Another announcement made by Mr. Long in the course of
the debate was that precautions would be taken to preserve the secrecy of the information obtained. The questions ask- ing the age and condition of every person, whether single, married, or widowed, might be looked upon as prying into matters generally regarded as private and domestic, and could only be justified by the greatness of the national crisis. There- fore it was proper to prevent the information being used merely for the gratification of idle curiosity or for any purpose other , than State service. Mr. Long further proposed some modifica- tions in the terms of the questions. The principal one will now stand: " Whether the work on which he is employed is work for or under a Government Department." In our opinion, the general result of the discussion has been good. It has shown how weak and small in quantity as well as poor in quality is the opposition to the Bill, and at the same time it has helped the country to understand the measure and get accustomed to the ideas behind it. The Bill is distinctly more popular and its position more secure now than it was when it was introduced.
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