X.— 8.

84

J. 0. WILLIAMSON.

His Worship: Quite so. 490. Mr. Gray.] You have been asked and have answered certain questions as to the censorship of Roman Ctaholic organizations and newspapers : to your knowledge, has any censorship been applied in Auckland to the correspondence of any Roman Catholic official?—l do not quite understand the question. 491. When 1 say "official" I mean a Roman Catholic, holding any official position in the Roman Catholic Church? Mr. Ostler: He may be an alien enemy. Ido not understand the question. 492. Mr. Gray.] Has the correspondence of any Roman. Catholic priest in Auckland been subjected to censorship ?—Yes, it lias. 493. Mr. Ostler.] Was that some one wdio has subsequently been interned as an alien enemy ? Mr. Gray: I will not ask that question. That tends to identification. His Worship: I think. I am absolutely prohibited from inquiring into details—merely the bare facts. 494. Mr. Gray.] My attention has been drawn to another order in the order-book headed "Confidential nature of duties": "No information regarding any letter which may come to the knowledge of any officer through his employment in the Department shall, without express authority of the Secretary, be furnished to the Press or be given privately or made public by him under pain of dismissal. . . . No information may be given respecting letters or other postal matter, except to the addressees or to persons they nominate in writing. No officer may make public any official communication which he may receive unless lie shall be officially directed to do so. Members of Parliament have no privilege in these respects." That is a standing rule, is it not, of the Post Office, with which every officer is, or ought to be, fully acquainted?— Exactly. 495. To pass on again to the censorship : do you still say that in giving the instruction of the 24th March you felt that it was not possible to distinguish between literature in the shape of pamphlets and letters unless all correspondence was submitted to the Censor?—l say it was not possible to distinguish. 496. And in any case did not the Censor in Auckland have instructions from his chief in Wellington?—l can only assume so. 497. You know nothing of the methods of working of the Censor?— No. 498. Have you ever attempted at. any time to obtain any information from him as to how he works or why ?—No. 499. As a matter of fact, do you know at what hours he is chiefly employed in censoring work? —I could not say definitely, but 1 have observed when I have been at work late myself that he lias been at work on such occasions. 500. He works late at night?— Yes. His Worship: There is one point that struck me as an anomaly, and Mr. Morris will, no doubt, take notice—that the Censor should be carrying out his duties in the same room as men not under the same oath as the Censor. 501. Mr, Gray.] You say you have reason to believe there was no further order posted in the book after the 24th March. You got instructions from. Wellington on the sth April to attend to this matter—a sort of renewal? —There was no order put into the book after the sth April until quite recently, in July. 502. You received instructions from Wellington, of the sth April, which, as I. said, before, you seem to have anticipated owing to some reference to you of the official file; and on receipt of the instructions of the sth April you did not cause another order to be put into the book : why not? —Because the order was so recent, 503. You thought it not necessary to put another order seeing the order had been signed by all the staff on the 24th March ?—Yes'. 504. Then on the 6th July you had another order put in the order-book drawing attention to the fact that some, circulars addressed to box 912, or emanating from box 912, had gone through without reference to the Censor? —Yes. 505. Why did you have that order promulgated?— Because it appeared officers had forgotten the previous order, and I thought it necessary to remind them. 506. I suppose there is a great number of orders the staff are required to note and remember if possible?— They average, I think, slightly over one every day—36s in the year. 507. A new order every day?— Practically. 508. You were asked by Mr. Ostler whether you had not received instructions from the Head Office in Wellington on the 9th July to release the correspondence: did you receive any instructions other than that the correspondence was to be delivered after the Censor released it? —No. 509. Was it in your power, or, as far as you know, in the power of the Head Office, to control the release of correspondence by the Censor?-—As far as I know it was not. 510. Certainly not in yours? —Certainly not. 511. What Mr. Waters said to you was that the Wellington Censor had informed him that the Auckland Censor had been instructed to release the correspondence, and you were instructed to deliver in the usual way?— Yes. 512. You were asked something about bundles of circulars put in, some without contents, the absence of which was noticed : do you suggest there is a, difference between letters put in in bundles and letters like these put in with others? —I do. 513. Do you say it would be easier to detect in the bundle than in a mixed lot of correspondence? —There is no doubt about it.