MUTILATION

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 3, Issue 206, 30 August 1940, Page 5

MUTILATION

THE TEST OF CENSORSHIP LOCAL LETTER COMES BACK Wei-e it not for the self-confessed statement of the Prime Minister in the House last Wednesday, this article would probably have been couch ed in more scathing terms, but Mr Eraser's' admission that in the earlier days of censorship the officials ; had been over-zealous in their eagerness to apply the blue pencil or i the razor blade, has been accepted jwith. good faith, as well as his assurance that the control is now upon a more reasonable basis. A well known Whakatane businessman whose family have written to relatives in the Old Country f'oi many years, received complaints from them that the letters were so mutilated upon arrival that they were practically unreadable. As far as could be recollected by members: of the family there had been no mention of military matters, naval movements or anything of a strategic nature. In the next letter, therefore they askedi for their originals to be returned and these were exhibited to a BEACO'Ni representative yesterday morning. The letter which had evidently started out as a newsy resume of the town, district, conditions and general information, was only half there. Half pages had j been entirely removed. Panels had been cut out of others so that the remainder of the contents were unreadable. By reading half lines it was seen that the knife had been applied to every passage where there j had been the slightest hint of criticism of the Government. It was apparently to this that the censor objected most—not to the mention of the Dominion's war measures;! We are assured that the criticism was of the mildlest type, and further that it applied to no person in particular but merely to the conditions etc. of the Dominion; The writer has asked that publicity be given this instance of needless pruning and trusts that the easing up promised by the Prime Minister will not jeopardise future letters. The strangest feature of all is that the letters from England, though they are often filled with direct criticism of the Imperial Government are left untouched by the censor at Home.