THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 1875.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 2101, 28 September 1875, Page 2

THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 1875.

The Yorkshire Gazette of July 10th devotes two leading columns of its large sized paper to an article which-under the title of " Politics in New Zealand " deals with. New Zealand Finance in general and Mr Bees and his "very able little work " in particular. This very able *litfcle work is, it is almost needless to say, Mr Bees' phamplet "The Coming Criiis." Now the Yorkshire Gazette aeema thoroughly to agree with Mr Bees' -opinions, and as long as it could rest consent with expressing its ftith in him and

his rather strong convictions, all well and good. It would have mattered not one tittle to any oue outside the immediate neighborhood in which the Gazette is read, but would simply have gone forth to Yorkshire readers that Mi W. L. Bees had written a phamplet, and that that pamphlet was so far in accordance ;with the views of the Gazette that they bad expressed their thorough approval in Mr, Bees and his woi'ks when reviewing i the pamphlet in question. But when the j Yorkshire Gazette so far endorses the j opinions and prophesyings of Mr. Eees as j to take his unfounded and reckless asser- j tions for proved data, and proceeds from i them to draw unjust conclusions disparaging to Sir Julius Vogel as premier, and moreover as recklessly and grossly untrue as the most rabid supporter of Mr Eees could desire, it becomes another matter. The Yorkshire Gazette —after expressing its faith in Mr Eees because he happens to describe in rich and glowing | terms the beauties of his adopted land, and " stands up as the champion of the land he loves," premises that "whether Mr Eees be right or not, we at this distance can hardly be expected to decide," and proceeds to show the consistency of the belief it professes, viz., that distance, as is the case, raises an obstacle in the way of forming a right judgment, by proceeding to deal with Mr Eees'. statements as if they admitted of no contradiction at all. And not only so, but even goes beyond him in making statements partly exaggerated, partly untrue, which even Mr Eees has never enunciated. Thus the Yorkshire Gazette, although "at this distance " (i.e. some thousands of miles away) professes itself able to account for the fact (which it assumes on the statement of Mr Eees) that a " torrent of reckless improvidence is pouring over the length and breadth of that country," and yet that people in England hear nothing of it, by making the broad assertion that •' The press of New Zealand is in the hands of the Government." This statement, utterly false, it proceeds to amplify by amplifications which, being false also, do but tend to \ heighten the falsehood. To take a few i instances out of many, this is what the Gazette asserts : " Nearly all the leading papers of that colony are owned by a company, the company being largely composed of the Premier and his friends

...... and what with pressure brought to bear in the shape of Government printing and advertising, personal influence, and obstacles thrown in the way of any investigation of Government accounts, it is next door to impossible for an honest journalist to adopt the course he would most desire." In other words the most reckless expenditure is allowed to go on, the most corrupt practices are known to exist; the system of placing those likely to be troublesome in remunerative sinecures, according to the Gaztte is largely adopted in New Zealand, and yet the Press dare say never a word ! Wewcnder if the author whose lively imagination depicted these lies was ever called upon to read the vituperative pages of the Auckland Evening Star. Had he done this he would hardly have been so foolhardy as to have committed himself to the statement that "no item of intelligence unfavorable to the Government ever finds its way into print," for the Auckland Star, whatever its faults, at least does its best to make the most of any slip on the part of the Government. We venture to contradict most flatly the statement of our far-distant contemporary that the Press Association and Civil Service are all in the hands or under the thumb of the Government? and are all venal and corrupt alike. There may be~ there undoubtedly are—black sheep in New Zealand as well as elsewhere, but to say that the whole Press; is fettered because some of them happen to approve of the present Government and some do not, is about as untrue as it would be to affirm that the whole English Press are demagogues because Dr Kenealy edits the Englishman. This is the fault of the review, and, undoubtedly, a great oneit deals with assertions as with facts ;• and while professing itself unable to decide, on account of intervening distance, assumes to itself the position of authority, and, not content with arguing from what does not exist, states as truths things which have no existence at all. Anyone reading such an article as " Politics in New Zealand" would be led to form a very erroneous opinion of the state of our colony. There are no douttfc many things which we would like to see rectified, and Sir Julius Vogel may have his faults, but that is no reason why the whole Press should be stigmatised as servile and corrupt, or the whole colony spiritless and mean enough to be satisfied with such a Press as the Gazette describes. We venture to say that the Press here, as a whole, is no more tongue-tied than it is in England, while even the Auckland Evening Star is, at least, as fair as the Daily Telegraph.