JOURNALISTIC AMENITIES.

Westport Times, Volume III, Issue 534, 24 July 1869, Page 2

JOURNALISTIC AMENITIES.

Wellington had at one time the reputation of being represented by a Press which troubled itself more about the personal behavior of its conductors, or the private affairs of contemporaries, than about the public interest; and the writers were evidently most intimate with the Billingsgate idiom of the English language. This has lately become less the characteristic of the "metropolitan Press," but has not altogether ceased to distinguish the Press of the frovince. Waugauui makes great efforts to maintain its reputation as the Eatanswill of New Zealand, notwithstanding the presence of a journal creditably conducted by a gentleman of as much experience as any member of his profession iu the Colony—we mean the Chronicle. And even that journal is occasionally, though rarely, drawn into miserable squabbles about the most contemptible actions of no greater person than the " printer's devil," or about such insignificant subjects as the number of coppers collected by the sale of the local papers. As an example of the friendly relations subsisting between our contemporaries, the following paragraph, which appeirs iu the Herald, will, perhaps, be sufficient:—

" The ' Times ' says, 'As the leading journal in the town, we felt called upon to speak out in defence of the ruined settlers.' Let us ask our contemporary, what constitutes a leading journal? Circulation? —then we are entitled to the phrase. A circulation of eight at Marton ?—then the 'Times' is a leading journal. Impecuniosity ? —-the' Times ' will beat the' Chronicle ' or ' Herald.' Absurd notions in wretched English?—the 'Times' ought to be the leading journal. Size half filled with dummy advertisements? —the ' Times' is iu advance of its contemporaries. Influence in the district, with the electors for instance? —the ' Times,' unfortunately, is not leading. Iniluence on the platform ? —the ' Times ' is a laughing-stock. In everything, the ' Times' is notoriously about the worst conducted and least influential of any paper in New Zealand. The ' Times ' tells us in its leading article that the Defence Minister was a subscriber. That, in our opinion, is further proof of the Defence Minister being slightly asinine. Under the heading of' Gagging the Press,' the ' Times ' charges the Stafford Ministry with not sending the two last numbers of ' Hansard.' Perhaps Mr Disbury, the printer, thought that Mr Anderson's threatened action for libel had snuffed the ' Times ' out. This is a very likely reason why the ' Times ' did not receive its ' Hansard.' In fact we think the ' Times ' is partially deranged. Colonel M'Donuell must surely be its Wellington correspondent."