GREAT BRITAIN: Plot, Press & People

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Said Lawyer Kerstein: "Our appeal will probably be based on the ground that the judge misdirected the jury." Indicating that in his opinion Hon. Mr. Justice Greaves-Lord had charged in such a way that the jury thought McMahon had suddenly made up and told in court for the first time a fantastic story, Lawyer Kerstein declared, "McMahon had 'told the same story to the War Office and to the police months ago. . . . Military intelligence officers had details of the main part of the plot and verified many of McMahon's statements. . . . The foreign power concerned is Germany."

However much or little truth there was in this,* British newspaper readers had scant opportunity to judge or obtain pertinent facts last week, and at the annual meeting of the British Institute of Journalists at Edinburgh their President Hugh W. Dawson read a hot attack on those British forces which he said tend constantly to "restrict the scope of free criticism and give the newspapers pause before they expose a public scandal." Including British law as now administered among these stifling forces, British Journalists' president cried: "There seems to be a tendency in courts of law, particularly on the part of English juries, to regard newspaper faults which come under their notice as calling for vindictive punishment." Conditions in Scotland are better, opined Mr. Dawson, but he raised a rallying appeal to obtain by House of Commons action greater freedom of the press in Great Britain.

Meanwhile Britain's press, resuming the regular Fleet Street routine on King Edward's return, generally told last week how distressed His Majesty appeared as he looked at pictures of working class slum houses shown to him at a new Housing Exhibition. His comment: "Pretty grim!" At sight of a poster reading Rents Still Too High, His Majesty nodded and inspected maps showing where they are too high—among other places in areas privately owned by King Edward. With what British papers described as a "grimace," His Majesty pointed out his own Duchy of Cornwall from which the yearly revenue exceeds $500,000. He gave respectful British social workers this advice: "The people you want to get at are the officials.

... I hope this exhibition will rouse the people of this country!" Next day King Edward, with three newspapers under his arm and accompanied by the Duke of York, took a train at Euston Station for Balmoral, the Royal Scottish Seat, where he will shoot. To the astonishment of his Scottish deerstalking guide who found a fine stag for His Majesty this week, the King at the crucial moment dropped his gun, whipped out his new German miniature camera, snapped the stag.