EMPIRE PRESS UNION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22903, 10 June 1936, Page 9

EMPIRE PRESS UNION

CONFERENCE IN LONDON OPENED BY MAJOR ASTOR LONDON, June 8. Major Astor, M.P. (president) opened the Empire Press Union Conference. Outlining tiie agenda, lie said tlie discussion on censorship and libs! would be held in private. Sir Keith Murdoch (Australia), in opening the debate on Empire press communications, paid a tribute to the British press, but regretted that dominion news was inadequately covered. He asked whether it was due to the difficulty in making overseas events rank as nows, or the difficulty in arousing the British public to take an interest in the big issues or personalities of Britain overseas. He added that the cost of getting the news had an important bearing on the issue. The present scales of cable and wireless charges were excessive and repressive. The world was not getting the advantages of the invention of wireless, which should have brought an important advance. At present a rationed supply and heavy transmission charges wore imposed on dominion newspapers. Mr Malcolm MacDonald stressed that the complete and final freedom of the dominions’ great problem now was how to maintain unity of purpose and harmony of action. The time was ripe to create new practices and forms consistent with the constitutional position of the dominions to-day. Delegates criticised the excessive Imperial newspaper postage, and supported the reductions which had been suggested to the Postmaster-general.

The conference resolved to seek an inter-Fmperial flat rate of one penny per lb for newspaper postage, and to request Mr Baldwin to receive a deputation in favour of cheaper cable and wireless press rales, and to urge the oversea section to request their Governments to reduce terminal and internal transmission charges.