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Typo: A Monthly Newspaper and Literary Review, Volume 6

Press and Personal Record

page 50

Press and Personal Record.

At the Resident Magistrate's Court, Woodville, on 14th July, before Mr Turnbull, R.M., E. A. Haggen, publisher of the Woodville Examiner, was charged, on the information of William Syms, J.P., a local chemist, with publishing a false and defamatory libel on 27th April. Mr Manisty appeared for the plaintiff, and Mr Southey Baker for the defendant. Mr Manisty stated that the complainant had called on plaintiff to apologise, but he refused. Complainant gave evidence, stating that he believed the alleged libel referred to him and charged him with procuring abortion. On Mr Baker, for defendant, proceeding to cross-examine him as to his treatment of a certain person, Mr Manisty objected, contending that the magistrate had no right to inquire into the facts or truth of the libel, or whether it was for the public benefit. That was a question for a higher court, and the magistrate must commit for trial. The Resident Magistrate said that such a contention took him by surprise. If it were correct, a man perfectly innocent might be committed for trial. Mr Baker contended that as the defence was practically privilege, the Court could inquire into the facts, though not the truth. If the English act were in force, the lower court could inquire into the truth, and whether the libel was published for the public benefit; but the English law was not adopted in New Zealand. The Magistrate said that the point was important, and adjourned the case for a fortnight to look into the law on the subject. —On the resumption of the case, on the 27th inst., the Magistrate upheld the objection to the cross-examination of complainant and his witnesses, stating that in the present state of the law he could hear no evidence as to the truth or justification of the libel. All he could do was to take evidence that the article was a bonâ fide comment on a public matter. Mr Baker said that it was not worth while. Mr Haggen was committed for trial in Wellington.

The Westport Times and Evening Star have combined, and are now published as one paper, the dual name being retained.

The Bay of Plenty Times has again changed hands, the purchasers being Messrs G. A. Ward and W. Elliott.

The liquidators of the Dunedin Globe company offer the concern for sale by tender.

The N. Z. Methodist has begun a new series, and is now published at a penny. It is already the most popular and widely-circulated religious newspaper in the colony, and the change should increase its circulation and its usefulness.

The N. Z. Craftsman still progresses. No. 9 of vol. iii, containing 76 pages, is the largest yet issued, and the editor has had to throw overboard ten pages of interesting matter. The first number, issued less than three years ago, filled just eight pages.

True Blue is the name of a little four-page quarto sheet, published monthly at Palmerston North, the first number of which appeared on the 1st July. It is issued « in the interests of religion and morality, » is printed by W. Hart, and published by the Rev. J. W. Ellis. The engraved title is peculiar, and decidedly original.

Aotearoa is the name of a small sheet in the Maori language, of which two numbers have been issued at Napier. Mr Rees, M.H.R., and Mr James Carroll are the chief contributors. It has a brief and imperfect review of former ventures in the Maori language—the omission of the old Maori Messenger being noteworthy. A very brief career may safely be predicted for the new paper, which compares unfavorably with former attempts in the same direction.

The Wellington branch of the Typographical Society have sent the following memorandum to the Hon. W. Cadman: « The board of management, acting on behalf of the piece chapel of the Government printing office, asks for a committee of inquiry with a view to consider the advisableness of abolishing piece-work in that department, wholly or in part: or otherwise—(1) to ascertain and remove the cause which prevents competent tradesmen from earning fair wages; (2) to classify the men employed, so that they will be able to look forward to security of employment; (3) to provide how and by whom extra hands shall be engaged and discharged; (4) to consider and report any other matters relevant. » The Minister has undertaken to consider the proposal.

Mrs Bell, wife of the proprietor of the Dunedin Star, died on the 18th inst., aged 78. Mr Bell has the sympathy of his fellow-journalists in his bereavement.

Our Hawera contemporary has received a communication from Glasgow addressed as follows:— « Mr The Editor Star, Hawera, Victoria, Australia, via Italy. »

The field of metaphor is still unexhausted. In a debate in the House, a city member, according to the Wellington Times, « rubs in salt with a rough hand and a smooth tongue. » Quite a subject for a cartoon.

