West Coast Times. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 1866.

West Coast Times, Issue 347, 2 November 1866, Page 2

West Coast Times. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 1866.

It is a remarkable comment on the conduct of the Assembly, in placing a prohibitory postage-rate on newspapers, to find two of the most consistent enemies ')f the press acknowledging on similar occasions, though in different provinces of the colony, its great value to representative institutions. The time-worn mot attributed to Syduey Smith, that railway accidents would not be prevented till a bishop had been sacrificed, immediately occurs to the reader of the speeches referred to, as both gentlemen's corns appear to have been heavily trodden upon before they recognised the importance of what they have tried their utmost to fetter ; and it is m,uch to be regretted that more of the honorable gentlemen representing our interests in the General Assembly have not equal reason for complaint ; as newspapers might then receive a little more consideration than they at present enjoy. One of the chief reasons urged against the establishment of the heavy postal rate on newspapers was the injury that would be inflicted on the public by their restricted circulation, wheras the utmost publicity is necessary to ensure the efficient working of representative institutions. Perhaps tbe majority of the hon. members felt a disinclination to have their words and deeds too closely inquired into, and preferred to wil as closely as possible the points where their personal interests clashed with those of their constituents. By such ** representatives" we can fully understand that a newspaper is regarded with no favorable eye ; and the favor with which various measures, move or less tending to fotter the press, that have come before the General Assembly from tim<> to time, have been received, would lead one to the belief that there is a larger number of these gentlemen than is consistent with the interests of the public, or the dignity of the House. *' The wicked love darkness better than light," and so we cannot feel surprised at, however we may regret, the general success of hon. members in carrying any scheme having for its object the limitation of the power of the press. Eveu now it is the general complaint of the delinquent representatives that sufficient publicity has not been given to their actions and speeches in the a ssembly, liy which means they have been misrepresented and belied, their constituents, of course, being unable to understand the motives which influenced their votes, and often, indeed, showing that they possessed only a very hazy notion of the merits of the question itself; and yet, with this before their minds, hon. members deliberately consummated a scheme for increasing the very evil of which they so bitterly complain. We do not intend again to enter into a discussion upon the merits of the suicidal policy of the postage-tax on newspapers, it having already received ventilation — not only in our columns, but in those of almost every newspaper in the colony — sufficient to convince the most obtuse of the members of the Assembly, were they open to reason or conviction at all ; but a few remarks on a kindred subject — the necessity for the proper dissemination of every matter of public interest occurring in our representative bodies — may fairly be made, more especially as two gentlemen of the Assembly have thought it not unworthy of notice in their public addresses to their constituents.

JVIr John Hall — a name dear to every inhabitant of this side the range — has lately addressed a meeting of the electors of Heathcote to defend and explain his policy in Wellington ; and Mr John Cargill, member for Bi n^e (Otago), has also adopted the s.ane course. Both gentlemen are equally noted for their antipathy to publicity ; both commenced their speeches with a furious attack on the newspaper press ; and both involuntarily testified to its

value and influence. Wo quote the exact words- of the two hon. gentlemen. Mr Cargill said — " He confessed to having made a grave error while in Wellington, and thatwa/> voting against, a sum of ii.on.fy being giver for a full report of the debates in the Ilouse, which deprived them of tinmeans of correct information;" and Mr Hall follows suit iv almost the same words — " A proposal to vote a sum of money to enable tbe debates of the General Assembly to be reported at full length had been negatived. He (Mr Hall) had voted against it, which he was now almost sorry for. The proceedings of the ft General Assembly had been so much misrepresented and misunderstood that he believed a full and accurate report would have been cheap at LloOO " Tbe meagre accounts that have appeared iv the Wellington papers of the proceedings of the General Assembly during its past session nre sufficiently justified by the statement of the local journals that the publication of long and accurate reports would involve an expenditure which they were unable to bear : and it is manifestly unfair to expect one or two firms to sacrifice their interest* for th^se of the entire colony, which is quite as much concerned -if not more so — in, the publication of full reports of what takes place in the Colonial Parliament as the inhabitants or the newspapers of Wellington, who it seems are expected to bear tbe sole expense of publishing a JNTew Zealand H msnrd. Abuse of the press is a very easy and cheap mode of avoiding , disagreeable explanations, and those gentlemen who have been most severely handled by their constituents have apparently a keen, sense of this loophole of escape, tor they have all availed themselves of it pretty freely. They have first rendered representative government a farce by their restrictions on the only means of publicity, anil then, when tbe consequences of their meanuess and illiberality are brought home to them, endeavor to save their own skins by shifting tbe burden of misrepresentation ou innocent shoulders. Whether the gentlrmeu who gave utterance to the remarks we have quoted above have reason to complain of the press or of their own. shortsightedness and illiberality, we leave our readers to judge ; but after reading them, can any sane individual shut his eyes to the fact that both Mr liiill and Mr Cargill have unwittingly bore the most conclusive testimony to the injurious influence that the postal duty on newspapers will exercise on the best interests of the colony, viz., by circumscribing the issue and means of newspapers, and leaving the public to obtaintheir information of what passes in the representative bodies of the colonj r , from sources the reverse of correct or reliable ?