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SOUTH PLACE ETHICAL SOCIETY

OFFICERS :Secretary: Dr. D. J. Gibson

Hon. Registrar: Mrs. T. C. LindsayExecutive Secretary: Miss E. Palmer

Hon. Treasurer: Mr. E. Harris Editor, "The Ethical Record": Miss Barbara Smoker

Address: Conway Hall Humanist Centre, Red Lion Square, London, W.C. I(Tel.: CHAncery 8032)

SUNDAY MORNING MEETINGS, II a.m.February 7—Dr. JOHN LEWIS

Morality Without ReligionSoprano solos: Shirley Dangerfield

February 14—JOHN BURROWS, B.Sc.Democratic Trends and Social ChangePiano solos: Joyce Langley

February 21—H. J. BLACKHAM, B.A.Is Existentialism Humanism?Bass solos: G. C. Dowman

February 28—Prof. T. H. PEARFirst Impressions of a Person: Individual and Social FactorsTenor solos: Michael McPartlin

March 7—LORD SORENSENThe Human Weaving of Theological Patterns

CONWAY DISCUSSIONS—TUESDAYS, 7.30 p.m.February 2—Clean Air: Arnold Marsh, 0.B.E., M.Sc.February 9—Roots of Religion in Early Childhood: Does Religious Propaganda in

Schools Matter?: Dr. Laurence KotkasFebruary 16—Cruel Sports: Raymond Rowley (of The League Against Cruel Sports)February 23—Cultural Relations with the U.S.S.R.: H. C. CreightonMarch 2—Public Opinion Polls: William Gregory (of the Gallop Poll)

SOUTH PLACE SUNDAY CONCERTS, 74th SEASON, 1964/65 Concerts 6.30 p.m. (Doors open 6 p.m.) Admission 3s.

February 7—LONDON OCTETBrahms B flat, Op. 18, and Schonberg "Verklarte Nacht" String Sextets.Mendelssohn Octet.

February 14—ALBERNI STRING QUARTETHaydn E flat, Op. 33, No. 2. Beethoven Grosse Fuge. Schubert A mi.

February 21—ENGLISH STRING QUARTETJOHN Y. DYER, BERNARD RICHARDSBeethoven F, Op. 18, No. I String Quartet. Brahms G, Op. 36, andDvorak String Sextets.

February 28—MARTIN STRING QUARTETHaydn D mi„ Op. 76, No. 2. Debussy. Beethoven E flat, Op. 74.

The Objects of the Society are the study and dissemination of ethical principles andthe cultivation of a rational religious sentiment.

Any person in sympathy with these objects is cordially invited to become a Member(minimum annual subscription 12s. 6d.) or Associate (minimum annual subscription7s. 6d.). Associates are not eligible to vote or hold office. A membership applicationform will be found on the back cover.

The Ethical Record is posted free to members and associates. The annual chargeto subscribers is 8s. Matter for publication in the March issue should reach theEditor, Miss Barbara Smoker, 86 Dalmain Road, Forest Hill, S.E.23, by February 1.

THE ETHICAL RECORD(Formerly 'The Monthly Record')

vol. 70, No. 2 FEBRUARY 1965

The views expressed in this journal are not necessarily those of the Society

EDITORIALTI1E NO-HANGING BILL has gone through the Commons with a largemajority, and, as a correspondent points out in this issue, all Humanistsmust rejoice at this advance on the road from barbarism, though itleaves untouched the almost equally barbarous practice of locking menaway from their families and friends for the best part of a lifetime.Indeed, the end of hanging may well entail a harsher interpretation of"life imprisonment" than has been the practice in recent years. Itis obvious that the public must be adequately protected from a murdererwho may possibly repeat the offence, but the proper place for hisdetention is surely a mental hospital rather than a prison. The escapeof Frederick Smith from Wormwood Scrubs during the very week ofthe parliamentary debate on capital punishment highlighted the inade-quacy of the present system, whereby this poor man had been keptin an ordinary prison for 17 years, since it was obviously still unsafeto let him loose, yet had only just begun to receive any psychiatrictreatment. In spite of the large proportion of mentally unstable menamong the prison population, psychiatric treatment is very much theexception. As one prisoner told the Editor, "You have to be climbingup the wall of your cell before you see a psychiatrist." As the humani-tarian criminologist Merfyn Turner, who founded Norman House, wrotein a letter recently published in The Observer:

Some men deteriorate from the first day of their sentence. I wouldsay that all men deteriorate before they have done a year. Those whoserve Lord Devlin's calculated 10 years are utterly destroyed. I canonly hope he is mistaken when he claims that "current thought" is onhis side.

