THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 1908. "GAGGING" THE PRESS.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 2997, 21 September 1908, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 1908. "GAGGING" THE PRESS.

The Liberal Government may, at least, claim the honour of having made several attempts, with more or less success, to "gag" the New Zealand Pres?, which, at one time, might have been described as a free Press. No more dangerous blow at the real liberty of the people could scarcely be struck, and no such effort would have been made had the numerical strength of the opposing parties in the House been anything approaching equal. The Government havb been placed in such a position by the people that they possess unbridled power, and again and again we have hail demonstrations of how unfortunate it is for the people to be at the mercy of the Government. The situation is one of the utmost seriousness, but, taking the present trend of public feeling into consideration, there does not appear to be any prospect of reform being effected until the electors judge candidates on their merits, rather than on the party to which they adhere; More

independence in political thought and life is badly needed, and the lack of virility and independence on the part of a large portion of the Press is deplorable in the extreme. If the politicians of this Dominion are so sensitive that tney feel they cannot really bear a little free criticism at the hands of the Press, they should gracefully retire from public life. It is simply monstrous for public men in a democratic country to.attempt to "gag" the Press, arid, only at a time when political feeling is dormant could any proposition, of such a nature be put forth. The Press in New Zealand is not only in a defenceless position, but is rapidly getting into a "gagged" condition, and unless both the public and the Press awake to the danger of what is going on it will not be long before the latter is, also, bound hand and foot. New Zealand is, of course, a land of freedom, and we can all feel sorry for the people of the Motherland, who live in a benighted condition, but the-Press at Home is free —in iNew Zealand it is bound to harassing conditions and unfair restraints. The genuine public man knows and appreciates the fact that the Press is th* voide of the people, and to interfere with its liberty is to curtail the liberty of the subject, and to open up an avenue for secret politics. The Ministers and members of Parliament, candidates for Parliamentary honours, and all questions of policy and administration should be openly and trenchantly discussed,' and the only legitimate objection to criticism of any kind, or statements of fact, should be that the publication thereof was neither fair comment, ror published in the public interest. What viei!v, however, does the Government take of the question we have been discussing? A brief reference to a few of their actions answers the query beyond dispute. We have had the miserable spectacle of members of Parliament solemnly enacting that the naughty, naughty newspapers shall not publish the dividends declared on winning racehorses, while it is no offence— no, not even against general public sentiment —for these same members of Parliament to attend race meetings and t6 invest upon the "tote" as much as they of their honoraria. We may then refer to the "gag" clauses in the Second Ballot Bill. An election in silence and without Press comment will certainly be an exceedingly nove\ affair, if not quite complimentary to the intelligence of the people. But "the finishing touch," so far as illustrating the desire of the Government to muzzle the Press was given the other day, when it was moved, during the Arbitration liill debate, that "while any unlawful strike or lock-out is taking place or impending, any person who publishes in any newspaper any expression of approval or disapproval, whether by himself or by any other person, of the unlawful action of any person in relation to that strike or lock-out is liable to a penalty not exceeding fifty pounds." Imagine the Press being restricted by Act of Parliament from commenting upon unlawful action! To the credit of Parliament, it may be said, the clause was struck out. It is, however, obvious that the Press of New Zealand should extricate itself from a position that is rapidly becoming abject.