POSTAL CENSORSHIP

Southland Times, Issue 25643, 10 April 1945, Page 3

POSTAL CENSORSHIP

Volume Less, Character

The Same

(Special) WELLINGTON, April 9. As the war progresses favourably to the United Nations the work of the postal censors in New Zealand decreases. The change is in volume, and the Controller of Censorship, Mr G. Macnamara, said on Saturday that there had been no general relaxation of censorship, though a statement published in Auckland implied that there had been.

There would always be a certain amount of censorship while the country was at war, he said, but as -the position of the country and its Allies improved there was a consequential decline in the number of letters that offended. As one country after another was released from the enemy, the area of the world to which people were allowed to post letters "increased. For instance, letters could be now mailed to France. Formerly a letter addressed to France would have been withdrawn from the mail. As other countries were reconquered there would be further similar changes. , A decline in the censorship had been caused also by the decreased temptation for New Zealanders to discuss prohibited subjects with their correspondents. It was when shipping was more interesting and forts, aerodromes and camps were being built near people’s homes that they were inclined to tell about them. Now there was less that should not be told to tell. However, the subjects that people should not write about were the same as previously and just as important. The internal postal censorship had decreased also, the authorities now knowing the troublesome correspondents and being able to confine the work more than earlier in the war.