SALACIOUS AND SENSATIONAL

Evening Star, Issue 21835, 26 September 1934, Page 16

SALACIOUS AND SENSATIONAL

UNOESifIABIE MAGAZINES QUESTION IN THE KfiUSE (Per U.vited Press Association.] WELLINGTON, September 25. Mr Clyde Carr asked the Minister of Customs in the House of Representatives: (1) Whether ho would consider the advisability, following the action of the British Government in imposing a prohibitive duty on the importation of hack-date magazines from America? (2) Whether he was aware that the importation of those magazines, which were composed largely of salacious and super-sensa-tional fiction, was increasing and now exceeded half a million copies per annum, and because the English market was now closed constituted a grave menace to the moral well-being and literary progress of the dominion? (5) Whether lie was aware that the growing sale of these American backdate magazines, which wore retailed at exceedingly low prices by big stores, had been a contributing factor in forcing a number of bookscllers_ out of business, and by unfair competition had been partly responsible for the suspension of two magazines Hint were doing notable work for literature and art in this country?

Mr Coates replied ; (IT “ The Government has considered the advisability of imposing a duty on back-date magazines. The conditions in the United Kingdom are cpiitc different from those in this country. (2) The imposition of such a duty would not be a solution of the difficulty of dealing satisfactorily with undesirable literature of the kinds referred to, as there are many other publications of a similar nature which would not he affected. That question must ho dealt with in another way. (3) So far ns 1 am aware there is no reason why the sale of back-date magazines should be limited to large stores.”