One unquestionable scandal is the improper use which has recently been made of the Official Secrets Act, as in the notorious case of the Stockport police who used the Act to compel a local journalist to reveal the source of his information in a matter which had nothing whatever to do with national defence. Here Sir Samuel Hoare has promised legislation to limit the uses of this necessary but dangerous Act.
Although attempts to control the Press are very difficult to nail down, the growth of the autocratic power of the permanent departments inevitably leads to their being made, since bureaucrats by their nature hate newspapers and will do everything in their power to thwart and silence them. Against these attempts, the whole Press stands solidly together and no harm has yet been done. Nobody knows better than a responsible journalist when silence may be golden and, if officials generally could be brought to realize it, it is far better to treat journalists frankly and trust to their discretion. Mr. Mander naturally could not name his witnesses, but he had grounds for at least part of his charges, and the ventilation of the matter will have done good.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.