SENSATIONAL WRITING. (Guardian )

Waikato Times, Volume I, Issue 120, 11 February 1873, Page 2

SENSATIONAL WRITING. (Guardian )

InK course of tlie action " Dixon v Smith," lias excite<i| lonsirterable public interest, and the verdict in which it ter™ mnated has been received 'with general approval. It jertainly seems to do very substantial justice to both parties n the suit. To Mr Dixon the ver'Jict is far more severe than >no absolutely acquitting the defendant. In tins latter caao t might havo been contended that the libeller escaped ;hrough somo legal loophole ; although, indeed, considering ;he extreme stringency of the law of libel (of which we our- { lelves liavo had somo experience in respect even^Aletterq aublished in-our columns), it must have been som^^at difficult satisfactorily to establish a plea. But, as it is, tho jury distinctly find'flrst, that a legal offence- has been commuted, and then, that it is one winch can be morally just iliedT; or, as it may also be put, that the plaintiff's reputation lias been actually injured, but that the value of the reputation 60 injured may be computed hy the one farthing's damages. The judge's summing up was perfectly clear on the subject—" If you think that, although Ifie libel cannot bo justified, still it can be almost excused, you will find a verdict for the plnmtiff with nominal damages ; " and the jury found such a verdict accordingly. On the other hand, the nature of the decision inflicts upon the proprietors of tho Pall Mall Gazelle the payment of their costs (probaHy heavy enough), and so may be considered as warning tho editors to be a little moro careful in respect of tho trenchant and contemptuous style of which they are so fond. In tins case, the public certainly owe 3 something 1 to the newspaper for boldly undertaking w hat must havo been foreseen to be a dangerous tisk, ancP exposing the true tendency of books which have been somehow pushed into an cilensne circulation,' and have achieved a strange degree of popularity .•■ But it seems to us tolerably clear that this public duty might easily have been performed in a graver and more dignified manner, \\ ithout that spice of virulence which is traceable throughout. If it be said that Mr Dixou himself is so thickskinned that a dart which is to pierce the armour of his selfconceit needs to be exceptionally sharp, we reply that hero the writers haye to do with the public, and they might have done their work quite as effectively and far more temperately. We consider, therefore, that the verdict exactly hits the true mark, giving tho victory to the newspaper, but a victory purchased at no trifling cost. Whot will be the effect of this action upon the reputation which Mr Dixon has unquestionably, though to us inexplicably, attained, it is hard to say. But it must be considerable. He is, no doubt, nearly as irrepressible gS" thoi " Claimant" himself; but still we hardly think that he will again be as|*d to preside as a representative of English literature over a Scott festival. If a man can write such a book as tho Spiritual Wives, which his own counsel was obliged to surrender to the attack of Sir John Karslake, we shall require a largo amount of computation before we can innocently accept any other of his books The charge made against it can- only be met by the imputation of a crass ignorance of what public propriety require, and of the effect which such writing must produce upon the public mind. Mr Justice Brett aptly quoted the example of the 1 notorious Confessional Unmasked as a book which was held to be aground of indictment for misdemeanour, "although it was taken to be published hona fide and with a good pur- — pose." And the quotations from Sir Dixon's book dis4i closed repeated offences againstpublic decency, which it would •' be hard indeed to cover by the thin pretence ofpsychlogical • analysis. Nor do we suppoßC that'the evidences of unsound and pretentious workmanship, which the prosecution brought forward to justify the charge" of " vampiug-up," and winch ' Mr Dixonliad to defend by explanations •' calculated" (as the Judge remarked) " to provbke- a smde," can readily be forgotten. On the whole, therefore, vro conclude that a fair warning has been given as to the character of the undesirable popularity of the many books which t lie press pours out in Mr Dixon's name ; and wo are glad that it should be so. But we should not have thought it necessary to notice this action simply for its own sake. We regard the state of things which discloses as a terrible but seasonable warning of the almost ineviablo degradation to which "sensational writing" eventually descends. That writing — now unfortunataly too ' common — aims at being smart, effective, striking m every sentence. For that purpose it uses and wears out all the resources of free or forced humour, of false and true antithesis, of laboured epigram and outrageous paradox ; and when these have been exhausted, and their aid is invoked m vain, then it boldly adopts the principle Aeheronta movclo, and stimulates the jaded palates of its readers by the morbidjj pungency of blasphemy and the rank flavour