not strictly indecent within the
meaning of the Act are nevertheless objectionable from other points
of view. In many the ethical standards of the characters are low.
The quality of the print and illustrations varies from the
indifferent to the very poor, and must have a serious effect on
children's eyesight. In a number of comics the grammar and
vocabulary are likewise bad.

"It is said that children learn from what they see and hear around
them. If this is so it would appear that the assiduous reading of
comics tends to counteract the work of teachers which costs the
country so much.

"An Inter-departmental Committee in 1952 recommended the
introduction of a system of registration. The Committee's original
recommendations were: that publishers or importers of comics should
apply for registration of every title and that only suitable titles
should be registered. The sale of unregistered comics was to be an
offence. This procedure may be preferable to the subsequently
suggested system of automatic registration followed by
de-registration upon complaint.

"Registration of comics, of course, amounts to censorship. There
is, however, no question of literary merit or the spread of
knowledge, and the view that an adult should in general be free to
read what he likes does not apply in the case of publications
primarily intended for children. If it is accepted as proper to
censor films there can be little objection to censoring comics.

"We therefore suggest that the Select Committee might consider
whether an authority might be set up to approve and register
comics. There could be an Appeal Board similar to that in respect
of films to consider complaints against any decision of the
registering authority.

"If this suggestion is unacceptable an alternative might be an
amendment to the legislation to be introduced enabling the Court in
the case of comics to take into account as one of the factors in
considering whether they are objectionable matters of grammar,
language and visual standards."

The present Committee is of opinion that there is a good deal of force
in the suggestions put forward in this part of the report of the
Department of Justice, and our view is that these suggestions should be
referred to the Minister of Education with a request that he consider
them favourably and f