PRESS AND MORALITY.

Auckland Star, Volume XLI, Issue 16, 16 July 1910, Page 11

PRESS AND MORALITY.

CUBB OX IXDECENCY. £By Telegraph-—PaiTißTTientarr Beporter.) WELLINGTON, Friday. j The Indecent Publications Bill came up jin the Legislative Council yesterday 'afternoon tor second reading, in moving I which the Hon. Dr. Findlay made a deicidedly interesting speech. He said that the British Press was not -vcanting in I vigilance to protect the freedom ol the people, but. the liberty it wanted to proI tecl was not that liberty which permitted I anyone to make a beac-t of himself. It j had been increasingly felt in New ZeaI land that means must be devised to deal with what shocked the moral sense ol the community. Some vigorous limit.* must ibe put on modern journalism after what had been going on in this country. This bill would embarrass no one who j was not trying to befoul the ■mind* of the ! young people. Journals which could be , i called, nothing but degrading were entei- . ■ ing thousands of homes. There was a . ■ class of books which pandered to the sor- , jdid passions of our people, and especially . ■ our young people. He was not in sym- ; pathy with the fussy and punctilious _ I prudery, which would "kill true literature . I anywhere, but he thought that between jit and the disgusting indecency to be found in some modern novels there was the width of heaven, and surely the line could be drawn somewhere between '" J them. Under the Crimes Act of 190S ' i provision was made for a penalty of up 1J to two years' imprisonment for publica- * I tion of immoral matter in our news--5 ! papers. This had not been successful in I dealing with the offence. They were also t creating sections in the Police Offences ' Act "by which the defendant could claim 1 the right of a trial by jury instead of being dealt with .by a magistrate. It was in this respect that the present - Mil proposed improvements. Clause 4 of i the bill -would get over the failure fcr t have the real oifender punished, which 1 bad been the defect discovered in recent - cases under the present law. It -would ■. be hard to raise the plea of non-responsi-bility under clause 4. Reasonable latii tude was provided by clause 5, where the magistrate was instructed to take into account not only the nature of the literature, but the circumstances of its distribution and its literary, scientific or j, j.artistic value. For instance, no decent ! j scientific work would come under the s provisions of the bill. In reply to a i question by Sir G. McLean, the Attorneyr tieneral stated that no medical book t published with a bona fide purpose would 3, be liable to cause anyone to be dealt a i with under this bill. He had- received -. j from all over New Zealand letters ex- .- pressing unqualified approval of the bill. ■- He had been, asked to provide a remedy i. for repeated offences by giving power to i- the magistrates to confiscate "the printing i. plant, right of appeal, of course, being allowed. The addition of such a pro- _ vision could be considered in committee. _ One must take pains to prevent this ~ j bill being made an instrument of animos- -' ity against any particular printer or pubte lisher, and on that account proceedings tt! had to be initiated toy the police, or if by a private person then only with the 7 consent of the Attorney-General. This would guard against persecution by a private informer. He believed that by this bill we would check, if not stop, the disgrace which had already continued too long in this country. He believed that no reputable printer in New Zeaj land would be in the slightest degree , embarrassed, and "that newspaper* wliich r were not just now carrying on their business a= they should—and they were very few —would find it to thoir safely and profit to mend their ways and produce a decent and proper publication.