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Fair Play, Volume I, Issue 17, 24 February 1894, Page 10

The Catholic Times is dead. We are sorry, for we fear its decease will mean a serious financial loss to Archbishop Redwood, who was in reality the founder of the paper. The Catholic Times started badly with an editor from Sydney, whose reign was brief, if not glorious. He was followed by Mr. Ivo Evison, now editor of Christchurch Truth. A very grave mistake was made in getting the ex-editor of a freethought paper, the coarsetoned Rationalist, and a man who had toured the colony delivering freethought lectures to act as the conductor of a religious paper. Evison wrote some very brilliant stuff for the Times, but all through his editorial career, his one object seemed to be to advertise himself and in the later days of his regime the foul attacks made by the paper upon the leaders of the democratic party disgusted many who would otherwise have supported the paper. When Evison left. Mr. Kennedy, an intelligent industrious young fellow, who had been on the staff of the New Zealand Times, was made manager, and Dr. Grace, so we believe, took charge of the literary department. The doctor in xy be a good medical man, we believe he is ; but if the leading articles of the last few months have been from his pen, we don’t think much of his literary ability. The paper has gradually faded and pined away since Evison left, and we are sorry to hear that the financial “ wash-up ” will mean a heavy loss for someone. We trust the Archbishop, a fine fellow in every way, will not be very badly hit.

The Evening Depress on Thursday last devoted a whole leader—ye Gods what a misnomer—to abusing the Hon. W. P. Reeves because of the rumour that the Minister of Labour is likely to succeed Perceval as Agent-Genei’al. As a matter of fact Reeves is one of the few men that eould be found to succeed Perceval. A brilliantly educated, remarkably wellinformed man, who has gota bigger grip of social legislation than perhaps any politician in this colony. He certainly might have a more amiable manner, but after all his ungenial style is more on the surface than anywhere else, and he can and does do many generous actions—tor that ‘ Fair Play ’ can vouch. As to the Evening Depress, the Lies fag at Christchurch, and a few other snarling spiteful papers, which lose no opportunity of reviling Reeves, we treat them with the most supreme contempt, a contempt which is fully shared by all right-thinking people.