THE OUTBREAK OF INDECENCY.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXII, Issue 5, 6 July 1906, Page 4

THE OUTBREAK OF INDECENCY.

A letter from Rev. J. J. North which appears in another column very properly caJls attention to a matter which wo had overlooked in making our comments i on the subject of indecent postcaide on ' Wednesday la^t. We spoke as though Uhe local police had been absolutely passivej whereas they had really taken action about two months ago and failed in it through no fault of their own. Our correspondent makes the remarkable statement that when in his capacity as Secretary of the Council of the Churches he waited upon Inspector Ellison with samples of the obscenities "purchased in Teputable book-shops in. this city," the Inspector "kid his finger on ono of tho worst of the lot, ascard which had been specially printed for sale in this colony, and which was as bawdy us a thing could be, and eaid that he had prosecuted on that very card, and the local Magistrate had dismissed the case." There has clearly been a large amount of justification for the dnaetivitly of the police since tho failure of this prosecution ; and having been afforded by the Rev. Mr. North an opportunity of seeing the card, we aro bound to say that we share in his amazement at tho Magistrate's decision. From another source we learn that the ground of the decision was that the matter was more humorous than obscene, but wo findi nothing in this information to abate our amazement. "Sir, an order to be facetious it is not necessary to be indecent" is a remark which has a- fine Johnsonian ring about it, but is really, we believe, the work of a parodist ; but whether authentic or counterfeit from this point of view, the observation is a genuine contribution to good sense and good morals, and as such we commend it to the Wellington Magistrate. If the abomination submitted to us is to be regarded as rescued from moral censure or legal penalty by its humour, we are appalled to think of the depths of nastiness that wouJd have to be sounder* by tho work of art that ia to bo deemed bad enough fox a £5 fin© by the same authority. " The law requires,'' says tho Rev. Mr. North, "that the court be satisfied as to the lewd intentions of sucli productions. The local court is not easily satisfied. I enolose for your information the card in question. If magistrates meet the efforts of the police by ruling that such cards are decent, an Offensive Publication Act is ji dead letter." This contention appears to us to bo indisputable; but wo aro pleased to see that a less comprehensive — wo cannot say a less refinedsense of humour on the part of tho •Magistrate in Christchurch, or a more prosaic talent on tho part of the artist, has led to several convictions there, ana we hope to see the example followed and improved upon cl&ewherc. From a report which we- reproduce from tho London Telegraph of .some recent proceedings in the Marlborough-street Police Court, it appears that Mi*. Kennedy, S.IM., fined two first offenders £25 each, and ordered their cards to ba destroyed; nnd similar treatment is required here. It is true that in New Zealand £5 is the maximum fine for a first offence, but the court may award three months' imprisonment instead, and the moral effect of one such sentence would go a long way with the proprietors of "reputable book-shops" who are indulging in this disreputable trade. So fas as the law goes, we are unable to see that its administration should present any special difficulties. The words, "Whoever sells, offers, distributes, or shows any picturo or printed or written matter which is of an indecent, immoral, or obecen© nature, or which tho court shall be satisfied iB intended to have an indecent, immoral, or obscene effect," seem to have just as wido and as clear a scope as could be desired. A rational common, sense interpretation is all that is needed; and the J.P.'b or the- Supreme Court might bo asked to supply it if it proves to be otherwise unobtainable. But the police are not justified in construing Dr. M'Arthur's strange lapse in a single ca6e as amounting to a total repeal of the Act for £ho city of WgUiiyiton,, And if

they give him another chance under more favourable circumstances, he may yet vindicate the cause of public decency.