of vice. No one can read Mr Dixon's book without seeing he is a writer who might have done better things, whose earlier books promised some good service, but who has gone from good to bad, and from bad to worse in the attempt to be brilliant and sensational. It i* not surprising, although it is unhappy enough, that in some degree in other books, in an outrageous degree in the Spiri/ual Wive?, he has finally adopted a stjlc of treatment which must be painfully successful in exciting sensation. We wish tliat the example stood alone ; but we cannot but trace in many qua-rteis both those fatal tendencies of which we haVe already spoken. The delight in irreverent and almost indecent allusion to things sacred, winch settles great theological questions oft-hand by a facetious inuendoo or a satirical parenthesis, is a bad sign of the times on any' supposition. It prevails from the 1 " mock litanies "' of Hyde Park upwards, till, in Mr Fronde's last w ork, we actually find anArcb bishop desenbed as "free fiom the cant, of his profession," because "in his voluminous coi - respondenc? the name of God scarcely appears, if at all. ' Earnest infidelity and thoughtful scepticism ■« c can imagine; but this flippant desire of saying smart things, intolerable in itself, is the more intoleiable because w e believe it to be merely a vicious fOlf 01 mof sensational writing. It is pi overbially easy to make a joke by -availing oneself of the flagrant incongruity between things held to be sacred and the light tone of banter and ridicule. But we contend that it is an offence against public decency, and that, as such, it ought to be scouted by all thinking men Nor can w e shut our eyes to the growth of tiiis other tendency towards language and subjects w^ich, if not absolutely indecent, tit least go to the very verge of indecency, and " snatch a fear" ful joy " by balancing oii'the edge of the nbyss. Who can ' ignore the morbid and questionable "situations" which our novelists, and, m less degree, our dramatists, are fond of inventing or reproducing by " adaptation from the French " ? Who does not shrink from the language publicly used, nnd the subjects publicly treated, in the late agitation against the " Contagious Diseases Act" ? What are we to say when sui'h a book as The Sari and the Doctor comes out under the names of men of high social position ? All this recklessness falls 'in* wiffh the popular desire to be unconventional, and to break down those secondary defences of reverence and decency which our fathers were right to value, even if they may have trusted to them too much. It is, therefore, tho more dangerous ; and we shall be glad if the excitement of the late proceedings calls attention to it, and stirs men up to a" righteous indignation^ Wo, indeed, ourselves believe that the two tendencies are not unconnected with each other. Tho history of the world has shown that purity seldom maintains itself triumphantly, unless it becomes holiness, and so catches the divine fire from the known presence of Q-od. Flaunting unbelief and j cynical contempt fof morality have long been sworn brothers ' in arms. We commend the whole significance of this fact to the consideration of all thoughtful men who feel that material civilisation and intellectual culture are no substitutes for the moral basis of society, and who are, therefore, deeph concerned with the all-important question how that moral basis may be securely In d.

At the distribution of prizc3 at the Oxford Local Examinations, the Bishop of Winchester observed that we all needed constant examination in order to get the good of our training : — You are all examining me at this moment. (Iftughter ) Very likely, if I failed altogether for words and sat down in confusion, there is not one among you young fellows who would notr pluck me.' (Renewed laughter.) We are all, do what wo will, going-thi'ongb. our examination. Ministers of State — "rthj, xf the^y naako a mistake m a despatch, how nll^ the newspapers plucbthem directly' Everybody — and who does'not'P — who takes his opinion from the ncv.spapcrs goes orrplaeking them. And so, up to the Prime Minister himself, we are, in this free country, in a perpetual state of being examined, and in a perpetual condition of the probability of being plucked. It has a most wonderfully-good effect upon us all. I have not the least doubt that these great people of whom I have spoken, when they meet in 'a dark Cabinet, and w ould not toll anybody out of it tot the whole woild what they aro talking about, hate a very' wholesome fear of the examination that is eOmrn'g •wh( i n tho result of the Cabinet Council is published abroad. There was nothing that was so effective in giving a logical habit to a mind ns carefulness about the analyses of sentences: — You sometimes listen to kindly people, whom you like to hear becnusc they are kind, and when they have gone on for two or three- minutes, if you were" to analyse one of their sentences you would get into a horrible mush. (Laughter.) They aro continually trying to itato propositions, but they shy as a cabhoreo did with me, and very nearly prevented me coming