The short passage in the House of Commons between Mr. Geoffrey Mander, Opposition Liberal and Mr. Neville Chamberlain on the subject of the Government's relations with the British Press, reported in these columns yesterday, serves to draw attention to the very erroneous ideas regarding that subject which seem to be commonly held in some quarters. Mr. Mander asked whether advice had been officially tendered to the owners of British papers, by members of the government, on the attitude they should take with regard to foreign policy. The reply was in the negative. whereupon Mr. Mander asked whether such advice had been given, if not officially, at officially, receiving precisely the response.
Had an affirmative been given tejo either of the alternative questions it would have amounted to a revelation that the Government had been playing not only a very dangerous but a highly foolish game, for nothing in present circumstances could be more productive of trouble than an endeavour to influence the British Press along such lines. There have been attempts to influence the Press. Perhaps one of the most notable occurred in the reign of Queen Victoria, on the occasion of complaints from the German Kaiser of personally abusi comment appearing in a certain section of British newspapers, and his request that this should be stopped. He told that the British Government could take no action in the matter under the constitution, but at the request of the Queen. certain London editors were approached unofficially, and it is to their credit that they agreed to refrain from the personalities about which complaint had been made. The representations were made more on the ground of good taste than for any really political purpose, but even then the Ministers involved showed considerable reluctance to do what they did. It was so open to misconstruction that they might easily have been either misunderstood or misrepresented.
An example of a case in which a British Government took the national press into i confidence without attempting to sway opinion, occurred on the eve of the crisis in Britain in 1931, when the editors were summoned, to meet the Prime Minister who revealed to them under certain safeguards what intentions the government had in mind.
There was no attempt to control the policy of the newspapers even on so momentous an occasion, for even in the face of such a crisis it might have had very dangerous repercussions had any such endeavour been made. Since then the application of the Official Secrets Act has aroused considerable anxiety in the British Press, and it would be more than foolish in view of the situation which has now been brought about, if a Government, which has sought to apply the Act to disadvantage of the Press, sought by any other way to bend it to one side or the other.
On that particular score the Press is not too kindly inclined towards the Government and it would be imprudent until the Official Secrets Act has been amended to seek such favours as a general newspaper compliance with Government foreign policy, even though it were by the gentle art of persuasion. One of the difficulties which so many people find in regard to the situation of the British Press vis-à-vis of either the Government or the Constitution is that so many people" believe that newspapers occupy something in the nature of a privileged position. They do nothing of the sort. Their rights of freedom. of speech and the like are no more, and no less than those secured for the individual the Constitution, and the laws of the land, and an editor in these matters can do no more, and is expected to do no less than any other person subject to the law. It will be seen, therefore, that governmental interference with the Press of the land amounts to interfering with the rights of the individual, and the manner in which the country in the past has resisted attempts to make alterations in the constitutional rights of the Briton gives ample justification for believing that similar action now, or in the future. would start an unseemly struggle between the people and the Government. It is cle therefore, that the Government or its minis. ters if they were to seek to do what Mr Mander has suggested would be laying themselves. open to a charge of unconstitutional proceeding, something which most Britons regard with the greatest jealousy.
For somewhat similar reasons a Cabinet hoping to influence the. Press unofficially would be running almost similar risks. While newspapers supporting its policies might be disposed to accept such advice, realizing it had no binding force upon them, those in opposition might be expected to resent such interference despite the realization that it could only have that weight with an editor which he was disposed to give it.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.