The Bruce Herald. "Nemo me impune lacesset". TOKOMAIRIRO, JANUARY 14, 1879.

Bruce Herald, Volume XI, Issue 1078, 14 January 1879, Page 4

The Bruce Herald. "Nemo me impune lacesset". TOKOMAIRIRO, JANUARY 14, 1879.

What may be termed an eruption telegraphy has broken out on the surf, of large morning papers throughout •■'-'/ Colony. This has arisen from the acti of tlie Government organs in whose fai a special wire was secretly granted, aon whose behalf some wonderful telegrai association was started that was to kno everything and everybody on -he head the way of supph ing news. By the wa is may be mentioned that this associate included this paper amongst its su scribers, and on the 2nd of this mon; started sendiug us masses of useless telgrams which we incontinently reject. As it seemed to us that the only adva ; tage to be gained by country papers joi: ing the association was to obtain tl privilege of helping to pay for a speci-, wire which they could nob possibly u_; we declined having anything to do wit; the matter, even though by this cours we put ourseLes in tbe unfortunate posi tion of being outside the Governmen literary ring, for whom so much is don', by the Ministry. As the Pi ess A gene; had served us for some time back effi ciently and economically, we did not se; why we should make any change, anc theiefjre we declined to do so. However, it was not with the intention of enlarging upon these matters thit we commencec the presont article. Our object was tc point to the patience wi h which certain newspapers now bear a spavin of inflictions, with tbe smallest of whicli they were intensely dissatisfied Dot :ong ago. Whilst tlie Press Agency supplied the majority ot telegrai hie correspondence to N^w Zea. buid newspapers, the' Otago Daily limes,' were instant, in season and < ut of seas ,n, in condemning them if they forwarded an item of news ii ac was not of enorm us importance. Yet, now ihat those papers have taken upon themselves the ta.->k of ,su|.p ! yiiig tehgr-pliic iiiformaiion to ull and sundry, ti>ey have :lii-ii* columns til ed morning aft(-r morning with a mass of telegraph c verbiage in -which the small' At possible amount of news is conveyed in thegreatest quantity of words that can be conceived. And not ouly thi.°, but so lovingly do these papers take to their task, that in respect to some items of news, they follow the ni inner of a gouimihd with a titbit, and roll it over by frequent repetitions in order that its flavor may be fully appreciated. This occurs in numerous cases every day ; and whilst in one line we are informed that Mr Snooks, of Wanganui, bought a new hatchet • we find, after a few paragraphs occupied with the intelligence that some one has presented a l.thograph of the Lord's Last Supper to he Washdyke Athesenum, or that the people of Stewart's Inland have confidence in the Government the circumstance of Mr Skooks' hatchet com up again with all the vigor of freshness, and the statement that he has bought one, is not only repeated, but we are informed that he made a nick in a pos f with it. Then we sre carried away fora time iuto what may be called a wide field of specu'ation, and after hearing about a man being tried for stealing a coat, and a policeman having lost a button, up comes Mr Snooks' hatchet again, with the additional information that the post he cut into was a totara one. Seriously speaking, the papers that have recently exhibited this telegraphic di-ease must have a deal of ignorance combined with their accustomed impudence. Not long since they were unspairing critics of the Press Agency. Now, in their own capacities, they publish every day, quantities of ill-edited, badly selected, worse compiled, and wretchedly uninteresting telegraphic news, aud never take heed of tho insults they thereby offer their constituents.

Surely in the matter of what is known by the Government as •'■ charitable aid," the County of Bruce and Borough of Milton are rather overburdened. Between Ye two they are compelled to contribute outof their revenues some six ov seven hundred pounds a-year, to the Dunedin Hospital. At least, that is about the sum deducted from the General Government subsidies. Now, ti.e Dunedin H<s;iifcil may he a most valuable institution, though as regards this, we conf-ss we h.ve ai* doubts ; but. the question for the people of tbis borough and district, to consider is, whether Vey get an adequate return from the Dunedin Hospital for the large sum th y are compelled to contiibute towards its support. This is not an uncharitable view of the question, and our readers are not asked to view it in an uncharitable light The district, so far as private contributions towards any charitable objects go, can compare favorably with any district in the Colony ; bufc when under law we are compelled to pay an undue proportion towards tbe main* tenance of any public charitable in "it>v> ; tiDn, it is time we protested. There'

seems to be but one remedy open to us, however, under law, and of that we would recommend the .speedy adoption. A hospital necess-iy for all our wants could be carried ou in Milton, for much less money than that which we aie compelled to contribute to Dunedin, and such hospital ought to be founded as soon as possib'e. T here wou d bethecoHtof asmall building, and the retention of a dspeneer and matron, the local medical men being available for advic«, nnd we are sure only too ready to act iv honoraiy capacities. As the Dunedin hospital isi 1-bud-,ill-man-aged, and ill situat'-d, theiv would be- an improved state of things, so far a* enn cerni-d patients in the County of Bvuce or Borough of Milton, and this would be most desirable.