Mr T. W. Twist, shipping reporter of the Wellington Press, was married at Foxton on the 12th July, to Miss Carrie R. Easton, eldest daughter of Mr T. Easton, of that town, sisters of the bride and bridegroom officiating as bridesmaids. The shipping in Foxton harbor was gaily dressed with bunting in honor of the event.

Two sudden deaths of compositors in Canterbury, within the space of two days, are recorded. Early on the morning of the 13th inst., Harry Olsen, of the Ashburton Guardian, died suddenly in bed; and on the night of the 14th, William Taylor, of the Lyttelton Times staff, also died suddenly. The cause in each case was heart disease.

William White, a newspaper runner, aged 15, was killed on the railway at Addington, on the evening of the 18th inst. He was travelling on the 5 p.m. north train, and shortly after it had passed, a workshop foreman found him on the line, with both legs cut off, and in a dying condition. He is supposed to have fallen while passing between the carriages.

Messrs Conner's Sons, New York, in their Typographic Messenger, give a list of eleven trade papers, described as among « the best for the instruction of those who think they know it all. » Nine of these are American—the other two are the British Printer and Typo. Of the ten contemporary journals named, nine are among our regular exchanges, the exception being the Boston Engraver and Printer.

At the Supreme Court, Blenheim, on 13th July, George A. Dowsing was charged with criminally libelling W. S. Staite, solicitor, in the Marlborough Press. The case lasted the whole afternoon, and the jury were locked up for the night. On the following day, the case was dismissed. In the civil action arising out of the same letter, the plaintiff was awarded one farthing damages, without costs.

A new idea has been successfully carried out in Wanganui, where the staffs of the two local papers held a united « social » on the 23rd inst., and spent a very pleasant evening. Mr Boyle, of the Herald, occupied the chair, and Mr Ball, of the Chronicle, the vice-chair. The good example set by Wanganui might be followed elsewhere, with advantage to all concerned.

Mr G. Humphries, the Secretary of the New Zealand Institute of Journalists, has received a reply from the secretary of the Cabinet, acknowledging receipt of the resolution passed by the council of the Institute in favor of the Libel Bill, and stating that the Government hope to be able to pass the Bill into law during the present session.

Mr Rhodes has introduced a Printers and Newspapers Registration Bill into the New Zealand House of Representatives. Its object is to place newspaper companies on the same footing as other joint-stock companies with respect to actions at law. It proposes to allow the chairman or managing director to sue.

A valedictory social to Mr Culling, on the eve of his departing for home, was held at Mataura a few days ago, and some very complimentary speeches were made. Mr Culling took over the Mataura paper mill a few years ago, when the concern was in difficulties, put in £5000 worth of new machinery, and has built up a large and prosperous business.

On 28th June a well-contested football match was played in Wanganui between fifteen of the Chronicle staff and fifteen of the Herald's hands. The attendance was large, notwithstanding the unfavorable weather—the day being so misty that nothing could be seen of the game from a greater distance than fifty or sixty yards. The result of the match was, Herald, 9; Chronicle, 2. A long and enthusiastic report in the Chronicle describes it as « one of the best contests ever witnessed, » and adds, a little ambiguously, that « the play was of that sort that baffles description. »

At the annual meeting of the Canterbury branch of the New Zealand Institute of Journalists, on 29th July, Mr G. R. Hart, chairman, presiding, proposed amendments to the constitution were considered, and Messrs A. Cohen and R. Loughnan were appointed delegates to the annual general meeting. The election of officers for the year resulted as follows: Chairman, G. R. Hart; hon. sec., G. Capper; hon. treasurer, W. H. Triggs; committee, S. Saunders, A. H. Bristed, J. Plunket, W. G. Atack, P. Selig, W. H. Graham. The branch now numbers 21 members.

page 51

« A Comp, » in the Evening Press, says that the best men in the piece-room of the Government printing-office object to the action taken by the Typographical Society in endeavoring to abolish piece-work. « It would be most unfair, » he says, « to put good and indifferent workmen on a level footing by paying them the same rate of wages. It would not only be unfair to the better workmen, but would be the means of squandering the money of the country… I don't object to a £2 10s man receiving £3 if the employers like to pay him at that rate, but I do object to be put down to the minimum while I am fairly able to earn £4 to £4 10s by piece-work. It's the only chance a good man has. »

