THE PRESS AND THE EXECUTIVE.

Otago Witness, Issue 554, 12 July 1862, Page 3

THE PRESS AND THE EXECUTIVE.

(From the Daily Times, July 8.) A. short while back it became necessary for us to draw attention to the peculiar mode of action adopted by the present Provincial Executive. In the course of our remarks, we animadverted rather severely upon some of the members, and commented on the discredit into which the province Avas being brought by the stamp of men who were temporarily charged with the administration of its government. The objects of our criticism were not long in giving us a taste of the only retaliation, that, placing themselves in similar circumstances, would have had any effect on them. As for the sake of the sweets of office they are prepared to endure any amount of odium and, indeed, arcs willing to quietly sit down under aspersions made by an influential organ of a neighboring province that something more than exclude them from any consideration of delicacy, so their only idea of retaliation was a monetary one. If they could aftect our interests pecuniarily their revenge would be gratified . Accordingly, an advertisement was sent to us asking for tenders for advertising the Government advertisements. No name was attached to the advertisement, nor was any date indicated up to which tenders would be received. A gentleman from this office called upon the members of the Executive after first furnishing himself with the memorandum of specification. The details of tho specification should be mentioned. Tenders were asked for quarters of inches, whereas our scale provides for nothing less than half an inch. It was also stated that advertisements would in iuture be inserted in one of the daily and one of the weekly-news-papers. In the interview to which we refer, and which was between our representative on the one hand, and the Deputy-Superintendent and Provincial (Secretary on the other, we took exception both to the principle and terms of the tenders asiced for. In regard to the first we pointed out the evidently hostile nature of the step taken. Tiie tenders were called for before a second daily paper had actually been published, and in anticipation only of its issue. Again it was out of all character that an established pjiper with a large circulation should be placed in competition with one only just launched. In reply to this, Mr. Dick stated — "Oh! the paper which /if/4 the Government advertisements will soon increase its circulation." We beg particular attention to this remark, as it will explain the subseqaent course pursued by the Executive. We further represented to the Government, that publicity wis what was required for advertisements, and that when a, selection w.is made, the journal with the largest circulation invariably got the preference. That in the present case there being only two daily papers, it seemed quite fitting that advertisements should be given to both papers, but if one had to he chosen — the journal that had the largest circulation, without reference to whether it supported the Government or not, should be selected. The nature of the tender required also necessitated a departure from our usual mode of charges. This we declined to accede to, in fact we refused to submit the conditions of advertising to the Government, and so invalidating the independence of the paper. A short while after the interview described, a notice was sent to the paper withdrawing the advertisement calling for tenders, and we heard nothing more of the matter until Saturday. On that day wo had occasion to refer, in our leading columns, to the miserable cheebe-paring economy adopted by the Executive. Our remarks had not been many hours in print before we received evidence of their distasteful nature in the following advertisement forwarded to us for insertion. On principle we have refused to insert it as an advertisement, but to show that pecuniarily we are utterly indifferent to it, we novr give it publicity in our leading columns :: — •

Provincial Government advertisements - On and after Wednesday, the 6th day of August, 1862, all advertisements will appear in the Provincial Government Gazette, which is published at ten o'clock every Wednesday. An abstract of such advertisements only will appear in the newspapers, as follows : —On Thursday, in the Times and Colonist daily papers ; on Fridays in the Weekly Colonist ; and on Saturday in the Weekly Witness. A copy of each Gazette will be forwarded for reference to each of the police stations in the Province, and also to the Taieri j and Clutha Ferries. Parties wishing to subscribe to the Gazette by the year or quarter will please forward their names and 'addresses to the Superintendent's Office, Dunedin. Terms, 10s. 6'd. per quarter, to be paid to the Provincial Treasurer in advance. — By Order, Thomas Dick, Provincial Secretary. Before commenting on this precious document, it will be as well to relate the subsequent course wo pursued. A meeting of newspaper proprietors was held on Saturday, and adjourned to Monday, to consider what steps should be taken to check such an attempt to iuterfere with the interest of the proprietaries . The course detailed by the following letter was decided on, a copy of which was forwarded to the Executive :—: — June 7, 1862. ' The Provincial Secretary. Sik,— A meeting of the proprietors of the following papers, viz., the Daily Times, WeeJtly Wit7iess, and Daily and Weehly Colonist, was held <m Saturday, and subsequently on Monday, at which it was determined that the conduct of the Government in selecting special day 3 for advertising, and advertising skeleton notices referring' for fuller notices to a periodical published by tho Government itself, is such a direct interference with the interests of the newspapers, and such an unwarrantable attempt to obtain aa advantage at their expense, that the propretors aforesaid determined not to countenauce it. Commercially it will exercise an injurious influence on the daily papers in directing attention to particular issues, and so leading to the inference that these issues have larger circulation than. ordinary ones. The effeeb also,, with all the papers, will be to puff a. publication issued by tho Government which, it seems they desire to circulate afc a profit. If the Government choo3e to enter tho publishjng field in this way they must not expect assistant from other pub. U»hers> ■ r

