"There is an enormous output of books and paper-backs of the detection-thriller type, and it is by no means easy to know where to draw the line. It should be possible, however, to eliminate the really harmful and leave the rest. (_c_) _The Suggestive Magazine_: "The third class of publications is the suggestive magazine. Some public concern has been expressed that a number of suggestive magazines are continuing to circulate in this country. The truth is, however, that, although the names are the same, the contents are very different. We have carefully examined all these magazines, and, although they are not perhaps very edifying, we are satisfied that at present none of them clearly infringes the law. "Nudist magazines are another matter. Those we have seen appear unobjectionable if their circulation is restricted to nudists and persons interested in the nudist cult. They have, however, been appearing in some newsagents' and tobacconists' shops and openly displayed in windows, and we consider circulation in this form to be undesirable. Serious consideration is being given to the prosecution of any one who displays these magazines or sells them to the general public." II. _Suggested Amendments to the Law Relating to Indecent Publications._ The Justice Department has given much attention to the question as to the efficacy of the amending Act introduced in 1954. We had the advantage of reading the report presented by the Department to the Minister of Justice, and we set out below certain portions of the report which we as a Committee think worthy of notice. The report says, _inter alia_: "(1) We think that the substantive changes made in the special legislation in 1954 have been beneficial, and we strongly recommend that they be retained. The Indecent Publications Act 1910, as it previously stood, dealt with sex and with sex alone, and this is not sufficient. It is, for instance, doubtful if the Spillane novels or some of the books in the Milestone series could successfully be objected to merely on grounds of sex; but they are, nevertheless, of an immoral and mischievous tendency and should not be allowed to continue in circulation. They might be described as 'sadistic' in the true psychological sense in that they combine sex and violence. "There has been some suggestion that the Act leaves too vague just what is indecent and that the word 'indecent' should be defined with precision. In the nature of things there are, however, very great difficulties in attempting such a definition. It is significant that no precise definition of indecency exists either in the principal Act or so far as we are aware in the legislation of any other Commonwealth country.