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Typo: A Monthly Newspaper and Literary Review, Volume 5

[miscellaneous paragraphs]

A Woodville clergyman, for remarking in a sermon on « Liberty, » that some people understood liberty to mean licence, was taken to task by one of his flock, on the ground that he had introduced party politics.

A contributor to the Inland Printer makes an excellent suggestion —that postal cards should be supplied, when required, like shipping tags, in « gangs » of four, to save unnecessary presswork when used for advertisements or circulars. Here is a good hint for our own postal department, which, under the new Postmaster-General, seems to be waking up a little.

We are glad to record that the Auckland journalists have formed a branch of the N. Z. Journalists' Institute. There was some little local jealousy at first, and talk of forming an independent institution, but wiser counsels have prevailed. The following officers were elected: Chairman, W. M'Cullough; secretary, A. Reid; treasurer, G. M. Main; committee, W. Douglas, J. L. Kelly, J. M. Geddis.

A press case of some interest, and so far as we know, without precedent, has been decided after adjournments extending over some weeks. J. J. Smith, one of the proprietors of the Wairarapa Star, sued T. C. Williams, of Wellington, for £9 9s for advertising. Mr Williams is a wealthy settler, an eccentric and interminable writer, and the terror of journalists, who, of late years, tried to keep him in check by charging advertising rates for his effusions. One of these lately appeared in the Wellington Times, and was partly devoted to the demolition of the Wairarapa Star. At the foot was the note: « Wairarapa Star and other New Zealand papers please copy. » Mr Williams appears to have heard that the Star intended not only to copy but to charge for the advertisement, and somewhat unwisely telegraphed that he would not pay for the insertion of the letter. The reply was that he had « countermanded his order » too late, the letter being already in type. The account being rendered, Mr Williams refused to pay, and in due course was sued. The first hearing took place in Wellington, where a quantity of expert evidence was called, and was unanimously to the effect that the usage of the trade did not warrant such a footnote being treated as an order. At the adjourned hearing at Masterton, the plaintiff was the only witness who professed to regard the note as an order. His partner, Mr Hogg, even, in cross-examination said: « I scarcely think I should have copied the letter and charged for it, because I usually act with a little caution. The thing appears a little sharp. Mr Smith might have placed a different construction on the footnote to what I did. I do not think I should have copied it. Mr Smith acted rather sharply; but I do not consider it indiscreet. » The case could have only one result after evidence like this, and the plaintiff's counsel based his argument, not on the alleged order, but on the telegram. Defendant's counsel characterised the case as one of attempted blackmail, and the whole action as farcical. The Court held that there was no contract, and gave judgment for defendant with costs, 9s, and witnesses' and counsels' fees, £7 11s 3d. It may be noted that every other newspaper in New Zealand would have been equally warranted in copying and charging for the advertisement, and that if the footnote—an evident piece of « chaff » —had been a legal order, Mr Williams would have incurred liabilities amounting to about £1,500.

page 145

After preaching for 57 minutes to a long-suffering congregation, a colonial parson gave out the hymn, « ؟Art thou weary? »

A poll of ratepayers was taken this month to decide the question of a free library for Dunedin. The votes recorded were: For, 843; against, 952.

Printers who wish to add to their technical library, and designers, engravers, and lithographers in search of good models, will do well to study Herr Hedeler's list, published as a supplement to this issue. We doubt whether so fine a collection of specimen-books is to be found elsewhere.

A return was lately called for « of the number of terriers kept in the Public Trust Office. » Few, save gentlemen of legal education, and perhaps not all of these, would recognize the technical meaning of the word, which, according to Webster, is « a book or roll in which the lands of private persons or corporations are described. » It is derived from the Latin terraterrarius liber; and the name of the dog comes from the same source, referring to the animal's habit of pursuing its prey into burrows in the earth.

It may be excusable in strangers, but no New Zealand comp. should be guilty of dividing the Maori NG or WH, yet the blunder is of daily occurrence. These digraphs are as much single letters as the English TH or CH. We do not think any reader would pass such divisions as « Youn-ghusband » or « elsew-here, » yet we find the exact parallel to the first— « Wan-ganui » —even in the Wanganui papers; and, though not so commonly, have seen the W cut off from its aspirate. Equally bad, and even less excusable is the division Pal-merston which may be met with every week in the newspapers.

An East Coast contemporary contains an item from the British Medical Journal concerning a New York chemist who suffered discomfort from his hat, the inner band of which was found, on analysis, to contain lead. The metallic lead in the band, we are informed, amounted to 37,548 grains. « The compound used was apparently white lead, of which the quantity of lead named indicated 1,068 grains per square inch, or 46,992 grains for the whole band. » These figures are startling. A hat loaded with nearly 6¾lb. in the inner lining « to give the leather a glossy finish » would, we imagine, cause « discomfort, » quite apart for any absorption of the poison. But we doubt the statement, even on the alleged excellent authority of the B.M.J. We think it more probable that Diabolus Typographicus, with his usual perversity, has substituted commas for the decimal points.

The case of Mr J. B. Dunn against the News Company, appears to us to be one of considerable hardship. The nonsuit in the first case on a technical quibble, with over £3 costs, might have been looked for in a higher tribunal, but surely such a point could have been overruled in a court of equity and good-conscience, to which counsel are only admitted by courtesy. A still greater hardship was the disallowal of some £10 overtime on the ground of there being no formal agreement. A written and stamped agreement to pay a shilling an hour overtime would be a curiosity, yet overtime is regularly paid in all respectable establishments. Mr Dunn's claim was fully warranted by usage, quite apart from the verbal arrangement. As for the alleged deficiency in cash, it remains unproven, and the amount was variously stated on different occasions. If such deficiency did exist, it seems scarcely a matter for civil procedure.

