For the rest, Lord Newton's speech was remarkable for his
un- compromising denunciation of the " stunt " methods of the North- cliffe Press. Here is his description of the stunt proper. " You ascertain beforehand that a certain thing is going to happen ; then you declare in your newspaper that the thing ought to be done ; and when it is done Tout claim the credit for its accomplishment. It is a trick within the compass of the meanest capacity." This is a very exact description of a Northcliffe stunt. We ought to say, however, that though we think Lord Newton has been most grossly assailed—the Northcliffe Press has achieved the extra- ordinary feat of reserving its principal abuse for the one man who has really done something in the matter of prisoners—the chief blame for the continuance of " stunts " rests as much on the Govern- ment as on the Northcliffe Press itself.
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