George Bernard Shaw

The Shewing Up Of Blanco Posnet George Bernard Shaw

Book Excerpt: igilance Societies and Municipalities andcommon informers in a country where a large section of thecommunity still believes that art of all kinds is inherentlysinful. WHY THE GOVERNMENT INTERFEREDIt may now be asked how a Liberal government had been persuadedto meddle at all with a question in which so many conflictinginterests were involved, and which had probably no electoralvalue whatever. Many simple simple souls believed that it wasbecause certain severely virtuous plays by Ibsen, by M. Brieux, by Mr Granville Barker, and by me, were suppressed by thecensorship, whilst plays of a scandalous character were licensedwithout demur. No doubt this influenced public opinion; but thosewho imagine that it could influence British governments littleknow how remote from public opinion and how full of their ownlittle family and party affairs British governments, both Liberaland Unionist, still are. The censorship scandal had existed foryears without any parliamentary action being taken in the maRead Mor