GAOLED COMMUNISTS

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 849, 18 December 1929, Page 6

GAOLED COMMUNISTS

LABOUR ALLIANCE ASKS FOR RELEASE “COMMON-SENSE CENSORSHIP” Press Association WELLINGTON, Today. The release of Richard Griffin and William Murphy, who are in gaol on a three months’ sentence for having in their possession literature held to be contrary to the. War Regulations Continuance Act, was one of the requests of a deputation from the Alliance of Labour to the Hon. G. W. Forbes, acting-Prime Minister, and the Hon. T. K. Sidey, Minister of Justice. The deputation also asked for the repeal of the War Regulations Continuance Act, and, if the Board of Censorship was to be continued, for the representation of the Labour movement upon that board. The speakers pointed out that the country was full of indecent literature prejudicial to the morals of the community, yet books which were of particular interest to students of economics and politics were banned. The sentence imposed by Mr. E. Page, S.M., was claimed to be a vicious sentence. Mr. Forbes, in the course of his answer, said he had not studied the question sufficiently to know whether the board required bringing up to date. He would be pleased to go into the requests with the Minister of Justice and to see if the censorship could not be put on a common-sense basis, if, as they had said, a number of books were being banned that could not be brought within the category of being a direct incitement to violence. He took it that that was what -the law aimed at. The feeling in most countries was that that sort of literature was not conducive to good government. With regard to the release of the prisoners so that they could enjoy Christmas outside gaol, Mr. Forbes pointed out that dealing with the sentence of a magistrate was a very serious matter. “But we will go into the question,” he said, “and let you know in a dav or two.”