The matter of the removal of the Government advertising from the widely-circulated Dunedin Star to the moribund and almost unknown Globe was brought up in the House on the 19th inst. The Minister of Lands, while refusing to lay the correspondence on the table, unreservedly admitted that the reason for the change was the fact that the Star was a political opponent and the Globe a supporter. The advertising accounts, however, are paid for out of public funds, contributed alike by persons of all political shades. A direct subsidy —if it could be passed by the Auditor-General—would be a more honorable way of helping the journalistic « lame dogs » over the stile of their financial difficulties.

A discovery, of interest to printers, and which may yet prove to be of importance, has been made by Mr A. M'Kay, Government Geologist, at Fairburn, Mangonui County, north of Auckland. He was shown some specimens of darkish-gray stone which was being quarried for road-metal, and found it to be true lithographic stone, of great purity. At the last meeting of the Philosophical Society, Mr M'Kay exhibited a small sample of the stone, properly dressed and drawn upon, and a print from the same, executed at the Government Survey Office, in no way inferior to work from the best Solenhofen stone. Experiments on a larger scale are to be made, and are awaited with interest. There is an abundant supply— « thirty miles of it, » Mr M'Kay says—but it would be too much to expect that it will all prove of equally fine quality.

The Wellington branch of the N. Z. Institute of Journalists held their second social gathering in the Masonic Hall, Boulcott-st., on Saturday evening, 16th July. There was a good attendance, and a very pleasant evening was spent. The « Gallery » was represented, but not so well as might have been expected. The President, Mr E. T. Gillon, opened the proceedings in a few well-chosen words, and the evening was filled up with music and literary recitations, interspersed with dancing, the music for the latter supplied by Mrs L. C. Woolcott and Messrs F. Weston and W. F. Roydhouse. The music, vocal and instrumental, was above the average of amateur efforts, and much of it would have done credit to professionals. There were three recitations—one selected, by Mr J. H. Kirby; and two original, « The Editor's Apology, » by Mr R. C. Harding, and « The Killaloe Football Club » by Mr E. D. Hoben. The latter had a certain fitness, the genial and indefatigable secretary, Mr C. W. Earle—to the regret of all present—being absent, owing to injuries sustained that afternoon on the field. Those who sang were Mrs Geddis and Mrs Atack, Messrs A. Reid, H. R. Dix, W. F. Eoydhouse, and L. C. Woolcott; and the instrumental selections were contributed by Miss Gillon and Mr Luxford, besides those who also furnished the dance-music.

Some weeks ago, at Lawrence, the Minister of Public Works was waited upon at the hotel by a representative of the local paper, and a report of the interview appeared in due course in the Tuapeka Times. Extracts from this report were quoted by Mr Scobie Mackenzie in the House a few days ago, and occasioned much amusement. Mr Seddon denied having used the words attributed to him; and the Minister for Education followed up his colleague's denial by the assertion that the Times reporter had boasted that he had concocted a bogus interview so cleverly as to « deceive Scobie. » Mr Mackenzie telegraphed to Lawrence, and in the evening, by permission of the House, read the following reply:— « The report of the interview with Mr Seddon is absolutely correct. Mr Seddon may as well deny having been in Lawrence as question the veracity of the report.—T. Pilling. » Mr Seddon again gave the statement an unqualified denial. Mr Mackenzie, after explaining that during the interview with the reporter he was waiting for Mr Seddon in another room, drily added: « I am astounded at the Minister's continued denials. But I feel sure he does not mean to mislead the House, and in justice to him I ought to mention that one of the interviewers told me that he did not think the Minister would recollect in the morning what he had been saying overnight. » The Times took the matter up in earnest, and on the 27th inst. published an editorial attack on Mr Seddon which has been fairly described as ferocious. It is susceptible of but one interpretation—that it is a challenge to Mr Seddon to fight out the dispute in an arena where Editor and Minister can meet on equal terms.

