The North Otago Times FRIDAY, JANUARY 18, 1918. CONSORSHIP AND SENSE.

North Otago Times, Volume CVI, Issue 14026, 18 January 1918, Page 4

The North Otago Times FRIDAY, JANUARY 18, 1918. CONSORSHIP AND SENSE.

Sir Joseph Ward gently salved a very sore place in the body politic? when lie confided to a Christchurch deputation that he had failed to see any reason a J;, all why in New Zealand the same .procedure, with regard to the publication of mail notices, should nai be followed as in Australia, but lie pointed out that the regulations controlling censorship Here were in the hands of the Defence Department. And''' there's the rub,'' as- Hamlet wonld say. Further light was thrown 011 the question in a telegram from Wellington, which stated that the manager of the United Press Association had twicfebr'oughtthe matter under the notice of the Minister of Defence, pointing out that neither Australia nor Canada is subject to such restriction. It is further stated that Sir James Allen had replied that the censorship was carried,out at the instance, of the Imperial authorities, and could not be altered,' but he did not offer to explain u;hy these restrictions are applicable only to a little distant 1 country like New>Zealand, and are not enforced by the Imperial authorities elsewhere. Sir Joseph Ward, as a civilian Minister, possessing more than the average measure of common sense, "fails to see the reason why" the manager of the Press Association, has "twice pointed out that neither Canada lior Australia is subject to such restriction," and the general public cannot understand wjiy New Zealand should be inconvenienced by a stricter censorship than is in force in other oversea dominions nearer, the seat of war. The explanation is not'far to seek. Are not the regulations controlling the censorship in the hands of the Defence Department? Any further explanation would be superfluous, The situation, however, is not without hope, if the agitators talk loudly , enough. Ever since Sir James Allen has had - control of the Defence Department, he has-displayed .a cynical disregard for the rights and privileges of the civilian' He appears to live in- the atmosphere of soldiering, and to yiew the situation through military spectacles. His attitude is defiant and autocratic, and he needs a change of environment. To the political representatives of the people who dare to criticise the officials of-the Defence Department, Sir James Allen invariably replies, "You leave my officers alone," and the officers have been left severely alone, and to-day the expressive term "Motuihi" is written across the whole administration.- *But the public is getting a little tired of the' blunders, and is .determined not to "leave the officers alone" who are directly or -indirectly responsible for the tragedy-farce which reached its •anti-climax when ' Count yon 1 Luckner out of an open I door, and caused quite a flutter 1 in the' military dovecots. Experi-.\ ence has gone in the direction of, | showing, that the exercise of tlio powers of censorship should not be' wholly .entrusted to the military authorities.' For this, reason: The military authority under the War Regulations might quite conceivably use the wide powers conferred,/in'the interests of military officers and to the. detriment of lie general.public. Let us take a ci ; ee In point,. When it became

', . " .►',", -, "\ r " kn<swn» at : .th'e, military heidquar'ters in Weliiagton Cbnntyvon Luckner and Whole boat-load of German prisonefs> had 'escaped from Jtfptuihi/ the Chitf -of the General Stiff and military authority under the War Regulations, attempted to,keep the.general public in the dark regarding the escape. How di/T the Chief of the j General Staff proceed! He/exercised his]?ow l ers as censor. Every newspaper was instructed that "no mention must be ma'de in the ■ press of the Dominion whatsoever in connection with Motuihi Island or prisoners who have been there." Was it. in the interests of the public or to shield the military administration; that a deliberate attempt was made to supr/ess the publication of news*which kindled , a flame of indignation 'from jpne end of New Zealand to tlfe other? . leave the public to supply'the answer'.; But the sequei is! equallysignificant!.'; The pleading ■papers ■ignqred'the'l edict: : of the censor, jin'd,' we t maintain, : in • the ( li)"t6rcstS'.of,tlw public/made yen;; lion of :thw; escape;, of the prisoners;, ■who': ted beenv on Motuihi Islands face, the Chief-of the. Qeiieral tftaff had'to.change his tactics, jane l on the following, day—when tjie country was demanding

I the'heads of the military chiefs—tlie prohibition of all mention ;of, Motuihi. was.cancelled. • A ; little' late 1 ,, of'course,, by .reason of the wide publication in the press,, of the Dominion ' of. the 'startling news, of the Motuihi 1 scandal,-in. spite of the instructions of the censor. What is the position today? The. inilitary authority under the War Regulations must either prosecute every newspaper which refused to obey his instructions to make ,no mention of Motuihi Island' and 4 .the-.prisoners who had been there, or, by taking shelter in abstinence, from action, conviot himself of lack of courage to enforce,his own. instructions; and, what? is a more serious offence, be chargeable with having' exercised his authority in the interests of his military colleagues to the disadvantage of the civilian community. If the military authority under,the War Eegulations prosecuted the press for having informed the people of the Motuihi blunder, in defiance of his definite' instructions', an indignant public would demand his immediate re; tirement for having attempted to censor tha news about Motuihi. On

the other hand, the press of New Zealand is entitled to be informed of the means of determining'when the censor means what he says, and when he is only .fooling- The other day, in . Christchurch, a youngster was convicted and fined for taking a very poor negative of the tops of, three masts of a vessel which lies submerged near one of the wharves at L'yttelton. The Magistrate held that this s amateur photographer W been guilty of a breach of the War Regulations,'although' the harmless culprit pleaded ignorance of the Crime he was committing—namely, that,of'photographing an oversea vessel. «As we have shown above, practically the whole of.tjie press of New Zealand are apparently guilty of a breach of the War Regulations, if the instructions of the Chief of Staff and military authority under the War Eegulations. are to be taken seriously. Why doe? the censor hesitate? It is plainly evident that the people are getting a little tired of the' senseless censoring by the military authorities, and are determined to make an effort to seek a solution by-appealing to the commonsense of those Ministers who are not saturated with military codes and text books, and haye not been, so completely dispossessed of their commonsense as to be blinded to the fact that the civilian community has certain rights, even in war time. Hence the appeal "io Sir Joseph Ward to use his influence to get a little more sense knocked into the hard heads of the officials responsible for the exercise of the censorship.