H.—22

Details of Board's receipts and payments are as follows :—

B. Patriotic Raffles Seventy-six licenses to raffle gifts of real or personal property for patriotic purposes were issued. Returns to hand indicate that the gross proceeds from licenses issued by the Department were approximately £12,940 and the net return £12,426. IX. CINEMATOGRAPH THEATRES A. Film Censorship During the year, 1,488 films of all classes, totalling 3,720,500 ft., were examined. Of this number, 102 were passed subject to excisions, 113 were passed with recommendations that they were more suitable for adult audiences, and 22 were passed with the caution that they were not suitable for children. Appeals were lodged against the Censor's decision to make certain eliminations in 2 films ; I was dismissed and the other allowed, subject to the proviso that the picture was unsuitable for exhibition to young children. One other appeal, held over for some time, was allowed, and the film finally passed by the Board of Appeal without amendment. An analysis of the work shows :—

Quota Films : The countries of origin of the quota or feature films examined were as follows : Great Britain, 24 ; Australia, 1 ; Russia, 2 ; United States of America, 342. General Remarks : During the year under review, as compared with the previous year, the number of films requiring amendment was 102, as against 125; the number recommended as more suitable for adults was 113, as against 117 ; and the number considered to be definitely unsuitable for young people was 22, as compared with 24 in the previous year. Pictures with war themes continue to be produced by the American film studios and in a lesser degree by the studios in Great Britain, with, of course, a strong bias towards anti-Nazi doctrines. Many of these productions were considered to be harmless for general exhibition after, in some cases, being subjected to minor excisions., There was a drop in the number of miniature films presented ; 51, as against 90 in the previous year. On the whole, there was little to complain of in respect to the standard of the pictures examined during the year. As already indicated, the world war exerts a paramount influence on the stories handled by the producing corporations, and the lighter type of entertainment—comedies, &c.— were not much in evidence. B. Licensing of Cinematograph Operators One hundred and eighty new applications for provisional and assistant operators' licenses were considered, as compared with 266 new applications for the previous year, while 158 provisional and grade licenses and 122 new assistant operators' licenses were issued. This made a total of 1,144 operators and 638 assistant operators licensed since the coming into force of the regulations in 1938. During the year a number of emergency licenses were issued to meet the shortage of operators arising from wartime conditions. Several applications were under consideration at the close of the year. C. Exhibitors' and other Licenses The following licenses under the Cinematograph Films Act were issued for the year ended 30th September, 1943 : Exhibitors', 443 ; circuit exhibitors', 28 ; renters', 13 ; storage, 9 ; miscellaneous, 17. X. ANIMALS PROTECTION AND GAME A. General (1) Bird-life. -There were open game-shooting seasons in most acclimatization districts last year. The indications are that the close season in 1942 and the restricted one in 1943 for waterfowl have resulted in a marked increase in waterfowl. The North Island Vermin Control Scheme has again operated.

5

Receipts from Provincial i Patriotic Councils and Payments during Year Budget (estimated Exall otliei Sources during ended 30th Septem- penditure) for Year Year ended 30th Sep- ber, 1943. ending 30th September, tember, 1043. t 1944. £ £ £ general .. .. .. 802,777 866,237 558,250 Sick and wounded .. .. 197,432 142,958 102,250 Prisoners of war .. .. 416,850 241,576 53,000 Totals .. .. 1,417,059 1,250,771 713,500

Quota or Long Films. Non-quota or Short Films. Origin. Number, j Length. Number. Length. Ft. Ft. British .. .. .. 25 202,420 450 375,590 Foreign .. .. .. .. 344 2,536,960 669 605,530 Totals 369 2,739,380 1,119 981,120 ~