here, at tho idea of a logical sentence. They break oft" into illustration, wander into a figure, and very soon don't know how to go on w lth ' it ; bo they drop it on the floor to be trampled on, and take refuge in eomo new assertion. How often a mau begins with an illogical statement, loses himself in a flower-garden, tramples on tho flower's, atfetnpfs to escape by a second illogical proposition, and b'eeoffies so" horribly frightened that ho breaks down nifd leaVfe* us tof rcfletet — "I never could analvso your sentences '\ IF you woitld avoid bomg so paralysed, give your minds to analysing sentences. Apropos of tho intelligence that orders had been received at Ryde for the Enchantress, paddle-wheel yacht, to proceed immediately to Brindisi, to convey Sir Bartlo Frere and suitc^ to Zanzibar, that amusing blunderer, the Gaulots, pays •— m " Talk of England ; that is tho place for expeditions' Hardly* has Mr Stanley returned from the wilds of Africa than tho English Government nre sending out tho Bar/le brothers at the herd of an expedition to pu* do-.vn »ai\c»\y en tLa La«« Coast - Its Anglais ovi d" ban." ' _ „

GfinvT BuMWHng — Wherever the* Briton traveli — and it would bo Torj dillicult to discover the country with which ho and his brother Jonathan do not insist upon becoming acquainted, quite irrespective sometimes of whether its occupants -want to lruo the advantage of their society— the scarlet- triangle cf Pass of Britain h to be found in competition with the hafp^cf Guinness of Dublin What a draught of the water of tlio Nile was to the daughter of the PKaros, a draught of genuine home In'er w to tlic soyu — ay, nnd to the daughters of— Britain See that languid Anglo-Indian beauty what i- the dark liquor that sho is sipping, w ith the whi cf am upon it, as sho and that faseinat it : young I'o.-nct Ooahead linger over their ' LUlin," ducu nig tic ball of last utght ? "M\ doctor insist* upon ray taking Guinness' 9 stout, Sir Goahead," she says, in senu-apologctic tones, after the lnst drop of an imperial pint glides down her throat " Be«t thing out," says the Cornet. " Couldn't lire in this beastly climate without that and Bass 1 ;" and indeed the mess-bills of the Fiftieth Light Cavalry show pretty conclushcly how essential the members of that distinguished corps find these potations to fortify their constitutions against the fierce heats of In lia. Up in the "bush" of Australia again, it is regarded as nectai, and is often retailed at a price which makes it nearly inaccessible to ordinary pockets. Although pale ale was not originally born and reared at |Builon — having been first brought into fame bv a firm named Abbot at Bow, near I/mdon — it is nb"w indelibly associated with that town and the waters of the Trent, upon whose bank it stands But Mr Baas and Sir Arthur Guinness deserve some fame quite apart from that they havo as brewers. Thcv are bot'i pro nment examples of that rare and splendid quality, public spirit Sv\ ift says that no one ■nil) possesses thi3 need long be at a loss for an opportunity of showing it • the Guinness family hai apparently found ne diificulty in this rospcet Mr Boss has not only bestowed on the great working town of D rby a public park, but has given its inhabitants a chance — and many of them had it not before — of being clean ; for he has founded splendid batli3 and wash-houses entirely at. his own expense. It is, moreover, to his persistent and disinterested efforts that the railway servants owe their relief from- extravagantly protracted hours of labour. Sit 1 Arthur's father bought neglected estates covered with wretched hovels and burdened with a pauper tenantry, the result of the rule of that splendid article, the ' rale ould Irish gmtlcinan," who ruined himself and every one about him, and who was the greatest nuisance in the way of a proprietor with which any conntry was ever cursed. The great brewer brought' the capital acquired in his trade, by which the only genuine nourishing beer was produced, to bear upon these deserts, and smiling lands, a contented people, and anug cottages, now attest the efficacy ef his opeiations. But this was not enough : he must do something for the city where he had made his wealth. So he spent 700,000 dollars in restoring the cathedral church of the faith to which ho belongs, and making its environs and approaches worthy of bstng the avenues to » great Christian fane. He passed in honour to his grave, leaving a successor worthy of his mantle. Sir Arthur Guinness is proving his public spirit in another direction : he is giving the metropolis of his country this year one of the most interesting exhibitions ever witnessed. Every old manor-house from the Giant's Causeway to Cape Clear sends contributions of historic interest or artistic b*»uty on loan to Sir Arthur's exhibition. He finds the building, and guarantees payment of every expense in the event of deficiency. — Lippincott's Magazine. Mr Spurgcon is stated to have been considerably aggravated by a "printer's error" which has jumped — crept is not the word for it — into his particular literary organ, the Sword and Tron el, known b} the irreverent