THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 1914. THE EXPEDITIONARY FORCE.

We feel that-some explanation is "due; to readers of.The .Sun for the;rigid exclusion of news ".during ;th'e past few days in regard to the Expeditionary .- 'Force. In deferences to the. urgent re-, quest of the Government, Tj-ik Sun discontinued publishing any details reI garbling recent movements of the [Force, not because we shared the Goj vernment 's view that publication was ;likely to do any harm, but. simply to [show that we desired to assist the, authorities in every possible way, even at the expense of our readers. Obviously, the Government must have been concerned lest information: regarding, the departure of the Force should reach the enemy, and assist him to locate it at sea, should he desire to attack it. - For some reason, best known to themselves, the wishes of the Government have been' flatly disregarded by most of the leading papers of the■ -Dominion. The local newspaper Trust, which- only the other day was abusing The Sun for publication; of an item that would have been suppressed but for. the neglect of the Defence Department to advise us of its wishes, has distinguished itself on the present occasion by giving full publicity.to the departure of the Force.' The Cathedral Square branch of the Trust gave prominence yesterday to a notification that the official send-off to the Force would take place in Welling : ton to-day, while the Gloucester Street branch went one better and gave a descriptive account of yesterday's happenings in Lyttelton. No doubt these precious patriots will attribute The Sun 's silence to want of newspaper enterprise. That is what the "Press" did when, by the connivance and favouritism of its political friends. it was able to send a correspondent to the Islands, and publish a.special account of the doings of the Samoa co:ri> tingent. Our readers, however, can be trusted to draw their own conclusions. Unless ihe Government is able to enforce its wishes in regard to the publication of news concerning the Expeditionary Force, it ought, in common fairness to those newspapers which are honourably abiding'by undertakings* to assist the authorities-, to cancel all its requests in the matter and leave all, papers free to act as they think proper according to the circumstances of. the case. On Tuesday last .both Dunedin newspapers published accounts running into several columns of the embarkation of the Otago section of the Expeditionary Force. All three Welling: ton papers yesterday published full details of to-day's programme in Wellington, while .The -:Sun-Js.. one of .the few ; which have made any attempt to maintain the secrecy that the Government alleges is essential to the safety of the Force. We regret that, owing -to the absence of any nbtincatJon in The Sun of the departure of the Canterbury troops, many of their friends and relatives were deprived of an opportunity of going to Lyttelton yesterday and witnessing'an historic scene, which will be remembered as long as they live by all who were privileged to be present.