PROGRESS OF THE PRESS.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16216, 20 May 1918, Page 9

PROGRESS OF THE PRESS.

ml ,ddre<s on the "Prosress \W > 3 p r U" was given r>y the I of \r H * ILC " Ut ? ' Hon-. " • f l ' Vorkcrs' Educational mectiflS 0 c '''raacs Kali, on i ;hen the Rev. L. G. S£ul over a largo at- ; ' cal side/ P wag ablc t0 collect in,vhich th evcr v quarter of the fromat" 011 W ith which that S lobe ' i «u?d be placed in the information co tho same b33d said that the pr°S"*® more wonderful than made had WW* Vs w thc leS3 material any f^ ' flues tion, the work ol the aspect of the tiona i f o rco especiV f ■ I'rcis Qt vi<JW of koeping ally | ro ®-i standard of literary oxcelup the high moral agency, having lonc -' Mart the uplifting of humanfor 'l 9 o +houeht he could safely say ity, h 9; JS progress in that direethere , thouEh there had been some (lion also. ebb in tho limitatl + M« of Process. Mr Triggs risingtide o ? ° history of dealt briefly with l^ ting ' back to the 'seventeenth century, dig the London "Times' 311(1 sooke of the wonderful 33 an eX 3'dK the last century progr ln the way of newspaper orgamsa- °- rS °and maSery, which enabled the „ nenwer iffico to pour forth m Niaeara of copies containing a regular Ni ga i atcs t happenings Kfd, S tho time .J----ilpd the pnee of the newspaper to be £ J to what it was to-day. Incidentally, the speaker gavo an interesting 2SSS of the linotype machine, and Scanner in which it had revolutionised the modern Press. ' As to the progress, if any, made By the Press from the point of yiew ox literary style, Mr Triggs said that fi when one thought of Addison and cfpgie writing for the Spectator, -P r " JM Johnson for "The Rambler," and Haz!sL iettand Charles Lamb as contributor 'wP to newspapers in the latter half of the eighteenth century, one_ must admit I that there were giants in those days. When looking back over the earlier files of some of the New Zealand newsV t papers, the speaker was filled with ad- \! ' miration at the literary finish which A characterised some of the articles wntI ten in those days, coupled with s°meV thing like despair of ever being able to cinnfate tho example set by such predecessors. For instance, Samuel But--Jer author of "Erewhon," was at one time on the staff of "The Press," and the germ of his immortal work was contained in a couple of articles to that paper. James Edward Fitzgerald was another whose writings graced the columns of the same journal, while the "Lyttclton Times" commanded the services of such men as Crosbie Ward and Sir Charles Bowen, afterwards a frequent contributor to "Tho Press. The "Nelson Colonist" had as contributors Alfred Domett, the friend of Browning, Mr Justice Richmond, and Dr. Giles, whose writings afterwards were an attractive feature of the "New Zealand Herald." The' leading articles during the editorship of Air Thomas I during tto editorship of Mr Thomas I Denniston, father of Sir John Dennisfi ton, were models of pure, clear, Jm and vigorous English. On the whole, fA some of tho journalism of the last century attained a point of literary excellence which had never been surpassed, ret the general level of the writing in the British Press to-day was as high as it had ever been, if not higher. I Mr Triggs went on to deal with the i y ■ functions of a newspaper—tho recording J of news and the "making" of newspointing out that the enterprise of newspapers m causing things to happen instead of waiting to record them after they had happened —for example, the commissioning of Stanley by the "New York Herald" to go to Central Africa to find Livingstone—resulted in tho malting very often not only of news, but of history. In more recent times, news- ] paper enterprise had taken the shape of competition _ for obtaining news of ' various expeditions rathor than organising the expeditions themselves, a notable examplo being tho arrangement made by the Central News Agency for the exclusive newspaper rights of the story of Captain Scott's expedition. The tragic end of that glorious enterpriso naturally increased its value very much from a journalistic point of view, and tho manager of the agency was able to hand over to Captain Scott's repre- / sentatives close on £5000 for tho right I if first publication of tho details of the j i heroic adventure. Then, again, the work of tho Press had sometimes taken •' the form of the unearthing of great crimes by newspapers, of which the speaker gave several illustrations, j f In conclusion, Mr Triggs said that it y would not be becoming for him to say I very much concerning the Press of New Zealand. However, nothing had more impressed distinguished journalists who »me out to" New Zealand with our present King and Queen than tho number and excellence of the Now Zealand newspapers, and this was a point to which they had borne emphatic testimony on their return to England. The i jpeaker himself, though trained as a journalist in England, was very proud of the New Zealand Press. It was emphatically a clean Press. Tho reports

of unsavoury matters were more carefully sub-edited in the leading land newspapers than m the I-ondon "Times'' itself. Needless to sny, the task of conducting a journal ot influence at a time like thespresentwas one of vcrv n-roat responsibility. \\ hat th«. Germans thought of the power 0 f the Press was shown by tho millions o. pounds they had spent on propaganda work in belligerent as well as neutial countries —a branch of war actnity in which we Tverc only .just wpaning to bestir ourselves. There had been exceptions, but tho speaker believed that on tho -whole the Press ot Great Britain had played a worthy and important part in sustaining tho national spirit and strengthening the nation s» will to conquer. The Press of New Zealand had endeavoured to discharge its manifest duty in the same direction. Tho task of the New Zealand newspapers, however, had been comparatively easy, because in no other part of the British Empire could there be found a people more loyal, more patriotic, and more anxious to do their duty in this great crisis than tho people of New Zealand. Our children and our children s children would have reason to be proud or tlie part played by this great little country in the greatest -war of all time. It must be left to the impartial historian to say what part the of the Dominion might have played in helping to keep alive the national spirit which had already accomplished 60 much. At the conclusion of his address, air Triggs was accorded a very hearty vote of thanks, on the motion of Mr E. J. . Howard.