OPENING OF MAIL
Inquiries Instituted By Prime Minister REPLY TO COMPLAINT BY MR: HOLLAND Inquiries were instituted yesterday by the I'rime Minister, Mr. Fraser, into the complaint iby the Leader of the Opposition,. Mr. Holland, that correspondence of his bad .been opened and examined Iby an official of the Censorship Department. The result of these is contained in a letter written later in the day to Mr. Holland by the Prime Minister, who states that the action was entirely contrary to instructions, letters to or from members of Parliament not being subject to censorship. The full text of Mr. Fraser’s letter is as follows: — ■ L l “I have to acknowledge the receipt ot your letter of January 22, in which you state that while ‘a communication ' containing highly confidential and strictly private information of great importance addressed to your private secretary at Wellington was in the hands of the Post Office it was opened and examined by an official of the Censorship Department before being delivered. “As the result of immediate inquiries which I instituted I am advised by the Controller of Censorship, Mr. G. McNamara, that lie has seen the envelope and finds that it was opened by a censor in Blenheim. This action is entirely contrary to instructions, which are perfectly clear on the point that letters to or from Members of Parliament are not subject to censorship. Mr. McNamara states that the letter should not have been opened as, on the face of it, it was clearly an official paper, and that the censor possibly did not notice the address, though instructions are clear that it should be read. The Controller feels sure that the opening was merely an error of judgment on the part of the censor at Blenheim and is taking up the matter with that officer with a view to obtaining a full explanation of his action. “I understand ’ that . Mr. McNamara Jias interviewed you personally and given you his explanation of the matter as far as he is able to do so at present.”
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Dominion, Volume 36, Issue 103, 26 January 1943, Page 4
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341OPENING OF MAIL Dominion, Volume 36, Issue 103, 26 January 1943, Page 4
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