, 1877-03-31

master in this town, and that, as q conse-
quence, the former grant has been recalled.
Why these frequent changes ? it may be
asked, but every one, l believe, at all fami-
liar with matters and things in This island,
will be able to supply the answer. 1t
is, in fact, too we'll known, and has
always been known, that tine monetary
prospects of q newspaper in this island
are any thing but bright, are, in fact,
exceedingly poor. The causes, too, are
too we'll known to require comment.
BY the force of circumstances over which
they could have no control, the proprle'
tors Of the Avis Printing Office, as will
have been gathered from their notice IN
this paper at the close of the period
Of three years for which they had
contracted with me to conduct their
affairs, were compelled TO offer the Print
ing Establishment for sale, in order to get
rid of a pecuniary burthen which this
avis" business entailed on them. The
remuneration for my services, was
found 10 be more than the office
could bear, and they had, Of course,
to be dispensed with. Subsequently, as
no acceptable offer was made, overtures
were made to me to continue as editor
and manager under other terms, but these
were not accepted, ard to-day the change
of Editor, briefly notified above, will he
effected. In now drawing attention to
this fact, l beg to append a few brief
remarks of q more personal than leading or
editorial nature. 1t will, l hope, not be
considered impairment or irrelevant on
my part to do so, as it could hardly be other
0o1aoA Io1 ALuA Alo.o -L1"11 10 hIOvu IN
quiring comment or elucidatioD at such a
time 10 order to prevent misunderstanding
or worse. On assuming the duties which
will terminate to-day, | said, -aIIudlng
to what might probably have induced the
Printer and Publisher whom l succeeded to
resign,-that "we cannot fOrbear men
tioning one reason that has been often
suggested this Printing business does not
pay, and can only be kept a-golng in q
respectable manner by parties who, from
n proper sense Of the necessities OF a free
Press, are willing to furnish the means Of
supporting it," The verg act OF my accept
ing the situation at the line p~rcSupposes
that | must have believed that such sup.
port would be forthcoming, and that this
would not be one Of those abortiye attempts
at grand achievements which seem particu-
larly to flourish in our soil. A Company
consisting Gas was the case with the pro-
prietors of the St. Croix Printing Estab-
lishment) of individuals as much interested
in the island as the holding of extensive
property and doing business here on q con-
siderable scale can make a man in any
place. had been formed, and it is certainly
within the reasonable to believe that such
men, after entering spontaneously on q mat
ter Of the kind, would not give it up
with lighiness and ickleness. This rehec-
ton, then, which seemed to me sensible,
was one Of the motives that actuated me
in accepting the by no means agreeable
task of editing the "St. Croix Avis" Had
| not been under the impression that the
fact OF the business being in such hands had
saved it from that changeabiIity and de-
pendence to which it had been subjected
before, / should have had nothing to do
with it, as could not, and cannot now, see
any possibility Of discharging those duties
satisfactorily with a view to the public
interest under the pressure of constant
uncertainty. The proprietors themselves
must have entertained the same opinion,
and when, ultimately, they were led to
desire a change, it must have been chiefly
owing to the fact above alluded to, viz.