HON. JOHN M'KENZIE AND THE PRESS ASSOCIATION,

Otago Witness, Issue 2310, 9 June 1898, Page 55

HON. JOHN M'KENZIE AND THE PRESS ASSOCIATION,

The Minister for Lands never loses an opportunity .of accusing the Press Association of bias. There has never been any justification for the charge, bub thafc is a small matter wiih'Mr M'Kenzie. He does not trouble - is the least -About the truthfulness of what he says about the Association. In his speech *t - Pabnerston, reported in our yesterday's issue, 'he is more than usually reckless in his charges of bias against the association. The best answer to his ridiculous statements is that the association it partly controlled by the proprietors of newspapers which are strong supporters of the present Government, and that tfaa manager has the most imperative instructions from the directors that on ho account must there be any bias or political colour given to the association messages. Those instructions *r« implicitly carried out bj the agents throughoufc,the colony. The plain truth is that Mr Jtf 'Kensie would like to mak« the association a ■ ••political-engine, devoted to the dissemination of lengthy and laudatory reports of Ministerial . .utterances, and he and tbe Premier are never eatisfied with the studiously fair reports of their' speeches. Mr M'Ke&zie shifted his ground s> little on Wednesday uighfc, and , accuata D*ily Times ol cutting oat of the Press Association's report eometbing that he said »t Stratford about Mr Scobie MackeLzic's Auckland speech. This is what the hon. gentleman had to say on the r eubiecfcj— " About nine or ten days ago he (the speaker) was referring- fco Mr Scobia JM aeker,«ie'a celebrated speech, and tbe Prese Agency sent what be said away, and it was - published in the Wellington papers ; hut it did dofc euifc the Otftfio Daily Times to cublish

what he said in regard to Mr Scnbie Mackenzie's speech. TTo ; it wa« comiog too near dangerous ground, and the Titpea cut it out." It i* scarcely neosssary for ks io ssy th»fc there. is nob a. word of truth in this. The Prass Association's report of the Hen. Mr M'Kenzie's utterance?, dated Stratford, May 20, is as follows .—". — " The Hod. J. M'Kenz'e oddresaed s. densely packed meeting l*sfc nighfc. His speech was mostly devoted to Mr Seo'oie Mackenzie's addrese afe Auckland. He fcwifcfced him with never being four yea.ru on the ssrue «ide, and denied that the Government ever influenced the rotes of the civil servtnti. A vote of thasks and confidence was carried by acclamation as against one -of 'thanks only, and the meeting gave cheers for the Government." This is word for word aa it appeared in the Otago Daily Tiosei, Lyttelfcon Times, Press, New Zealand Herald, and o'.he-- neirsp*pers. But thin h esly a fair sample of the Bon. Mr M'Kpnzie's method*, and it is only wasting time to correct him, for it is a cardinal principls with trim never to withdraw anything he has said.