Mr. HEALYasked the Secretary of State for War whether, as the Military Censor in Ireland requires all publications to be submitted to him, he sanctioned the-appearance of an account of the banquet given to the Colonial delegates in Dublin by the hon. Member for East Mayo in the "Freeman's Journal" and "Cork Examiner," which differs in a vital respect from that passed for publication in Great Britain; is the Censor directly or indirectly responsible for the excision in the "Freeman's Journal" and "Cork Examiner" of the fact that, upon the protest and withdrawal of an Australian delegate, the toast of His Majesty was proposed and 2683W "God Save the King!" sung; was the excision of this incident made known to the Censor before he approved of the reports in the "Freeman's Journal" and "Cork Examiner"; and have both these organs been in receipt of large sums from the military since the outbreak of war for publishing recruiting advertisements?
§ Mr. FORSTERWith regard to the first three parts of the question, I am informed that the Press Censor did not censor or take any action as regards the account of the banquet to Colonial delegates in Dublin. The Press were at liberty to publish what they wished, and the Censor is in no way responsible for the divergence between the reports in various newspapers. As regards the last part of the question, I am unable to say whether any funds have been granted to these firms for advertising in Ireland.