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Paghs 469y366ommission has made the fpagewing of 366 specific proposals:

5.

(i) That the Press should establish a General Council

consisting of at least 25 members representing proprietors, editors and other journalists, and having lay members amounting to about 20% of the total, including the Chairman. The lay members should be nominated jointly by the Lord Chief Justice and the Lord President of the Court

of Session, who in choosing the other lay members should consult the Chairman. The Chairman, on whom a heavy burden of work will fall, should be paid.

The law should be amended as follows:

(ii)

(a)

(3)

(၁ )

Powers of inquiry similar to those of the

Board of Trade under sections 172 and 173 of the Companies Act, 1948, should be conferred on the Registrar of Friendly Societies in respect of any societies registered under the Industrial and Provident Societies Acts which publish newspapers or periodicals or engage in the business of a news agency.

(Paragraph 614).

Chain newspapers should be required to carry

on the front page a formula clearly indicating their common ownership, (Paragraph 610).

If local monopolies in a considerable area,

whether rural or urban, should be found

not to be within the purview of the Monopolies Commission, the Monopolies and Restrictive Practices (Inquiry and Control) Act, 1948,

should be amended to bring newspaper monopolies in areas of this size within its scope. (Paragraph 608).

(iii) That the present agreement in the industry to refrain from non-journalistic forms of competition should be prolonged indefinitely.

The actual establishment of the proposed General Council of the Press would be a matter for the Press itself, but I think that we should say that we favour the recommendation und hope that the Press will give effect to it: if the Press does not act, we must consider the matter again. It seems to me right that, as proposed, it should contain representatives of proprietors, editors and other journalists and have a substantial lay element including the Chairman. It may be true that without the laymen the Council would be more likely to command the loyal support of the Press, but it is desirable to include laymen both in order to avoid the risk that the Council might take too narrow a view of its responsibilities and in order that it should enjoy the confidence of the general public.

The Royal Commission proposes that the lay members, including the Chairman, should be nominated jointly by the Lord Chief Justice and the Lord President of the Court of Session; it should be made clear that the Government cannot say whether the Lord Chief Justice and the Lord President of the Court of Session would be prepared to assume the proposed responsibility, and

fi

their attitude very well depend upon the shine of

the scheme

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