The Dominion. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1911. TAMPERING WITH THE MAILS.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1305, 7 December 1911, Page 4

The Dominion. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1911. TAMPERING WITH THE MAILS.

The blocking by the Postal Department of a portion of tho clection issue of The Dominion entrusted to it for delivery has some very unpleasant aspects which call for further publicity. We have communicated with the various agents who had ordered special quantities of the issue for their respective electorates and the result has been rather curious. In some cascs > the papers appear to have been delivered; in some tlicy were not delivered nt. all; and in some they were delivered only yesterday morning after throe days' needless delay. The public no doubt are fully alive to the necessity for keeping the Postal Service of the country free from all .suspicion of political influence. If the mails of the people are liable to be tampered with in the matter of their delivery it is a very short- step to still worse things. Portion of tlm election issue of The Dominion,

which, as our readers are aware, contained a strong indictment of the maladministration of the W.vrtD Government, which was entrusted to the Postal Department for delivery and postage, paid, was not delivered. We want to know under whose authority the Postal Department blocked the distribution of those papers entrusted to its care and so played into the. bands of the Ward Administration '? We have, a right to that information and we intend to obtain it somehow. The Government can and has boycotted the paper in the matter of State advertisements; we shall see whether it can with impunity, through its Postal Department, interfere with the distribution of its 'mails.

Some idea of the seriousness of the action of the Postal officials—who no doubt are acting under instructions —may bo gained by a perusal of the provisions of the Post and Telegraph Act. Section 93 of that Act reads as follows:

Every Post officer who steals, or for aay purpose whatever secretes or destroys, or wilfully detains or delays in course of conveyance or delivery thereof by post, any printed newspaper, or any other printed paper whatever, sent by post without covers or in covers open at tho ends or sides is liable on indietmont to imprisonment for any term not exceeding two years with or without hard labour, or to a fine of fifty pounds, or to both.

Now a portion of the election issue of The Dominion was wilfully delayed and detained at the instance of someone in authority. Section 101 of the same Act states:

Every Postmaster or Post officer who wilfully neglects or fails to deliver or who wilfully retards the delivery of any mail or po?tal packet is liable to a iiuo not exceeding ono hundred pounds.

Here again we have a heavy penalty prescribed for wilfully retarding the delivery of any mail matter. The delivery of a section of the election issue of Tiie Dominion showing reasons why the electors should hurl the Ward Administration from officc was wilfully retarded by someone— a- portion of the issue entrusted to the Postal Department, so far a.s we know, has not been delivered even yet. We want to know who was responsible for this and by what authority such interference with the mails took place. Yesterday we were informed that papers which were posted in time to catch tho first train to the Qtaki doctorate—not

three hours' journey from the city— had only been delivered by the Postal authorities yesterday morning. The papers in question were, of course, the election issue; our issues of Monday and Tuesday hud been delivered on the mornings of issue. W liy should the Postal authorities block the delivery of that special election issue, condemnatory of the Wakd Administration, for three days, and then deliver it too late for careful reading and too late, to reach the outlying parts o£ the electorate ? And why should they discriminate between different electorates And why should they hold up this election issue for clays without informing us, and so make it impossible for us to take, steps to secure- the distribution of the papers ourselves ? The public will no doubt draw their own conclusions on these points. It may assist them when they learn that during the present week tho Postal Department has delivered to this office the fallowing papers all of which bear last Saturday's date and all of which contain mock ballot paper advertisements which were, made the excuse for not delivering The Dominion election issue: "Star,"' Greymouth. "Star," Kavvora. "Teleijraph," Waihi. "Post," Stratford. "Times, 11 Gisborne. "Argus," Eltliam. "Nev/s," Dannevirke. "Argus," Greymouth. "Express," Ekctahuna. "News," Carterton. "Herald," New Plymouth. "Telegraph," Napier. "Times," Masterton. "Star," Feilding. "Guardian," Ashburton. "News," New Plymouth. "Herald," Napier. How comes it that these newspapers can escape the eye of the very zealous Postal officials and secure prompt delivery by them while The Dominion" election issue,. posted at the same time or earlier, is held up?