NEWS MINISTRY

Dominion, Volume 33, Issue 3, 28 September 1939, Page 9

NEWS MINISTRY

Criticism In British Parliament

PROMISE OF INQUIRIES

By Telegraph.—Press Assn. —Copyright, LONDON, September 26.

Lord Strabolgi today vigorously raised the question of the censorship in the House of Lords, the upshot being that the Lord President of the Council, the Earl of Stanhope, promised to make inquiries.

Lord Strabolgi referred to the action of the Ministry of Information in passing a report of the Queen’s return from Scotland, then cancelling it, and then releasing it. He asked how long this sort of thing was to continue. The Labour Party, said Lord Strabolgi, was most dissatisfied with the whole conduct of the Ministry of Information and demanded a change. The Minister of Information, Lord Macmillan, said the 8.8. C. was independent and not under his control. Lord Strabolgi: That’s very alarming. We thought Lord Macmillan was in charge. •The Earl of Stanhope said his impression was that the PostmasterGeneral remained in charge. In the House of Commons the Secretary to the Ministry of Information, Sir Edward Grigg, stated amid jeers from all .parts of the House that only 43 journalists were employed out of a staff of 1000 in the Ministry of Information. He said the Minister realized that the situation required investigation. (Loud cheers.) Faith in Victory.

The National Council of Labour lurs issued a statement that it was deeply dissatisfied with the activities of the Ministry of Information and the 8.8. C. in regard to the supply and release of news. . The Leader of the Opposition, Mr. C. R. Attlee, todtjy was cheered in the House of Commons -when he spoke for the first time since his illness. He paid a tribute to the Polish heroism and added that he was disturbed because the economic side of the war had not found recognition in the composition of the War Cabinet, which should have been composed of people dealing with functions and not departments. Our resources had not been mobilized and our personnel not utilized as they should have been. “I have complete faith in victory, but the morale of our people will be maintained by telling them the truth,” he said. “There is too little of that.. It is dangerous when a Ministry of Information tends to become a Ministry to withhold information.”

PROFIT ON BUTTER

Share For New Zealand Urged

LONDON, September 26. < In the House of Commons Sir G. Schuster urged that in view of the fact that the Government was making a profit of £250,000 on butter. New Zealand, which was helping the Empire, should share in the profit. The Food Minister, Mr. W. S. Morrison, promised to do his best to overcome the butter difficulties.

FOOD FOR ALLIES

South African Supplies

i British Otlleial Wirelese.l

RUGBY, September 26.

The Ministry of Information states that the South African maize crop return shows a record yield of 30,000,000 bags of 2001 b. each, of which .12,000,000 to 13,000,000 bags will be available for export. South African advices suggest that maize will figure largely in the Union’s scheme to buy 1,000,000 pounds of foodstuffs for the Allies.

Sugar, butter, cheese, frozen meat, crayfish, dried and preserved fruits, wine and spirits lire other goods which South Africa can supply in large quantities. A National Supplies Board was set up long before the outbreak of war and a comprehensive survey made of the country's agricultural and production resources.