unfaithful in "the trade" an the Soap and Towel. Among the regular advertisements m tins pious print is is one referring ns follows to the revcrond gentleman's sermons: — " Mctiopolitan Tnbcrnacle Pulpit, containing C H. Spurgeon's sermons. The publishers call attention to the remarkable fact that they have now issued Mr Spurgcon's sermons weekly for more than sixteen years, and that all tins time the circulation hns not only been -very large, but has steadily increased. This unparalleled fact, unprecedented in the- pulpit of any age ofr church, speaks for it-elf, and is a higher enlogium than the most lriemlly-re-viewer could pronounce. It is also noteworthy that an equally warm reception has been given to the American edition, and that Dutch, German, and Swedish translations' have commanded an extensive sale, and the sermons hnvc been acceptably received m Welbh, Danish, and Italian." The advertiser's disquiet may be imagined when there followed, without any break after "Italian" in the sentence just quoted, the woids — "Entirely and effectually cures scurvy, ringworm, itch, redness, pimples, blotches, eruptions, oezama, and every form of such disease : also wounds and ulcers, with absolute and unfailing certainty." An Irish paper last year by a similar transposition gave the dress of the brides* mauls to the archbishop officiating- at a fashionable wedding, " His draco was at tired' in white tarlatan," &o. Trafvlg ut Heroes — Mr Maclean, of "West Hnrtlepool, adds to the names of the surviving officers who fought at Trafalgar, Mr George Wharrie, who was a midshipman owboard the Colossus, nnd was wounded m that distinguished ship. ITo is now in his ciglitv-sixth year. The Eev II P. Jeston, incumbent of Chorlesbury, Tring, writes : — " I havo in mj parish, living within a hundred yards of my door, an old marine, David Newton, who fought in the Bellerophon, or as ho always calls her, the " Bjllyruffian." lam frequently amused with his tale about' the battle. Asking him one day how soon they knew of Nelson's death, "Ah, sir,'* Ttas the reply, " we were lying pretty close to the Victory, nnd about four, or fivo o'ijlock, I think, in the eTening, we paw the Admiral's flag half-mast high, and we kriew only too well what had happened ; besides, soon after the action we had a batch of French prisoners sent on^botrd of us, and as they passed along the declc they mocked and jeered, and pointing with their thumbs over their shoulder to the Admiral's flag, exclaimed, " Ah, where is your Nelson ' Where is your Nelson ?"' I anviwhopo that should this little narrative meet the eye of any of the ' surviviug officers,' especially those of his own ship, some of them may bo induced to send me a trifle for my old hero. Se is a' thoroughly good, devout, old man, aged eighty-five, almost stone blind without a pension, and supported in part by parish allow--ance." Settler's Carhiaoe Ikdicatoh. — An admirablo invention, intended to do away with the check-string and speaking tube in carriages, has boon patented by Mr Streeter, of Conduit Street, Hanover-square. It consists of two dials, one placed inside the carriage, and the other on the dash board. The handle of the dial insido is connected by n chain with the outer dial, and by a simple and instantaneous motion directions can be telegraphed to tho dmcr. The attention of the latter is attracted by a gong or bell, and by glancing at the bell he can tell whether ho is to stop, turnto the right or left, go- slow or fast, proceed home, &c In carriages used by professional men, tho word hospital or any other can be inscribed on the dial. Mr Strceter has also made a somewhat similar arrangement applicable to domestic purposes, by which ? crvants may bo summoned to open the door, bring hot water, attend to fire, servo, and bo forth. In country houses, or in large establishments, much tinte and trouble' may bo saved by the use of the indicator, which may also bo recommended " for its simplo arrangements and economy. TnE Sand Process op Ekotiavixo op Glass — A newstep of progress in this very curious process bos been made. It consists in the substitution of the force of mere gravitation for that of steam or bla«t power. A box, or hopper, of suitable dimensious, is placed near tho ceiling of tho room, and from it depends a small tube of about 8 feet long. No machinery whatever is used. The sand or emery-powder to ba used for engraving is placed 1 in the hopper, nnd regulated by a slide at the top : it falls down through tho tube, under the end of which is held tho glass, watch-case, cup, or other object to be ongrawod. In a few minutes the designs are cut with a great degree of exactness and beauty. Sufficient protection is afforded by designs of paper being pasted upon the ptirfiieo to bo engraved, or by writing or drawing the design on the glass with gelatinous or india-rubber ink. The cuttingponder is used over and over again, being transferred from the tray in which the work is placed to the hopper*. To Prevent Black- Leg in Cattle.