GOVERNMENT ADVERTISEMENTS.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLI, Issue 9625, 27 September 1911, Page 5

GOVERNMENT ADVERTISEMENTS.

A YEAR'S BIG BILL, PUBLIC FUNDS FOR PARTY PURPOSES: Q3y Telegraph.) (By Our Parliamentary Reforter.) ' WELLINGTON, Sept 25 The total amount expended by tno Government during the last financial year, on advertisements in newspapers ojf tlio Lominionj was £10,495 lis 3d, This amount includes £l4O 10s for advertisements in sundry casual publications. Tlio number of newspapers to which Governments advertisements were given was 176. When the return giving this information was presented to the House of Representatives this afternoon, tho Leader of (he Opposition (Mr W. P. Massey) compared the expenditure on advertisements in newspapers supporting the two political parties. Dealing with tho two Dannevirke papers, he said first that the Advocate had received £65 18s Id while the Evening News, which took tho Opposition side politics, received only lCs lOd. Tho Prime Minister: Oh, let us get on with tho business. • _ Mr Massey remarked that plainly Hie Evening fs'ews had been for criticising tho Government. In Weilingtion the New Zealand Times had recei.-ed £575 12s for Government advertising. He thought that the New Zealand Times supported the Government. Members: No! Mr Massey: I think it is practically owned by members of tho GovernmentI don't think it will be disputed that members of tlio Government aro largo shareholders in tho New Zealand Times. Sir Joseph Ward: Wo have a perfect right to be shareholders in it. Mr Massey added that tho Evening Pust last year, received £596,. probably because it-criticised the Government occasionally. The Dominion received only £9 for Gf vernment advertisements. In Oamaru the Mail, which supported tho Government, and was owned by a prominent'politician, got £llO 17s 9d. The other Oamaru paper received in tho same period only 30s. Mr Mapoy ladded that personally he had not a copper of financial interest in any of tho papers ho had named. He referred to tliem singly as an indication of how tho Government expended the money for which they were The principle involved was whether public money should bo expended for party purposes Mr Jennings (Taumarunui) suggested that advertisements in a Government publication 1 might replaco advertisements in newspapers. The Prime Minister replied that tin-re were 83 newspapers which were not on the Government, list for advertisements,. A majority of them supported the Government. Since July, 1908, not a single paper had been added to the list, for tho amount spent annually was as much as tho country was entitled to devote to the purpose. Tho North Ot-ago Times had not been put upon tho list becauso it had a small circulation. Tho Dannevirke News lu.d tried to force itself upon tho country in tho interest of ono man, but it wa9 upon papers of this kind that the Leader of tl.o Opposition asked for a larger expenditure. If tho Government treated a Government paper similarly situated in tho way suggested by Mr Massey it would be charged with Tammanyisni of tho worst kind. In Wellington the Post supported llio leading freeholders of tho Opposition, jot Mr Massey had 'tho audacity to say tnat it was a Government paper. Mr Massey: No; it is Independent. Sir Joseph Ward declined to spend another £SOO or £6OO in support of Mr Massey in his political candidature. In Auckland the Opposition papers received more than the Government papers, and in Dunedin the Opposition papers recoi'cd much tlio larger sum. Tho Government did what was fair between Government and Opposition papers. If ho agreed !■> what was now asked the amount spent on advertising would be doubled or trebled. Tlio Government would not_ do this I<;r either Government or Opposition members.