The latest advertising dodge is specially for the benefit of very smart folks. It is something in this style: « An ordinary Manntrapp's whisky bottle has been completely filled with Dr. Sharke's Exacerbating Pills, and sealed…. We agree to divide £50 in prizes for the nearest guesses as to the number of pills…. We make no charge for the guess [!], but only purchasers of Dr. Sharke's Exacerbating Pills are eligible to compete, and the guess must be written on one of his printed forms, one of which is wrapped round every box, &c. » Dr. Sharke's trap is nicely baited for the sharp man, who, having obtained a Manntrapp's whisky bottle, will invest in a sufficient quantity of the exacerbating pills to fill it. Then he will count them. When it is too late, he will find that several hundreds of equally smart people have done just the same thing. It may be noted that the paltry £50 is subdivided into seven sums, down to £1. That there will be a temporary « boom » in the pills is very probable. It is to be hoped that their use will be strictly confined to the experimenting necessary for a reasonably approximate guess. They will be quite harmless in a Manntrapp's whisky bottle, but should they afterwards find their way into human interiors, we may look for a rise in the death-rate.

We are indebted to the courtesy of Mr Bock, the only printer in Wellington possessing the Akanthea combination, for the specimen types in the first page of this number.

Our German exchanges are full of articles and items relating to the compositors' „Streif” —a word for which, we regret to think, along with the thing itself, they are indebted to the Briton. A late telegram shows that the movement has become very wide-spread in Germany, two thousand men being out in Berlin alone. English and American unions are assisting the strikers.

Mr F. W. Thomas, of Toledo, Ohio, whose little book on « Twists » we noted some time ago, has sent us a unique 16-page prospectus of the season's work of the Young Men's Christian Association. It is beautifully printed on art paper, with duplex cover worked in colors. Mr Thomas is well supplied with the latest American novelties, and uses them with remarkable taste and skill; and, as might be supposed, his handiness with brass-rule is everywhere apparent, his fancy initials being wrought out of that material.

Mr T. B. Bax, hotelkeeper, Blenheim, has issued a writ against the Pelorus Guardian, claiming £1000 damages for libel. The case is of much interest. Mr Gaskell, a young man who had just been appointed secretary to the Guardian Company, went to Blenheim in April last on business, and was there taken ill with typhoid. He was conveyed to plaintiff's hotel, and lay for some six weeks in a cold and comfortless room, where he died. The Guardian published a pretty strong article on the subject, in which it was remarked that a little more humanity might have been shown to the sick man. The plaintiff took umbrage, and instituted proceedings. He offered to take £50 in satisfaction, but defendants preferred to let the case go to a hearing, and refused the offer.

For the following history of Masonic journalism in New Zealand, we are indebted to the N. Z. Craftsman: « Five or six Masonic papers, all being monthlies, have at different times been published in New Zealand. The New Zealand Freemason was born in Dunedin. 6th Jan., 1880. On 25th January, 1884, it changed its abode to Gisborne, and on 6th June, 1884, to Christchurch. It continued to be published at the latter city until its amalgamation with the New Zealand Masonic Journal in May, 1888. The Craftsman first saw the light at Christchurch in December, 1880, and died a natural death after the appearance of its fourteenth number in January, 1882. The New Zealand Craftsman and Masonic Review came into existence at Wellington on 1st May, 1884, and after one year of good and useful work, ceased labor on 1st April, 1885. The first number of The New Zealand Masonic Journal appeared on 1st February, 1887, at Dunedin. It amalgamated with The New Zealand Freemason on 1st May, 1888, and expired from want of sustenance on 2nd September, 1889. Our own paper, the present New Zealand Craftsman, came into existence 1st Nov., 1889. Several years ago there was, we believe, a Masonic paper published by Bro. Chas. de Longueville Graham, at Port Chalmers, which existed for a few months, but we are not in possession of any particulars respecting it. »

There is a grim old story of the « iron shroud, » in which the walls of a dungeon gradually closed in upon the prisoner until he was crushed to death. It might well stand as a parable of the effect of a protective tariff upon trade. At the last meeting of the Wellington Woollen Factory, though a handsome dividend was declared, which the chairman attributed to the 25 per cent, duty, he complained that woollen goods were still imported, and advocated an increase that should be absolutely prohibitive. The Federated Bootmakers of Christchurch lately met the Premier, and complained that the protection afforded by the ad valorem tariff was insufficient. It had practically shut out high-class manufactures; but inferior lines were still imported. Their suggestion was that a high uniform duty on all qualities should be imposed. The Premier « listened attentively, » but did not commit himself. It really looks as if our friends the federated bootmakers desired legislation under which they might manufacture rubbish, and sell it at a high price. The Christchurch Chamber of Commerce has just resolved « that the question of commercial union between Great Britain and her colonies and dependencies should be freely discussed at the forthcoming conference of commerce of the empire, in the hope that the Mother Country will cease to regard her colonies as foreign countries. » In the face of our atrocious tariff, the persistent agitation of the dominant class for absolutely prohibitive duties, and the fact that Britain admits colonial products free, this resolution reads like a huge joke, and one not in the best taste.