they will have to tako their turn in the cold. It is not a spirit of economy that actuates a . Government which employs a small a'riuy of printers of the right colour in its-PpjJraildimjß and wastes tens of thohWd's of n'riuuulJy hi printing useless gazettes lind'retnvhs and in importing stocks nkl su'p'ei'|ous stationery; .fJie Government, ruts in opposition t^the 'minting offices of t.he .Golflny aiifl spaj.'Csiip e,* pun!* i'i'i so i Ifjiiift Mpney is no obje ; ct witli'flio Go, • yepwaent.' ".'Jjppk aj; the live thousand ; psswls iyjifpl/ iji J8 m iMmm ftww OR v)l§ Pfii'lianientaiy build; ■ jjr«jiattho' many during the ro<

spent on men of the right colour, | and too little cannot be spent on men' of the wrong colour. We can get i along ourselves without Govern-j ment patronage, arid •on this score i we have no grievance, but when we see Ministers knowingly and deliberately taking the money of the ' taxpayers of the colony for corrupt | purposes it is time for some protest to be made.