The Premier and the Press Association.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXIII, Issue 7655, 13 June 1896, Page 4

The Premier and the Press Association.

The Premier in his speech at Christchurch again made an attack on the Press Association, whose offence this time is sending full reports of tho Colonial Bank case. The Post has these remarks on Mr iSeddou'a utterance : - On this last occasion, the. crime of which the Press Association has been guilty is that of sending full accounts of the proceedings of a Court of Justice 1 Tli6 Harper case was fully reported and telegraphed, and who complained 1 The Kirby case was also telegraphed, and no Minister raised his voice. Because, however, the Press Association has sent full accounts of tho affidavits of the Hon. Mr Ward, the Colonial Bank liquidators, of Mr Cook, of Mr Braund, and of the arguments before the Judge, it has come under the lash of the Ministerial tongue. It is a crime for the Association to let daylight into the doings of Mr Ward and the Colonial and New Zealand Banks !

Public opinion in New Zealand must be very apathetic when a Premier can venture to make such a suggestion It may do to have a Public Works Statement altered, for the Minister of Public Works may be asleep, and cannot, therefore, give the explanation. Discussion may be burked in the House, and members denied information, but we hope the present Ministers will never have the power, as they have the will, to stifle the publication of the proceedings of the Courts of Justice. Those who are Democrats and call themselves Liberals can now see what Mr Seddon and his colleagues would do if they had the power. If the Press Association had been under Ministerial auspices, the public would have known nothing of the proceedings in the liquidation of the Colonial Bank. We notice that somo Ministerial papers liavo not published any fair or full report of the proceedings. We simply note the fact ; the publio can and will draw their own conclusions. .Luckily, we do not live in Russia. If the present Premier had his way we would have as little liberty as the inhabitants of that country. The fact that the Press Association lnis not refrained from Bonding an impartial account of the proceedings before Judge Williams shows that it is eniitled to great praise from every lover of his country.