For many years now I have been seeing in prison Lord Devlin's"ordinary man," who is supposed to withstand the destructive forces -of imprisonment for 10 years at least. I cannot recall a single instancewhere the prisoner was the better for his imprisonment.

Bernard Shaw had percipient views on this subject, as on most others,and two of his "Maxims for Revolutionists" are worth quoting here:"Whilst we have prisons it matters little which of us occupy the cells,"and "Imprisonment is as irrevocable as death." A man who has beenfined may be reimbursed, but a portion of his life spent behind barscan never be restored.

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The Bill does not actually abolish all capital punishment: the deathsentence is to remain, for the present, in cases of piracy, arson in H.M.dockyards, treason and desertion in the face of the enemy—all, to quotea letter in The Guardian, "offences much more public-spirited thanmurder." But the final exit of capital punishment can hardly be longdelayed in the face of enlightened opinion.

It is true, as anti-abolitionists kept claiming during the debate, thata public referendum on the subject would in all probability have resultedin a large majority for retaining hanging for murder — including thecategories of murder that had previously been removed from the listof capital crimes. But this is not a valid argument against abolition:it is an argument auainst waiting for the enlightenment of the massesbefore enacting reforms. If that system were always followed, we shouldstill have trial by torture, public floggings, pillories. and ducking-stools;and few members of South Place Ethical Society would have escapedbeing burnt alive for their unorthodox opinions.

Those who really know something about executions, however, arein the abolitionist camp, almost to a man — and they include twounexpected eleventh-hour converts. One is the former Home Secretary,Henry Brooke, who actually spoke in favour of the Bill, The otheris the retiring hangman, Harry Allen (assistant executioner 1940-56,chief executioner 1956-64), who, in an interview for The Sunday Times,said that he thought hanging had ceased to be a deterrent. Like manyoutside observers, he had been struck by the case of a youth who shota bank clerk just one hour after two of his friends had been hangedfor another murder. On the other hand. Allen said that he himselfwould rather be hanged than "do twelve years", addina: "I think thoselong terms of imprisonment, like preventive detention, are really muchworse punishments. But I suppose there's not the horror attached".Not least horrific was the casual way in which he had accepted hisgruesome job and shrugged off any feeling of personal involvementor responsibility: "The law is the law": Until humanity puts personalresponsibility above authority, there will always be enough men willing.in the name of the impersonal law, to hang a crazy gunman — or topush six million human beings guilty of the wrong parentage into gas-chambers, or press the H-bomb buttons.

Truth and Error in Biological ScienceBY

MAURICE BURTON, D.Sc.

WHEN ANATOMISTS first examined the heads of whales, they found, wherethe ear should be, a very narrow tube leading from the surface to the interior,and although the inner ear was well developed, this tube leading to it wasblocked throughout most of its length by a cylinder of wax. It was incon-ceivable that whales could hear. It was not possible, also, to imagine thatwhales could •have a voice, so it was the most natural thing in the worldto credit them with being both deaf and dumb. When, therefore, whalerscame back with stories of the sounds whales made these were treated withconsiderable reserve.

Around the year 1939, two events took place which were to alter this.

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First, it was established beyond doubt that bats found their way about indarkness by echo-location, giving out ultrasonic squeaks above the rangeof human hearing and listening for their echoes. The second event was thatan ambitious plan was conceived of building in Florida a huge aquarium,later called an oceanarium, in which dolphins and porpoises should be keptrather as one keeps goldfish in a bowl. About the same time, underwaterhydrophones revealed that schools of porpoises and whales indulged inchoruses of chattering and whistling, but a few years were to elapse beforeit was discovered that whales and their smaller relatives, the dolphins andporpoises, used their voices for communication with each other as wellas for detecting their food and for sounding the depth of water beneaththem, using, especially, ultrasonics in the form of an echo-location. Nowwe have moved full circle. We know the hearing of whales is more acutethan ours, and it is even suggested dolphins are capable of speech.

In this instance, one of the first steps necessary was the invention ofappropriate apparatus, that associated with echo-sounding and radar, beforea truth could be established. Prior to that it had been obscured, with theresult that false ideas were held even by eminent authorities.

