THE Manawatu Times. SATURDAY, NOV, 6, 1880. A LITERARY ISHMAELITE.

Manawatu Times, Volume IV, Issue 87, 6 November 1880, Page 2

THE Manawatu Times.

SATURDAY, NOV, 6, 1880. A LITERARY ISHMAELITE.

" Words s..'« flip."', and a drop «f iak f.->l!inir like d*w upcu j» i..'.'..:gi>u. produces tl>*.t- which m^kes thousands, perhaps million ■: think."

" Jacla c..l oca !" The die is cast, the spelL is broken, and a wnndorinsr spirit ha^ at last found a footiiold tor its weary feet. Vjv some time past tlie atmosphere has been murky with ramors thai a " Journalist of Impute " was about to confer an everlasting blessing upon tkc people of the West Coast, by spreading the JE^is of h : .s protection over their fates and fortunes, and the various towns from Olaki to New Plymouth were kept m a perfect flutter of excitement and agitation as to which would be the lucky (?) recipient of his patronage. First Marton was smiled npon. and its inhabitants were m raptures ; next BuMs was visi : cd. and with his advent it was freely whispered that the Bull Bog was being unmuzzled, was off the chain, and would appear m a few daj's ; nest Feilding was swooped down upon, Lyes (pronounced lies) — the worthy coadjutor of i so worthy amaster— distinctly stating that premises were actually taken and fuel to set the Firebrand alight wus iv preparation. The Wangamiites were just beginning to draw a sigh of relief, when the bird of evil omen was m their midst, and it was "heral'l "ed that the "chronic"(le) journalistic duel was likely to assume a triangular shape. A flag of truce was hoisced ; the past was left to bury its dead ; and a leasjua offensive and defensive was entered iuto lo meet the interloper who sought to snatch, the bone for which the contention had been carried on. "T ue Journalist of Repute " was interviewed, he was offeied the facilities wherewith to indulge his journalistic ambition, providing ho put at least a half a hundred miles between the scMio of his operations and his philanthropic friend ! The offer was accopled ; so far the game of bluff and brasr has been successful, and since then tie "fallen star" has been m search oc a fruitful soil upon which to shoot. Armed wiuh a Press pass, oblained under false pretences, he has prospected every inoli of ground on the Ooast, and Palmprston ii (he only auriferous region within reach of the needy speculator. It i» usual wLan an illustrious stranger comes into a community that he should be put under the microscope, and we will proceed to give a few facts connected with tho erratic literary caroev of this " Journalist of Repute." His (£■ nneciion with the Wanganui Press is of a daie anterior to our ken, still we have heard lhat hia editorial reign was not productive of the harmony of the (own, or at all profitable to his employers. We do know, bowever, that as the Viper of Martin, be persistently misrepresented and villified the very man who now has airiited Aim to go away from Mm. We know that bis j employer paid dearly for fighting tlie legal battle of bis scribe, and we know that hs has left no stone unturned to ruin the man who was nearly beggared by tucb, action. W"e nest ftud him taking a step southward, and having succeeded iv ensconscing himself m charge of the Peilding journal, his first action was. — for tome reason of bis own — to denounce i he West CoaU I'iulway, and so damage ihe inurnal that it lias not recovered the blow vet. This offence was condoned, however, and he canlinued m possession of thesanctiim un'.il I be proprietor found him secretly conniving with one of the. employes— the man Lyes (or Libs), bii present coadjutor — the latter giving information as to the working of the office which was to be used against his employer. This resulted m the "Journalist of Repute" being again sot adrift, and the literary Will o' the. Wisp resumed his travels, not befe'i-e bowever hurling al. kinds of l: j gn" th* c:\ts at his dismisser. In his loneliness and despised state he appealed to us for comfort and • advice. We gay« him both, ; nay more^

upon his appeal and voluntary promise to send \}s new-s 111 return we' lent him for a fe\7 days our Press pass ; but five wee^s elapsed before he had the honor to return it, and then not until repeated requests had been made for it. No later than la-st week Mr. Lie.s, liad a similar assistance. On Monday tie "Journalist of .Repute" buttonholed our representative m the train to I Foxton ; told him that he had determined to start a paper m Marton, Peilding, or Bulls, and asked as a fri'-nd for advice as to the best place. The answer was m favor of Bulls ; notwithstanding that, the samo evening he j was heanl to distinctly state that he was making preparations for a start m Palmerston. We knew him as the Viper of Marton ; we knew that he had turned upon every hand which had been sirelrht'd forth to save him; we had been >vanied of his hypoc-isy and deceit ; still, when he was forsaken and dejected, with every man's hand against him, we pitied his forlorn condition, and fought his battles boh publicly and privately. And now, having devoted so much space to the paat, let us add a few words about the future. Fro7n the first day that these columns carao under our control, we have carried out an independent course, unswayed m tue slightest by pecuniary considerations. It : we have not honestly did our duty for the district, then we are unworthy of support; but can anyone point to a single want unredres^ed, for which we have not striven? It is truo that m doing our duty we have made some enemies ; but we aow declare openly— now, when we are threatened •with puiiishiueut for such conduct — I hat i\ our last penny liad to be put in'o the balance, we won d not swerve o?i<? iota on 'that account. We freely admit the right of any man to start an opposition organ, land" were it done m the manly, honorable manner m which our rivals m Foxton and Feilcling entered the field, the reception of the newcomer would have been as cordial a?* theirs. We always looked upon the advent of a second papiM 1 as a contingency which would take place one day or another — it was only a matter of time. Our indiguation is not launched because another seeks to share m what may be deemed our prosperity, but we loathe and despise a hypocrite who could sneak into the confidence of the unsuspecting, make appeals for advice and assistance, and while covertly sneering at the former, turn the latter against the source from which it came. Such a man is the Literary Tshmaelite, the man who having made Wauganui. Marton, and Feilding too hot to hold him. now seeks your suffrages ; the man who— from Paikakarilci to Mount Egrnont — is known by tho very equivocal appellation of "The Journalist of Kefute (?)"