A NECESSARY MEASURE

Manawatu Standard, Volume LII, Issue 120, 21 April 1932, Page 6

A NECESSARY MEASURE

The Government should be commended for enforcing the provisions of the postal regulations under which messages for newspapers abroad, relating to unemployment disturbances, will be censored. As pointed out in the “Standard” on Saturday, grossly misleading and alarming messages, calculated to do serious harm to the Dominion, were circulated in the United States following the riots at Auckland last week. A similar complaint was voiced at the time of the Hawke’s Bay earthquake, when the United States and Canadian Press contained extraordinary statements of the damage and loss of life. Australian papers received within the past few days in New Zealand have contained messages bearing upon the recent trouble in Dunedin. While couched in reasonable language, they have been given a prominence entirely unwarranted in the circumstances. Unfortunately, as a general rule, the Australian papers are not interested in news from this Dominion, unless it is of a more or less sensational nature. Earthquakes, murders, or disturbances find a place in their columns, to the detriment of this country, but hardly anything relative to its progress or general welfare is acceptable. It is essential that New Zealand s credit abroad should not be impaired, and that tourists desirous of coming here should not be deterred by misleading reports. Messages for newspapers abroad, therefore, will be restricted to essential facts and accurate description. The wisdom of this course is obvious, especially in view of the Prime Minister’s statement that, resulting from news cabled abroad* a local body’s loan negotiations have been abruptly terminated.