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Grey River Argus, Issue 625, 20 January 1870, Page 2

*' Without any motive of vanity," (?) to use hia own words, Mr Reeves has moved in the County Council, "That the Chairman be empowered to enter into an arrangement with the West Coast Times, or other paper, to publish full reports of the proceedings," which means that the journal mentioned is to be subsidised at the rate of ,£5O a month for the purpose of glorifying a few of our County Councillors, by seeing their eloquence folly reported. Mr Barif, that model of modesty, seconded the motioa "with a great amount of pleasure," because "the country required educating in what took place in the Council. The people in the outlying districts were almost wholly uninformed of what took place in the Council, and even in Hokitika very much ignorance existed on the subject !" Could vanity and absurdity go further ? or could any of our readers imagine the extreme modesty of the two gentlemen who are endeavoring to ediicate the people of Westland in their own peculiar views, at the cost to the already impoverished County Treasury of L5O per month ? It is wonderful that, under present circumstances, the majority of the Council listened for a moment to such an cilisiuxV prupoaal, fur even otippoaiug tho subsidy to be given, supposing our favored contemporary, instead of giving, as at present, a very fair report (we speak only as to length) of the proceedings, its columns were completely filled with the eloquence of the Councillors who are kot vain, by what means would it be circulated through Westland, so as to educate the people ? Do the Councillors imagine that the reporting of their eloquence will increase the circulation of the paper, or that, even though they paid for the gratuitous circulation of the paper, that one man in every thousand would take the trouble to read it ? or that but we will not hurt the vanity of Messrs Reeves and Barff by continuing. Howevei*, we may caution our contemporary against accepting the subsidy, as the inevitable consequence will be that his subscribers will in a body "stop their paper." The question was referred to the Printing Committee, where we hope the good sense of the members will allow it to remain.