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the later Bill on account of the probability that they would excite resentment and would be opposed by the Press.

3. The General Staff propose that a joint Admiralty and War Office Bureau should be established in time of war to deal with the question of the issue of information to the 'ress. It will be for the Sub-Committee to decide whether the constitution of such a bureau is desirable, and, if so, whether it might not he advisable to include amongst its members a representative of the journalistic profession unconnected with the staff of any newspaper.

April 27, 1910.

C. L. O.

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(B.)

MEMORANDUM BY THE GENERAL STAFF.

The question of the control of the Press in time of national emergency was raised in 1899, shortly after the Fashoda crisis, on account of the detailed information regarding the national defences which had been published in the English Press on that occasion. Suggestions were made for legislation, and the establishment of a military Press censorship in time of emergency was proposed. The Adjutant-General, Sir Evelyn Wood, unofficially referred these proposals to Mr. Moberly Bell, of "The Times," and to Mr. Douglas Straight, of the Pall Mall Gazette." Both gentlemen were of opinion that, for certain reasons, which they gave, censorship of the Press in England is not practicable, and that the only effective means of dealing with the Press at a time of national emergency is to prohibit the publication of all Naval and Military information altogether, except in so far as it is supplied officially by His Majesty's Government.

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2. The matter was then allowed to drop, owing probably to the pressure of work caused by the South African War, but was again raised by the D.M.O. in 1904. With the approval of the C.G.S., a memorandum quoting historical instances of the harm done by Press disclosures, and embodying the views expressed by Mr. Moberly Bell was drawn up and submitted to the Admiralty and India Office on the 25th August, 1904. The Admiralty reply (20th September, 1904) offered "most cordial support,' and suggested early reference to the C.I.D. The D.M.O. accordingly passed the papers to the Secretary C.I.D. on the 27th September, 1901, and the subject was considered by the Committee at their meeting of the 9th December, 1904, when it was decided that a draft Bill should be prepared at once and kept in readiness for submission to Parliament when an emergency arose.

3. This decision of the Committee was communicated to the Treasury on the 23rd December, 1904, and a Bill was then drafted entitled the "Publication of Naval and Military Information Act, 1905." It, however, never got beyond the draft stage.

4. In 1906 the question was again considered by the C.I.D., and the following extract from the minutes of the 93rd meeting held on the 13th November, 1906, was transmitted to the War Office, Admiralty, and Treasury :—

"The Committee are of opinion that the powers of preventing the dissemination of news which would be valuable to an enemy during or just before the outbreak of hostilities are essential. They further consider that the means of applying such powers should not be delayed until the outbreak of war, and that the Government of the day should, therefore, be enabled to put the necessary resolutions in force by Order in Council at a moment's notice. The question is, however, one which must be left to the discretion of the Cabinet."

5. A draft Bill" to provide for the control of the Publication of Naval and Military Information in Case of Emergency," was prepared in 1907. It prohibited during a time of emergency the publication of any Naval or Military Information, and any state- ment, comment, or suggestion calculated to convey such information, except where it had been furnished by the Admiralty or the Army Council, or had been sent during a

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