« The Premier, » according to a Government organ, « is considering the advisableness of encouraging the manufacture of printing paper. » In plain English, of course, this means a heavy duty on the imported article. There are two paper-mills in New Zealand, paying good dividends. There are about two hundred printing offices, already nearly taxed to death. And now a new and still heavier burden is being prepared for them, to swell the profits of the two paper-mills. This is in keeping with the whole fiscal policy of the Ministry.

In deciding an action against the Sydenham licensing commissioners (Christchurch) Mr Justice Denniston lately took judicial cognizance of the alleged fact that one of them was the editor of a prohibition newspaper—a most extraordinary, and so far as we are aware, unprecedented proceeding. Largely upon this ground he held that « the committee could not have acted in a strictly judicial manner. » Therefore he gave judgment against the committee, with costs. In reading the decision, the question arises as to what extent his Honor himself « brought a judicial mind to the consideration of the question. » The ease is to go to the Court of Appeal.

At Invercargill, on the 22nd inst., J. C. Edwards, printer, of Wellington, sued Captain Fahrbroder, of the barque Bianca, for £70 for 300 printed copies of a general average statement. The defendant said that he had never ordered the work; that he had received no copies of the statement or account; and that the sum of £2,500 had been deposited with the National Mortgage Company to meet the liabilities incurred by the accident to ship and cargo. The defendant was discharged from custody, and the case adjourned to 31st August. Sir Robert Stout, who appeared for the defence, said that if judgment went for defendant he would sue for damages.

In the action brought against the Sydney Sunday Times by the late Postmaster-General, Mr D. O'Connor, claiming £5000 damages for an alleged libel in commenting on the purchase of the Government stables, a verdict was returned ou the 0th inst. for defendants.

A friend has sent us copies of Young Australia, a children's paper, published monthly in Sydney, and edited and published by Mrs Fotheringhame. The literary matter is good, and in the number before us we notice a poem by a New Zealand writer, Miss Jessie Mackay. The venture deserves to succeed; but in the matter of typography and general arrangement is open to great improvement.

Mr A. C. Baillie, formerly of the Wairarapa Daily Times, is now reporter for the Armidale Chronicle, N.S.W. The first issue of that paper after he had joined the staff contained the following account of an unpleasant adventure:— « On Monday last Mr A. Baillie, of the Chronicle staff, whilst pursuing his headlong career on horseback, in pursuit of an important paragraph, had the misfortune to sustain a fracture of the forearm and other injuries, the result of his steed falling with him. However, with the true Press instinct of indifference to such trifles, Mr Baillie is performing his usual duties as if nothing had happened. It takes a lot to disconcert your true pressman. »

The business of the City Typefoundry, London, established by the late Charles J. Morton in 1864, and which has grown to a large concern, is to be sold by his widow to a joint-stock company.

Our friend and correspondent M. Claude Motteroz, of Paris, sends us neatly-engraved invitation cards, notifying the marriage of his daughter Charlotte to M. Etienne Crozy, Captain in the 16th Battalion of Artillery, which auspicious event took place on 9th May.

It is a pleasure to hear (writes a contributor to the Globe) that a sumptuous new edition of Jane Austen's novels is to be issued very soon. Of all our female writers, the authoress of « Pride and Prejudice ii is the one to whom I fancy most of us turn back oftenest. A prime favorite of two of the wisest and sanest men of our country, Sir Walter Scott and Lord Tennyson, her homely stories have a charm lacking even in those of Miss Bronte. Ten years ago many would have said George Eliot was better, but the reputation of Miss Evans, partly because of the sadness of her tales, has dwindled since her death; that of Miss Austen burns on quietly and steadily.

A curious form of press censorship has been adopted by the Preston, Ashton, and Wolverhampton public libraries, and is likely to be followed elsewhere. Before the newspapers—from The Times downwards—are admitted to the reading-room, every line of sporting information is blackened out. This course became necessary, the newspaper stands having become so monopolised by betting-men that the ordinary readers, and working-men desirous of consulting the advertisements, had no opportunity of access to the files. The consternation of the loafers when the system was inaugurated was as ludicrous as it was gratifying, and it is reported that the atmosphere of the rooms, both moral and physical, has been marvellously purified. There seems to be a hint here for the daily papers, « from The Times downwards. » ؟Will they take it?