The determination arrived at, therefore, is that if the Government persist in advertising as detailed in the notice under question, a charge of one pound per line for each insertion will be made.

The advertisement referred to, the proprietors decline to iusert.

The signatures of the proprietors followed. As we have said pecuniarily it was indifferent to us wlcther we inserted the advertisement or not. The public would not be satisfied with advertising in tho Government Gazette, and the attempt to obtain for it a general circulation would have been sure to fail. We were actuated by much the same motives as induced Dr. Abcrncthy, when bored by a gentleman afc^a party with the relation of the symptoms of the ilincss he labored under, to reply to the question, "what would you do in such a case?" " Send for a doctor Sir, to be sure." Or, to give auother illustration : — A vendor of matched not caring for the value of a few of those articles, might well resent the attempt to habitually obt'iiu gratuitously lights for a pipe, Or, a stationer might refuse to allow his periodicals to be scanned over by persons who had no intention of purchasing them. In any of the cases the loss to the persons from whom the service was attempted to be filched, would be trifling, but the lesion of refusal to the filchers would be very important. The present members of tho Executive are just the men one would expect to see making a system of borrowing trifles for the sake of saving themselves expense, or obtaining medical opinions on the cheap, or indulging in gratuitous literary treats, and it is well they should be taught the feelings of delicacy of which they appear to be deficient. In refusing the advertisement in question, we have been actuated by the wish to impart this salutary lesson.

They send us an advertisement, which, besides doing us the injury of giving prominence to ono issue of the paper over another, than which nothing is more hurtful to a daily paper, attempts to make us advertise a publication which they propose to publish to our loss. We are to be asked, forsooth, to advertise their publication into a circulation, not only for their benefit but at our expense. If the Governme.it desire to enter the field as journalists let them do so, but- not "loaf" on us for assistance. If the "Gazette" bo a suitable medium for advertising-, why ask our assistance, and if it be not, why expect us to use the extenshe means which capital and enterprise have placed at our disposal, to bolster up a publication meant to affect, us injuriously

We do not seek Government advertising, except that the public have a right to look for it in a daily paper. The publicity which we give in our large circulation, id fully equal to the payment demanded ; but, if the Government do not consider so, let them abstain from advertising. But we will not place ourselves at the pleasure of the Government ; nor submit to see the funds set apart for advertising used as subsidies to obtain tho support of the Press. The Daily Times, and indeed all the Otago journals, are likely to be in existence long after the Executive, which unfortunate necessity compels the Province to endure for a few months, is forgotten ; and we should be sorry to look back to the day, when that Executive exercised the smallest influence on our columns. It must not be supposed that we are in the slightest degree annoyed with the Executive ; they have acted as was natural to them, and contempt is the only feeling their conduct excites :: — • The man who dies by the adder's fangs, May have the ci-a\Vler crushed, but feels no anger.

'Twas the worm's nature, and some men are worms In soul, more than the living things of tombs. They received what they considered provocation at our hands, in the well merited chastisement administered to them, and they thought of no other retaliation than to endeavor to injure us pecuniarily. "We can increase or decrease your circulation as we think fit," says their mouthpiece, "you had better understand that we have the power of injuring you." What else was to be expected from underbred vulgarity but this argumentum ad pnckeUim, or from narrow-minded ignorance dressed in a little brief authority, but the attempt to tyrannise over and bully whoever came within its range ? The Executive have acted characteristically, but for ourselves we refuse to submit to their paltry meannesses or their ignorant domination. It remains for the public to say whether they desii o an entirely novel precedent to be introduced into Otago, the purchase of support to the Executive as the price of the advertisements given to the public press. And when journals are contumacious, whether the necessity of publicity should be forgone for the sake of allowing the Government to indulge their revengeful feelings. The tone and character of a place are generally judged from outside by tho tone and character of its public press. Let our readers imagine what these would become, exposed to the influence of the stolidity of a Dick, or to the political morality of a Reynolds or RlcGlashan.

