PRESS V. PARLIAMENT

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 225, 11 June 1918, Page 8

PRESS V. PARLIAMENT

SUGGESTIONS FOR DEALING WITH. THi

SITUATION

DANGER OF NEWSPAPER

SYNDICATES

ir'i .M' 01 !? Ll , boral Cl "l> gently H 2*; - 31 l B - r -P"nglo. 3LP., dealt iritfi he subject of "Press, Parliament, and leople. Mr Priugle said when war broke out the House of Commons had reached the moribund stage, and the. dales ,ot criticism and supervision were left almost exclusively to the Press. This was not necessarily to the disadvantage ol the country had the Press been'as He pubhp „, the innocence of its heart behoved it to be, free, courageous, and independent. H soon became apparent to the more initiated that, owing to the alienee of Parliament, Ministers had transferred the- more elusive controversies of the Cabinet to the columns of the itcss, and instead of having a free -ind independent Press the larger number of the newspapers of the country, controlled nsihey were by powerful syndicates were aspired, manipulated and' "doped." In this way the fall of (he Coalition Uvernment was not brought about bv iarliamentarv attacks in the light of day, but by backstairs intrigues in combination with the Praetorian guard in the Press. The recent appointments of Lord Beaverbrook and Lord Northcliffe. which were t.ho immediate occasions of the debate in the House had cleared the air. Aobody could now be so foolish or innocent, as to believe that the organs which these gentlemen and Lord Eothermere owned, were independent newspapers. They were publicly advertised a-s the kept official organs of'the Government, [n consoqucned it would be impossible to conduct: in them the clandestine campaigns of which- so much complniut had been made in the past, and which had had such disastrous results upon the public service. "\To might expect from these newspapers blind untl unwavering support of the GovermiiT.it, no matter how disastrous might 1)2 the blunders it awaited, nor how deep the abyss to which it plunged the country. "A situation so |>orilous and Joplorable demands an immediate reaiedv. that remedy can only be found in the 'revival of those iustitulions which in. the past have been the antidote of the illegitimate Press mfiuenco, In the first »la.v we must; at all costs work for the revival of the House of Commons.

"A consideration which weighs with many people is the apparent impassibility of the present House, which only continues its existence iill » miccessor is elected on n wider franchise, taking any effective control, and still less bringing about a change-of" government. Thiwo who hold this view believe that tho function' of the present House is similar •to that discharged by the expiring Parliament of Jfitifl iii the months preceding the election of 1885. Thi3 analogy is incomplete. No public interest was in danger under the political conditions of 1885, and vital decisions had not to bo taken, and everything oould be held in suspense until the election had taken place. The conditions are very different to-day. Events may occur at any time which may involve decisions that will have the most far-reaching remilts not only for this country but for the world."

If Parliamentary supervision and control were to be revived it could only be done by the Loader of the Opposition. During fifteen mojiths he had allowed the present Government to enjoy practical immunity from criticism and attnek. It could not be said that this immunity had boen justified by tho results, and it was now urgently necessary for Mr. Asquith to consider whether the period of unmixed magnanimity should not come to an end. Mr. Bonar Law had propounded the stran>c doctrine in fnee of the very moderate criticisms on administration launched by Mr. Herbert Samuel that the Opposition was not entitled to make such criticisms unless it was prepared to move a formal vote of censure and turn the Government out. t This doctrine had never been held either ill theory, or practice or party leaders in the past,-and-Mr. Bonar Law's linr. esy need not deter the leaders of the Op. position from continuing aud extending the critical operations which Mr. Herbert Samuel and Mr: Itunciman had so admirably begun. The other antidote to,the Press In normal times was the platform, and the time- had come when it was expedient to revise, if .not put an end to, the party truce. "There, again, the decision is in the hands of the Leader of the Opposition. If he takes the course now advocated he will bo liable to the imputation of party motives on the part of politician* of the baser sort. But his record in this war. should enable him to treat such suggestions with the coutempl thoy deserve. The sacrifices he has made for national unity and his unexampled superiority to all potty personal considerations are known and read of all men. Ho may be assured that, in the opinion of thinking men, not only of his own party, if ho decides upon a more active pijlicy in Par-' haniMit combined with platform propaganda for the serious discussion of great i public problems, he will render to the country a valuable, and important service .which, 111 spite .of. passing misunderstandings, will undoubtedlv be appreciated, in the future."