"Abuse of Power Story of Questioning Details not previously disclosed of a case in which the Attorney General's Department set up inquiries under the Official Secrets Acts were given by Mr. Norman Robson, of London, at the conference of the Institute of Journalists in Keswick on September 13. The conference passed the following composite resolution protesting against the use made of the Acts against journalists carrying out their work in good faith, states the "Manchester Guardian":
That this conference accords full approval to the action taken by the Council of the Institute in protesting against the unwarranted application of the penal provisions of the Official Secrets Act to journalists in the bona fide pursuit of their duties. The conference is profoundly dissatisfied with the Home Secretary's statement to the institute, and pledge itself to work unremittingly for amendment which will restrict the operation of the Acts to cases involving the safety of the realm, as was the intention of Parliament.
That this conference requests the council to give full support, legal and financial, to any member proceeded against under the existing Acts in respect of his professional duties.
Mr. Robson, who moved the resolution, said: "We are not asking for privilege, but for protection from that most dangerous of tyrannies the abuse of power. What we do is of importance not only in this country but throughout the Empire. Already the Official Secrets. Act is being adopted in Australia, and the' consequences may be the same to Australian journalists as they have been to us, unless they act promptly." to.be out of the range of officialdom and journalism, succumbed to the temptation to tell a small meeting of his constituents many miles from Westminster just what he knew was going to happen, and he was in a position to know. He was right trusting his audience, including the reporter, who, though he made a faithful report. of what had been said, did not appreciate its importance.
He reproduced it in the local paper, and there the matter ought to have ended had not one of the Lobby journalists concerned happened to employ a servant who always had the particular local paper sent to her each week. One night the journalist happened to see the paper lying about and picked it up, as all good journalists would. (Laughter) He noticed the report, realized its value, and in view of the knowledge he already possessed of the probabilities took the necessary steps to give that information the publicity it deserved.
These facts were not communicated to the Attorney General, he added, nor have they previously received publicity, but they are given m illustration of the contention that the Acts were never intended to be used to deal with this sort of thing, and it would be ludicrous to suggest that publication of this information in any way imperiled the safety of the State.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.