CENSORSHIP OF THE STAGE
(To the Editor.)
Sir,—For L. D. Austin, a quotation from my lecture on "D. H. Lawrenc? and the Censor": "No serious attempts were made to censor morals in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The purpose of the censorship then, which as far as the drama is concerned was in the hands of the Master of the Revels, was to suppress unorthodox views in religion or any opinions likely to stir up sedition. . . - The institution of dramatic censorship in the form we have it in today was the- work of Walpole . . . who in 1737 had the Licensing Act passed, making it necessary to submit all plays to the Lord Chamberlain, seven days before production," etc. .-
Niggling criticism of the kind made by your correspondent invites readers to concentrate their attention on the relatively trivial, and to ignore the important, aspects of the question. In this particular instance these are .the cause and effect of present-day attempts to censor morals in. literature. I suggest that the correspondent should cease to shelter himself behind his sure (?) but unimportant knowledge of the past, and express his views on the main aspect of the subject—the censorship as it exists in the embarrassing uncertainty of the present.—l' am, etc., . ', .
W. J. SCOTT,
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP19370520.2.56
Bibliographic details
Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 118, 20 May 1937, Page 8
Word Count
210CENSORSHIP OF THE STAGE Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 118, 20 May 1937, Page 8
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