In the House of Commons on Thursday week Mr. Runciman
stated that the Government have decided either to prohibit or greatly to reduce various imports in order to leave more freightage available for the carrying of necessaries. The most important restriction is to be on wood pulp--a very bulky form of cargo. It is said, though we do not vouch for the statement, that the intention of the Government is to cut down the imports of pulp by half. In order to prevent a scramble for the remaining paper, they mean, it is aaserted, to oblige all newspapers to reduce their use of paper by half. No doubt in the case of many daily papers this compulsory reduction may be positively beneficial. The dailies give away too much paper for a penny or a halfpenny. In the case, however, of a great number of weekly papers like -ourselves the reduction of size will be exeeedingly.detrimental, and will cause to many of them pecuniary losses of a ruinous kind.
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