— Very early in spring, before the yearlings are turned out to grass, take one part of garlic, one part sufphur and two parts lard ; cut and bruise tho garlic and mix altogether. Take a sharp knife and make an incision just through the skin of the animals neck and work the finger so as to make a little sack between the flesh and skin. Put in of tho above mixture a little piece about the size of a hickory nut, and thd work is done. It will soon be absorbed and heat up. It will Ixs sometime before the animal's flesh will' be fit for tho butcher. A remarkable engineering feat now in progress is the crossing of tho Andes by the Lima antt Oroya railroad. The Mountain chain will bo crossed at an altitude of 15,000 feet by a tunnel 3,000 feet in length. The gradients are tho steepest known on any ordinary railway. The workmen employed at Cholos Indians, tho only operatives who can endure, for a prolonged period, the rarefied atmosphoro at this great elevation. Gold in Sea Water-. — Th« Chemical Nein gives a very interesting paper " On" the Presence of Gold in Sea Water," by R Sonstadt. The proportion of gold' in .•fawater is stated to be less than one grain to the ton ; consequently, especial precautions are necessary to detect and obtain this very small quantity. The processes given arc s lid, however, to be very satisfactory. Conditional PiiAiBB — An enterprising sonpmaker of New York dnubed the rocks all tho way up the Hudson with tho appeal, " U«e Smith's soap !" whereupon his rival, the still more enterprising Jones, after much cogitation, started Ins whitewashes up the rircr, to append to Mr Smith's appeal, ' If yon can't get Jones." Situ 18 Life ' — Brown : How's your wife, .Tones ? Jones (with the. wine-glass). Poorly — always is poorly. Shoe afraid nhe-'s going to die, and f'm afraid she isn't ; so I've got a doosid pleasant time of it, altogether. — Judy. Style IS Everything. — A Ohi«ago reporfer announces thnt " tho receipt of another ship-load of blackberries from Ft .Toe AfnterdaT creatod a perceptible ripple in the loothpiok- ti *J<>." '

Madame Patti h»8 made herein? at Mobcow iii ' -u.viata," with tremendous success, li.vvintc l>uen uc tiled tluring the representation thhty times The bouquet of (.amelias thrown by the Pnnce33 Dolgorouki Mas so laigc as to require two men to cany it acioss the stage, and the value of the flowers showered upon the famous cantatrice amounted to £100. Ihi Civilian sa\s that the sen 1 ? of salnnN in the Cul>nnl Office lias been reused, and very largely increased Form r . tho entering salary of a junior »lerk was fclOO per anni m ; li'ncefjvth it wdl rise to IGOO by £20 a \ea" 1 c minmum salary of tho sCcond-elas* n £900 ppi Jinnum, The salaries of the first-class clerks range from £1,0(30 to £1,200 per annum. The members of the Bramham Moor Hunt have presented a service of plate, value £3,000, to the master of the hunt, Mr George Lane Pox. Such generosity, coming from hunters to a Fox, deserves mention, as an anomaly in nature. — Hornet. A Chinamnn in Weathcrville, California, whose life was insured for a large amount, was seriously liurtbj falling from a wnagon. There wr-» some dp'.ibt of his ever getting better, and nt !««;*th one of his friends wrote to the insurance company : " Charley half dead, like half money." The pay of tho metropolitan police lifts been increased Tho result is expected to be a consolidation of tho force, on the principlo that an cvtra shilling or two must make a policeman more Bobby. — Hornet. A liberal sympathiser with tho working men's movement out in Indiana hag adopted tho eight-hour system on his farm. He lets his people begin at eight in the morning and quit at eight in the evening. "Now, John, suppose t'lcr/s a load of hay on one side of the river, and a jackass on the other, and no bridire, and tho river's too wide to swtm, how can the jaok-ias get the hay?" "Igivoitup." "Well, that's ju3t what fie other jackass did." TEMPnmxCH Motto '—Fight for the right, and never get tight. Strange but true • 1573 will contain only forty -six weeks, for the other si* wilt be Lcn6. Ah editor wag going n-courting said he was " going tO (jI'CSS " What i 3 fche difference between a carpenter and a flower merchant? — None whatever ; they are both floorists. What fhiit does a newly married couple mostly resemble ? — A green pear. Why is a circus ridor like an cristocrat ? Bccauso they b oth move in good circles. Dr. Brioiit's Piio^rriODYNE. — Multitudes of people are hopelessly suffering fioiu Debility, Nervous and Liver Complaints. Depression of Spirits, Delusions, Unfituess for Business or Study, Failure of Hearing, Sight, and Memory, Lassitude, Want of" Power, &c, whose cnse3 admit of permanent euro by the new remedy Pho3podyr.e (Ozomc Oxygen), which* at once allays all irritation and excitement, imparts new energy and life to the enfeebled constitution, and l.ipidly cures every stage of these hitherto incurable and distressing ifiiladies. Sold by all Chemists and Storekeepers throughout the Colonies, from whom pamphlets containing testimonials maybe obtained.—Caution : Be particular to ask for Dr Bright's Phosphodyne, as imitations are abroad ; and avoid piuchasmg single bottles, the genuine article being sold in cases only. — Adv.