Nov. 25.
The short passage in the House of Commons between Mr. Geoffrey Mander, Opposition Liberal and Mr. Neville Chamber-Tain 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 regard~ ing that subject which seem to be commonly libeld 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 altitude 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 least unofficially, receiving precisely the same response. Had an affirmative been given.to cither 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 influence the British Pross 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 abusive comment appearing in a certain section of British newspapers, and his request that this should be stopped. He was told that the British Government could take no action in the mat~ ter under the constitution, but at the request lof the Queen, certain London editors were approached unoMcially, 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 fon the ground of good taste than for any really political purpose, but even then the Ministers involved showed considerable reuetance to do what they did, It was so open misconstruction that they might easily have been either misunderstood or misrepresented, example of a case in which a British Government took the national press into its leon fidence 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 lof the newspapers even on so momentous an joceasion, for even in the face of such a risis it might have had very dangerous repercussions had any such endeavour been. made. Since then the application of the 'OMfcial Secrets Act has aroused considerable anxiety in the British Press, and it would be more than foolish in view of the situation which inas now been brought about, it a Government, which has sought to apply the Act to
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.