f Lords and the House of
Commons, 1909, on Stage Plays (Censorship). He may speak for himself
here.

Mr. G. K. Chesterton is called in, and examined.

Question 6141 (_Chairman_). I understand that you
appear here to give evidence on behalf of the
average man?

G.K.C. Yes, that is so. I represent the audience,
in fact. I am neither a dramatist nor a dramatic
critic. I do not quite know why I am here, but if
anybody wants to know my views on the subject they
are these: I am for the censorship, but I am
against the present Censor. I am very strongly for
the censorship, and I am very strongly against the
present Censor. The whole question I think turns
on the old democratic objection to despotism. I am
an old-fashioned person and I retain the old
democratic objection to despotism. I would trust
12 ordinary men, but I cannot trust one ordinary
man.

6142. You prefer the jury to the judge?--Yes,
exactly; that is the very point. It seems to me
that if you have one ordinary man judging, it is
not his ordinariness that appears, but it is his
extraordinariness that appears. Take anybody you
like--George III for instance. I suppose that
George III was a pretty ordinary man in one sense.
People called him Farmer George. He was very like
a large number of other people, but when he was
alone in his position things appeared in him that
were not ordinary--that he was a German, and that
he was mad, and various other facts. Therefore, my
primary principle----

6143. He gloried in the name of Briton?--I know he
did. That is what showed him to be so thoroughly
German.

LORD NEWTON. He spelt it wrongly.

WITNESS. Therefore, speaking broadly, I would not
take George III's opinion, but I would take the
opinion of 12 George III's on any question.

The taking of the "evidence" took several hours, but it never yielded
anything more than this: The local jury is a better judge of what is
right and proper than a single Censor. Juries may differ in their
judgments; but why not? Is it not desirable that Hampstead and Highgate
should each have an opportunity of finding out independen