H—37A

Q. It is obvious both your answer to Mr. Leicester and statement in Press Association message could not both be correct ? A. So it appears. Q. You now desire to say that it was Plight Lieutenant Jacobsen who stated it was on instructions from Prime Minister's Department that what you call a system of almost wartime secrecy was instituted ? .4. Flight Lieutenant was only one who referred to Prime Minister's Department to me that day. Q. That is not a complete answer to my question. Do you say it was Flight Lieutenant Jacobsen who informed you that the Prime Minister's Department had given instructions which resulted in what you call a system of almost wartime secrecy ? A. Yes. Q. Although not more than twenty minutes ago you had overlooked or forgotten that ? A. I have said, and I still say, that at this distance of over two months I do not know exact position and do not recall exact wording of conversations, but the original message was correct. Q. You cannot recall exact conversation. Can you on your oath to-day tell this Commission it was Flight Lieutenant Jacobsen who told you that the Prime Minister's Department had given instructions for what you term a system of almost wartime secrecy ? A. Jacobsen was only person I spoke to at airfield. Q. Just address your mind to precise question I asked you. Do you, giving evidence to-day, say that it was Flight Lieutenant Jacobsen, who informed you that under instructions from Prime Minister's Department this system of " almost wartime secrecy " was instituted ? A. Flight Lieutenant Jacobsen's words to me were not framed in same way as that message. Said he had had his instructions and said information to go to Prime Minister's Department. I took it that was where his instructions came from. Q. Is statement in Press Association message " on instructions it was stated from Prime Minister's Department " an assumption you made ? A. No, it is not an assumption. Q. Follows from your last statement. A. No, it is not an assumption. Q. I will go on with the message : " To-day when the Press Association representative called at the Karioi landing-ground he was informed . . . all press representatives were to be excluded from ground and no information given to them." A. Yes, that is right. Q. Did Jacobsen at any stage specifically refer to press representatives ? .4. Yes. Q. Did not Jacobsen say that the Karioi field was closed to all civilians ? A. No ; said out of bounds to press. I recollect it was a phrase he used. Q. " Any information," it was stated, " will be issued through Publicity Section of Prime Minister's Department." Do you attribute that also to Jacobsen ? A. Yes. Q. I want you to pause for a moment, Mr. Wall. Do you say that Flight Lieutenant Jacobsen referred to the Publicity Section of the Prime Minister's Department ? A. Yes. Q. Were you present here when Mr. Jacobsen gave his evidence ? A. No. Q. Read a report of it ? A. No, not other than newspaper reports. They are accurate, of course—not necessarily complete. Q. I want to put to you one passage in Flight Lieutenant Jacobsen's evidence at page 110. [Counsel . reads from page 110 of evidence.] "At the same time I would like to mention that until such time as I was called to this inquiry I did not know there was a Publicity Section of the Prime Minister's Department." Flight Lieutenant Jacobsen has told us that. I was going on to put to you what appears in more than one passage of Mr. Jacobsen's evidence (page 110, middle of page : "I think I referred him to either the Air Department or the Prime Minister's Department "). Did Flight Lieutenant Jacobsen make any reference to the Publicity Section of the Prime Minister's Department ? A. If that is contained in the Press Association message, Sir, he must have. Q. Otherwise the message is wrong, isn't it ? A. But the message is not wrong. Q. But if he didn't, the message is wrong ? A. It would be if he didn't. Q. You know, or do you, that the reference in your Press Association message to the Publicity Section of the Prime Minister's Department was taken up by quite a number of newspapers in their editorial comments ; strong indignation was expressed that news should be channelled through the Publicity Section of the Prime Minister's Department ? A. I have not read leading articles specifically referring to Publicity Section of Prime Minister's Department.

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