Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 5, 1910. AN ABSURD CENSORSHIP.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10111, 5 October 1910, Page 4

Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 5, 1910. AN ABSURD CENSORSHIP.

The censorship imposed by our socalled Liberal Government upon all news of public interest originating in the various Departments of State is of an exceedingly vexatious and absurd character. The public may not possibly be aware, of the fact that a circular letter was forwarded by Cabinet to all Government Departments a few months back, prohibiting the communication of any news to the Press, unless with the special consent and approval of the Minister. [ The result has been that much valuable information has been withheld, and that the meagre items of news supplied from time to time have been practically useless. It is hard to imagine that in a Democratic country a Press censorship of so

rigorous and autocratic a character can be tolerated. Ministers of the Crown have, of course, every right to be consulted upon matters which involve the Ministerial policy. Surely, however, they liave sufficient faith in the integrity, intelligence and discipline of the heads of Departments to trust them to treat in confidence i natters which are of purely Cabinet-

concern. To tell responsible officers that they cannot be trusted with the iliserctionary power of a schoolboy s to offer an insult to their intelligence. The serious aspect of the juestion, however, is its rclationonsliip to the general public and to he economic working of the affairs if State. There are some Departments, notably the Agricultural Delartment, whose value to the counry depend to a very large extent pon the publicity given to the varms operations of divisional experts, housantls of pounds may be saved nnually to individuals and to the

State by the prompt dissemination of information pertaining to agricultural and pastoral matters. And yet, tlie officers of this Department, under the pains and penalties of being disrated or dismissed, are- prohibited from conveying the slightest information to the Press until the Minister has signified his approval. Could a more high-handed, a more intolerable, a more wasteful prohibition bt conceived ? What harm could the Minister or his party suffer by the prompt publication of information concerning disease in cattle or of agricultural statistics ? Could they suffer the slightest harm ? Of course they could not. Then why this embargo? Why this treating of responsible departmental officers as though they wore a lot of children? Why this wretched piece of wasteful censorship? If Ministers cannot trust their heads of Departments, then let them make room for somebody who can be trusted. To penalise the Press and the public for a past violation of an office secret, is to cany Ministerial autocracy to a pitiable extreme.