WAR REGULATIONS AND THE PRESS

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3044, 3 April 1917, Page 6

WAR REGULATIONS AND THE PRESS

The report of the proceedings in the Magistrate's Court yesterday, when the three local daily newspapers were charged with breaches of the War Regulations, should enable the public t'o form a fairly good idea of the difficulties which newspapers to-day are faced with in endeavouring to meet tho wishes of those in authority in military and naval circles. Tho' disclosures made should also serve to . illustrate the ingratitude and/injustice of those in authority who permit this persecution of a section of the Press which, on the admission of counsel for the Crown, has plainly striven to meet the requirements of the War Regulations to the best of its ability. Ingratitude and injustice are strong terms,.but they are justified in the circumstances. For many months past tho Press of Wellington has assisted tho Government and the military authorities in every possible way. Again and again requests have been made to the local newspapers for assistance and support in matters relating to the prosecution of tho war, ana it has been freely given. At the wish of those in authority tho papers have from time to timo voluntarily abstained from publication of news matter or comment on questions which they wci'c fully entitled to ventilate in their columns—that is, questions quite outside the War, Regulations. On every. possible occasion and in every possible way they havo striven in this time of war to do their 'utmost to assist tho Government and tho military authorities in tho offorts i they havo beon making to enablo

New Zealand to play her part sue-. ccssfuHy in the struggle. And thoso in authority show their appreciation of this by straining tho law to its uttermost in .in endeavour to do them injury and hold them up to public contempt. The facts disclosed in the Court yesterday will, wc venture to think, shock all'who possess any sens© of justice or fair play. A newspaper is requested by one branch of the military service to report fully the proceedings of a, court-martial as being a matter of such concern as to demand' the fullest publicity. The paper does so, and is- prosecuted, presumably by another Ibranch of the service, for a breach of the War Regulations, the ground of the prosecution being a j reference in the evidence to the sailing of a vessel eleven days before. Could,anything be more unjust? Assuming that a technical breach had been committed, would not the past good reoord of tho paper a&d the surrounding circumstances have prompted any just set of men to havo Dcen content to: issue a warning, instead of haling the unfortunate newspaper before the Court on so serious a charge! But even worse than this, and even more stupid, was the prosecution of the three local papers for the publication of a paragraph, inserted at the request orfEe Mayor, inviting citizens to attend the entertainment to the crew of a returning warship! Tho offence fn this instance' was the bare reference to the fact that a warship (no name was given) was in these waters. Tho public may hardly credit the fact, but the Auckland papers had published not only a reference to the warship in question, but the name of the vcssol and the I approximate date of arrival, a week earlier than the offending para- ! graph had appeared in the Welling-ton-papers. But what is still more astonishing, tho paragraph -had, been publishod in the Auckland papers at the request and on the authority of the Minister of Defence, the Acting-Prime Minister. Thus wc have tho Wellington, papers prosecuted'for tho publication o£ a | paragraph containing a vague refcr-. enoo to a warship, whereas the Auckland papers had been permitted to publish fuller particulars regarding, the same vessel supplied by the ho&a of tho Government. It is farcica-1,. but it is also amazingly stupid and 'monstrously unjust. Truo tho Crown Law Office had the grace to withdraw tho case against the' Wellington papers, but what sort of censorship is it that permits a minister of tho Crown to publish suoh matters whilo a newspaper which, in the course of its duty to the public, ventures to follow his . example on milder lines, is summoned and put to the expense of answering a charge against the War Regulations 1 Let it be clearly understood that wo appreciate quite as much b the Government or the. militarjr authorities. the nocessity for the closest possible observanoe of the War Regulations., So far as The Dominion is conccrned— and we have every reason to believe that our local contemporaries arc .in the same position—wo have done our best to avoid any possible ground of complaint. Tho War llegulations, however, are so wide and so sweeping /in tboir soope, and there are so! many possible traps in unexpected places, that it is wellnigh imfiossiblo for a newspaper to avoid an occasional, technical slip. If those in authority do not intend to recognise this, 'and refuse to take a. common-sense view of -the difficulties of tbe situation created by ,tho continued changing of and addition to the War Regulations,- then they are likely to about a situation which will rea.ct* to their own disadvantage. It Will be noted that the presiding Magistrate at yesterday's Court proceedings, Mr. L. G. Reid, S.M., .formally recorded a conviction on the ohargc heard, but iniposod no fine. This decision,' we venture to think., adequately represents the merits of the case. That, a technical breach was committed can hardly be disputed—assuming, of course, that tho • War Regulations are,'not, as was contended •by Sir John Findlay, E.C., 'and Mr. M. Myers, counsel for tho defendant newspapers, ultra vires. But the' surrounding circumstances of the breach wore such as should have.prevented the cases ever coming into\Court.