Truth THE CABLE LIAR.

NZ Truth, Issue 79, 22 December 1906, Page 4

Truth

THE CABLE LIAR.

Published Every Saturday morning AT LUKE'S LANE (OFF MANNERSSTREET), WELLINGTON, N.Z. SUBSCRIPTION (IN ADVANCE), 13S. PER ANNUM.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1906

SYDNEY " SUNDAY TIMES " BADLY HOAXED. i ■ The Sydney "Sunday Times" has had its wobbly, gouty, old leg badly pulled by some joker or drunken fool and liar, who on Saturday night, December 8, cabled from Auckland a statement that was published by the "Sabbath Mary, Ann" the following mornine, with due attention to sensationalism Find "exclusive informationism" m the following shape :— 'earthquake m jew , -ZEALAND..- •- LOWER HALF OF NORTH ISLAND AFFECTED. Severe Shock Lasting Half a Minute. . Alarmed People Rush into the Streets. AUCKLAND, Saturday Night. The North Island of New Zealand 'has been visited by another severe shock of earthquake, which affected about half of it. The, 'quake occurred at d.1.30 this morning, and Wellington, Wanganui, Napier, Palmers ton North, and Eketahuna are among the places report'in?!; effects. - In some towns wild alarm prevailed, and th' 3 people rushed from the swavine; houses, where chimneys were fallinc and crockery beinc smashed, 1 into the streets, and remained there for some time. . - The 'shock was general m the districts mentioned, and all report it as heavy. It lasted half a minute. The "Sabbath crimes" may or may not have an Auckland correspondent, but m view of the gross, assinine and malicious nature o£ the damnable lies contained m that cable it would appear as if it had ]jeen sent by either -an enemy of ' New. Zealand, who was willing <to make a laughing-stock . of the paper to gratify his malice ; an enemy of tjie "kitchen chronicle" itself, or a connection of the paper, visiting this country, having a high old rallykaboo, and thinking -foe Was making a scoop by grossly magnifying a little incident. Our pale pink contemporary can take its choice of the suggestions offered. No regular correspondent of a/ newspaper— unless he was getting the bullet and was on a wild hilarious drunk— would descend to such an atrocity as the despatch of, such a cable to the paper the honor of which he was responsible for. Of this the proprietary of the Sydney Sunday journal may be sure, so they should be able to pick on the delinquent pretty easily. ■■• • • To those who are aware of the attitude of the paper m question and its two offshoots, the "Referee" and the "Arrow," on the subject of earthquakes m New Zealand, and towards New Zealand m general, little surprise will be felt at this latest outrage on this colony's fair fame and upoh the ethics of honorable journalism. Scarcely an issue of any of the three* papers named comes out without some dirty slur upon this country, its politics, its people, or its nature arid suitability for human habitation. "The Earth-quake Islands," "Quabeville," "the shaky country," "the land of sulphur and' thin crust" are some of a number of equally idiotic titles bestowed upon New Zealand by these three desolate rags ; and outsiders reading such libels on the loveliest and most blessed country on earth, a country free from all natural pests— except those the villainy of selfish people have imported, such as mongoose, stoats and weazels, for the bringing m of which the perpetrators ought to frizzle for eternity m the hottest corner of Hades— such as so heavily handicap Australia, would naturally thinK that the people of New Zealand went about continually m fear of falling through the crust of the earth and that such a seismically disturbed country was a good one to keep out of. This suggests a still further possibility as to the source of that infamous cable. Maybe it was sent by an indienant New Zealander to avenge his libelled country and m the ho}>e of curing the "Grimes" of its brainless, imbecile methods of slander, by giving it such n, dose of New Zealand earthquake as would sicken it of the very sound of the word, for all time. It should hav\* that effect, too, if the paper has any sense of decency or shame ; for the outrageous lie has /been nailed by e'verv respectable paner m Australia, and Die "Kiifhenrnaki's Companion" has been held up to the ridicule ..and i contempt- of every right-min-lad 'per-

son m the Commonwealth. It is pleasing to note that Mr Montgomery, New -Zealand Government Agent, m Sydney, promptly advised the Sydney dailies of the fact : "That the report circulated that the North Island of New Zealand had been visited on, Saturday last by a severe earthquake has been grossly exaggerated. The earth tremor was hardly felt, and there were no panic-stricken people, falling chimneys, and swaying houses." As a matter of fact not one person m twenty m this city felt any vibration or were aware of any "earthquake," till fold of it afterwards hy more sensitive friends. Of the whole staff of this paper, at work quietly m a building susceptible to the slightest tremor, not one was aware of any vibration. And then to have some drunken or wicked, or imbecile ass m Auckland cable such a damaginp\ foul, baseless lie as the above to Australia ! It is monstrous and a disgrace to the perpetrator and the paper that allowed itself to be so softly hoaxed. It should never be safe to say "earthquake" m the hearim? of the editor of the "Sunday I Times"— himself a New Zealander, Ibv the way— after this miserable [atrocity. ... -