The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1876-05-27 00:00:00

OPPOSITES from the SAME DIRECTION.
WELCOME arrival from the East—the Prince.
Unwelcome ditto from ditto—the Wind.—Punch.

THE NEWSPAPER PRESS OF THE
PRESENT DAY.

Lt the annual dinner in connection with the Newspaper
Press Fund, the Lord Chief Justice of England, who was to have
presided, was prevented from attending by illness. Ms place
was supplied by Lord Cr Hagan, who, while proposing the toast
,of the evening, compared the present position of the press
with what it was ia a time within his own remenf3rance. lie
referred to the press as the medium through which many had
risen to eminence, and spoke of the arduous nature of the
work of pressmen, the conscientiousness with which, in the
most difficult situations, they discharged their duty, and the
•amount of remuneration which was awarded to their services.
In the course of his speech he said :

What must be the potency of that press which in this
country represents, shapes, and to a large extent pro-
duces opinion! (Rear, hear.) Its potency is enormous,
for it is Tie the atmosphere, which, though it may
sometimes be poisoned by mephitic vapour, is a neces-
sity imposed upon us by nature, and is, on the whcle,
conducive to the best interests of human beings.
,Morally, physically, and intellectually, the press
!improves with the times, and we have had of late
'years an extensioul of the power of the press such
as our forefathers never could have imagined, for
.the railway and the telegraph have spread throughout
the world the opinions which command the world.
We are coerced, therefore, into a belief that there
'never was before such a moral power as that
which is now exercised by the press of this coun-
try. That power is exercised all the more in that way,
! because the press has so much improved. If you
look at the press at the beginning of this century, say
when Hazlitt and Coleridge were contributors to the
daily papers, you will find an acerbity of feeling, a
violence of diction, and a bigotry of sentiment which
have now all happily paysed away; and even within
my own experience I remember when there were
weekly publications in the city of London outraging
individuals, living in the fetid breath of slander, and
violating the sacredness of private life. (Hear, hear.)
All that has passed away, thank God, and the press
of this country is almost the reverse of what it once
was in impartiality, in truth-telling, and in forbear-
ance towards those to whom it may be opposed. That
is an enormous advance, and we have reason to be
proud of the press, though there may be portions
of it still of which we have little reason to be proud.
It is the press of this country which frames
and shapes the thoughts which ultimately find legis-
lative expression in the House of Commons. It
is said to be the function of that House, in which,
through the favour of my Sovereign, I have a seat,
to prevent precipitate decisions and premature
change. It is also a function of the House of Lords—
and that is the source of safety and strength of that
House—to note the progress of opinion, to note the
signs of the times, to learn when it is right to
contend, and when it is right to yield, to discover
when innovation, which may have been hereto-
fore injurious, becomes a necessity and wisdom of the
time. But, if that is ee, how is the House of
Lords to obtain informa,ion so well as by looking into
that mlrror of the press, which indicates the varying
phases of national opinion, and presents the form and
pressure of the age which is reflected in it? Taking
these things together, am I wrong in saying that you
are proud of your press? and, being interested in the
people who are connected with that press. I am not
likely to want sympathy and support in expressing
these opinions. (Cheers.)