, 1875-09-11
COL o MA l..

The News Letter, on the occasion Of the
starting of a fourth paper in that island, the
Voice Of the People, says:
1.-THE Voice of the People has at length
made its appearance and it is with joy we
hail the "new conner" as an addition to
the fourth estate of the realm.
Our cotem, in giying-as is customary on
the publication of a new paper-his reasons tor
entering the field of journalism writes -
1--WE have not lit is said) any literary
: exponent at all worthy of the intelligence
: and responsibility of our community
neither have the wants of the masses been
=. met and provided for by the publication
of any readable and useful matter the
. functions, power and usefulness Of the
Press have not been adequately realized
, and exhibited-whilst the Voice of the People
has had no free and unfettered mouth of
utterance accorded to it."
The reasons set forth by our cotem for
starting a fourth journal in this Island, at first
sight might appear to be very strong and
tangible; but, we fear, that on close eXamina-
ton, they will lose their Wanted force, and
vanish like the mist of the morning.
Now, the drawbacks in our local papers are
due to causes which are so patent to every
intelligent person in this community, that we
are somewhat surprised to find our cotem
ignoring them to find fault with the effects
accruing therefrom, and advancing those very
effects as his principal reason for starting
a new paper, and that, too, before those causes
have been removed (f it is possible for them
to be removed) and until they are removed, the
effects complained Of must ever exist, though
n O,1o, DaDayo with III, cr,.on,;,o, e ~,
"Voice of the People" should be started.
But how can any journal, with fifty, one
hundred, or two hundred subscribers,-one
third Of whom do not regularly pay their
subSoription-at six, and two dollars per
aunum, afford to obtain the services of a person
of such high literary, scientific, and political
ability, as would, by his brilliant and rich
productions, adorn the pages of our local
papefs-and which our cotem in his zeal to
supply the alleged literary wants of the
people, seems go very DESTROYS to see besides
keeping a staff of workmen, and paying other
expenses
As regards providing readable matter for
the masses, is not our cOtem aware that the
masses do not subscribe to, or read the local
papers and that the subscribers 10 these
papers consist entirely Of the upper and middle
classes : Bus even were the majority Of sub
scribers to our local papers made up of The
masses, what more readable and useful
matter" our cot8m, tho" Voice ofthe People
desires to see his local cotemporaries publish
in their circumscribed space, than that which
they do, We are really curious to know.
Gan it be such as he has given us an example
of in his issue-yiz an article on the 'Prairies'
from some Magazine, extracts from the
Dominica papers, and The European Nail} If
so, Reader, such extracts are what we, as
well as our cOtems, the Gazette and 'Adver-
tiser' are accustomed to publish, and, for our
part, we may say that We have often regretted
not having original matter TO lay before our
readers, instead Of these extracts from English
papers and Magazines which the majority Of
our readers may have read already"
The st. kits AdUertiser of the gath Aug.
says that since the inauguration of the first
session of the new Legislative Assembly
senators have been resting on their oars. No
meeting had taken place since, "and the vis
smertlG reigns predominant in the body polite"
Nothing is manifest in the legislative machin-
cry but inactivity"
III D T NJ T " A n