Self-Interest. — Among the numerous auecdofei Varnhagea supplies of the March Revolution, we .ire surprised to find him omitting one for which we (an vouch, as we were in Berlin a week after the event. A worthy c'.tizen, standing behind a barricade, $a ; d to his right-hand file a tailor—" Just see how I'll knock that guard-officer over." For Heaven sake, don't !" was the agitated reply j '* he owes me three hundred dollars."' As a pendant to this, we may cite a fact that occurred in Paris after the February Revolution : A person, wliom Sir Robert Peel would probably call a manikin Marat, entered a club, ascended the tribune, and shouted savagely, "President, I demand 10,000 heads." "No, no," ? voice from the crowd exclaimed; "I am a hatter." — Athenaeum.

Tnn Historian Overpowering tub Lawyer. -Sir Archibald Alison dictates to an amanuensis, and from haste, falls into errors such as that cf Sir Peregrine Pickle for Sir Peregrine Maibland. A writer in Notes and Queries says that when Sir Archibald was in hot composition of hi 3 History of Europe, having occasion to take a Sheriff County process home with himfo? decision, he transferred his attention for a moment from the historic to the forensic muse, bnt continued dictating to his clerk — "The Emperor having advised this process, makes an avizandum therewith, dismisses the appeal, finds the defender liable in L 2.55.. 55. Gd. additional expenses, and decerns. A. Altson." Judge the consternation in the Glasgow Sheriff's Court when this imperial rescript came before it ! The Augsburg Gazette gjve3 the following extract from the letter written ny Prince Winiisehsgratz when at the point of death to tha r^gimauc of which he was colonel : — " My regiment. I cannot quit this world without once more saluting my regiment. As I have always here below felt the utmost sympathy for it, so I shall watch its actions and destinies when lam in the other world— if that be possible."

The Barefooted Printer Boy. — Some thirty years ago a barefooted boy floated down the Susquehanna on an bumble raft, and arrived at Harrisburg. He cauie from the north, and belonged to a large family ; all his worldly goods weie tied ud in a little pocket handkerchief.- He sought and obtained employment in a piiuting office (is fin apprentice. From an apprentice to a journeyman,- from a journeyman to a reporter, from a reporter to an editor, the printer boy worked his way, against obstacles which the suffering poors only know.. The young aspirant -became printer to the Stite, and by frugal management was soon enabled to accomplish the object nearest his hearb— the establishment of his mother in a home above want. His brothers wore his next care, and in a few years they too, with his sisters, were independent in the world : the .once barefooted printer boy was in possession of affluence, and surrounded by a young and affectionate family. He rose in honor and office, until the barefooted printer boy was elected a United States senator. This man is Simon Cameron, the present Secrctaij of War. — iVew York World. Royal Signatures.— At a sale of autagraphs in London last week, a document signed by Richard tne Third brought L 18; a letter of Mary Queen of Scot , L 22; and a lettor of Anne Boleyu, Lll 10s.. The interest in Mary Stuart continues uniliininished Coffee v. Brandy.-— The Prussian Moniteur publishes a Cabinet orders ordering that the brandy served out in the Prussian army shall be henceforth replaced by coffee. Each man will receive two-fifths of au ounca per day in time of pence, and a half an ounce in time of war. \ Lawyer Volunteer Motto.— Lord Stanhopesays that in 1860 it was in contemplation to inscribe upon the bauner of one of the legal companies, " Retained for the • Defence." -, iK , The national expenditure of France for tbe financial year 1862-3 Is estimated at L69,125,9!J2, and the income at LG9,820,5(J8 F leaving a balance of L 624,356 in favor of receipts. Happy if realised ! Some of Mr. Millais' prc-RaphaeJite pictures were re-sold at Leeds last week, and brought high prices. "flic Proscribed Royalist," L 551: "The Huguenot," LlB6 10s.; "The Carpenter's Shop,"Ls2s; "The Black Brunswicker," LBl9, &c . , Afemalehasjustdiedat Poilly (Yonne) from the effects of a fast of nine days, which she'had imposed on herself from religious exaltation. Death took place oa the 9th day. \ ,- <Jn> r At Kilmore, Ireland, a girl, while drawing: water fi-om a -well, fell in. Eortunntely her crinoline made her float so easily that when an old man 'who heard .her cries offered his sticky she told him to get other assistance, lest she might in the struggle >pulL bin in also. He took her fcdTic*! obt^^ fMtWw, Wid she tm rescued, '' *• *'""*• JM ~ U -;