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of which the consent of the Attorney-General is required by the Act (see page 10). Any case of unauthorised use should be reported to the Secretary, War Office (C 2) London; to whom also any case of doubt should be referred.
Royal Standard, Use of the.
40. The Royal Standard is the personal flag of the Sovereign and cannot properly be flown without His Majesty's permission. Such permission is only granted where the King or the Queen is present in person.
41. The Royal Standard is sometimes improperly flown from public buildings, hotels, etc.; whenever the Police have knowledge of such an irregularity occurring, they should ask for it to be at once discon- tinued. Any refusal or delay to comply with such a request should be reported to the Secretary of State.
Seditious Speeches.
42. The decision whether proceedings should be taken in connection with speeches of a seditious character depends not only on the nature of the language used, but on the circumstances in which it is used, and particularly on whether the circumstances were such that the speech was likely to lead to the actual use of violence; and it has to be borne in mind that unsuccessful proceedings may sometimes do more harm than any good which could result from a successful prosecution.
43. The proceedings available are—
This
(i) A prosecution under the common law for sedition.
involves a trial on indictment, and if a conviction is obtained, the punishment (imprisonment in the First Division) is hardly of a deterrent character.
(ii) An application to magistrates for an order on the offender to provide sureties for his good behaviour. This course was approved by the High Court in the case of Lansbury v. Riley in 1914 (3 K.B. 229) and has, in many cases, proved an effective remedy.
(iii) The circumstances may sometimes be such as to justify proceedings for aiding, abetting, counselling, or procuring the commission of an offence (e.g., assault or wilful damage) punishable on summary conviction (Summary Jurisdic- tion Act, 1848, Section 5); or proceedings by indictment for inciting persons to commit an indictable offence such as larceny or riot.
44. The Director of Public Prosecutions is prepared to advise the Police in any case where language has been used of so serious a character that the Chief Constable thinks proceedings are necessary or expedient. The Police should not in any case prosecute for seditious words or seditious libel under the common law without first consulting the Director.
45. Any report of a speech which it is thought desirable to refer to the Director of Public Prosecutions should reach him without any
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avoidable delay. The letter forwarding it should give some informa- tion on the following points :-(1) the occasion of the meeting; (2) the numbers and character of the audience and its attitude towards the speaker; and (3) the speaker's antecedents, place of residence, and connection with revolutionary or similar organisations. It should also state (4) whether the speaker is expected to speak at other meetings, and if so, when and where; and (5) whether he is a person whose speeches are likely to exercise influence on others.
46. Nothing in the above instructions is intended to interfere with the confidential reports on subversive movements made to Sir Wyndham Childs at New Scotland Yard. It is important that the close co- operation established between the Special Branch of Metropolitan Police and the County and Borough Police forces in this matter should be fully maintained.
Suicide, Attempts to commit.
47. It is not necessary, in the opinion of the Secretary of State, to prefer a charge whenever an attempt is made to commit suicide. If a person who has attempted suicide is brought to a police station and is fit to be temporarily detained, immediate inquiries should be made to ascertain what was his motive and whether he has any relatives or friends willing and able to take care of him and to accept responsibility. If the result of such inquiries is satisfactory and if there are no special reasons to the contrary (such as the commission of another crime, a previous attempt to commit suicide, definite indications of insanity, threats to renew the act, or habitual intemperance), he may be allowed to go to the care of his relatives or friends, no charge being preferred against him.
Theatres Act, 1843: Stage Plays,
48. The Theatres Act, 1843, requires every new stage play and every addition to or alteration in a stage play to be licensed by the Lord Chamberlain before it is produced "for hire." It not infrequently happens that objectionable scenes or actions which do not form part of a play when licensed are subsequently introduced into it.
49. Managers of theatres should produce, if required, either the licence for the performance of the play, or a written authority from the Lord Chamberlain that the play has been licensed or that changes in a play previously licensed have been made with his approval.
50. Whenever there is ground for suspecting that a play is being produced without a licence, or that unauthorised changes (especially the interpolation of dialogues or actions of an improper character) have been made in a licensed play, the matter should be immediately reported to the Lord Chamberlain, Ceremonial Department, St. James's Palace, London. It is not intended that reporting an alleged infringe- ment of the Act to the Lord Chamberlain should delay or otherwise interfere with any other action on the part of the Police for preventing improper or undesirable performances.
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