Perhaps a greater bar to progress is the obstinacy of men themselves,and one of the most clear-cut examples is seen in the history of the studyof kangaroos and their like. When Pelsaert was wrecked off the coast ofsouth-west Australia, in 1629, he became the first European to see a wallaby.It was a female with young in the pouch, and Pelsaert examining it cameto the conclusion that young wallabies grew from the mother's nipplesinside the pouch, and for several centuries this improbable idea, or otherssimilar to it, were accepted by zoologists, despite information to thecontrary. In 1830, Alexander Collie, surgeon on one of H,M. sloops,recorded that •he young kangaroos and wallabies were born in •the usualway, made their way through the mother's fur from the birth canal to thepouch, crawled inside, seized a nipple and clung to it, taking in nourishmentand growing until they reached a size enabling them to leave the pouch andmove about on their own. Sir Richard Owen, however, completely rejectedthis idea in favour of supposing that the female kangaroo picked up hernew-born infant either with her lips or with the toes of her fore-feet andplaced it in the pouch. Because the kangaroo is born at such an early stageof development, when the brain is little better than a rudiment, it seemedmost unlikely that it had either the sense-organs or the sense, let alone thestrength, to make a journey relatively so long and so hazardous, and to doso with such accuracy. We now know that immediately prior to the birththe mother kangaroo cleans the inside of her pouch in anticipation of heroffspring's residence in it, licking the interior with her tongue and groomingthe fur inside it with her claws. These were the actions that had beenmisinterpreted by Owen and others.

To be fair, any one of us could have fallen into the same error. Yet thehistorical fact remains that again in 1882, the Hon. L. Hope confirmedCollie's findings without carrying conviction with the body of zoologists.Nor did A. Goerling fare any better when •he re-affirmed the truth ofCollie's discovery, in 1913. It was not until 1923, when Professor ThompsonFlynn set out to investigate the matter, that the views of Collie, Hope andGoerling were vindicated. Little more than a year ago, the whole processwas filmed, from start to finish, setting the matter beyond a peradventure.

Dealing with the science of zoology only, but suspecting that the truthmay be similar for other sciences, one is impressed with how we so oftenarrive at truth the hard way. A high proportion of discoveries are accidental.Many are made only when a human invention has been perfected and theassociated instruments are available for testing and we then awake to thefact that what we human beings regard as new has been in use in the

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animal kingdom for millions of years. We can couple these things with thefact, unpalatable though it may be, that any book devoted to this sciencecontains errors which, in view of the dedication of every scientist to theelimination of error and the pursuit of truth, are surprising in number.It is this knowledge that, to a large degree, makes scientists pounce uponand execrate error committed by their colleagues. This knowledge alsomakes one wonder how it is that the actual truth in any field is ever reached.

We can symbolize this situation by thinking of a piece of marble, whitewith black irregular veins running through it. The veins, tortuous in theirpath, solnetimes almost fading only to become more strongly marked alonganother path, represent the halting, uneasy course of the search for truth,as exemplified by the stories of the whales' hearing and voice and ofkangaroo birth. The white matrix they traverse represents the body ofcontaining criticism and adverse opinion, pushing and moulding the veinstowards their ultimate goal.

Even Homer nodded, and lesser savants are apt to have their fortywinks, but error large and small, even that which presents itself in theguise of solid fact, is pursued relentlessly if slowly; and criticism of others,even if at times it may have the appearance of personal acrimony, is thehealthiest sign that the ultimate goal is truth.

(Summary of a lecture given on November 29)

The Challenge and Dilemma of Humanism

BY

LORD SORENSEN

IN 1908 the Lambeth Conference of Anglican Bishops included in theirReport the assertion that "artificial means of restriction (are) demoralisingin character, and hostile to national welfare". In their 1958 ConferenceReport, however, it was stated "planning . . . is a right and importantfactor in Christian family life . . .".

There could be various explanations of this disparity. It could be saidthat it takes about 50 years' time-lag for the Holy Spirit to replace oneguidance for Anglican Bishops by another —and maybe much longer whenRoman Catholic ecclesiastics are involved. On the other hand, it could besimply a demonstration of how fallible Bishops can be in misunderstandingprecisely the original response of the Holy Spirit to episcopal prayers.Again, though on a less exalted plane, it is possible that both Protestant andCatholic Prelates have come to realise that a considerable number of theirflock had insisted on engaging in family limitation, in spite of being warnedof the supernatural penalties for this, and therefore it was deemed expedientto relieve the culprits of this shadow of sin by modifying the original moralprohibition. Yet again, so remarkable a change in moral directive maysimply be due to the cumulative influence even on the church of sustainedhumanist propaganda.

Roman Catholics, of course, have used this drastic transformation byBishops of the Church of England to illustrate the heretical perils of analleged spurious church compared with the unwavering discipline of theOne True Mother Church. Even so, it is interesting to compare twct Catholicauthorities separated by a few decades. In a •tract of the Catholic TruthSociety I found in my domestic archives, written by a Mrs. W. Ward,published about twenty years ago, and on its cover claiming to have had tothat date a circulation of 155,000 copies, it is stated: "To a Christian who

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believes in immortality, the poor baby that passed its little span on earth inmaterial wretchedness will be a glorious being for eternity". (She omittedto mention that such compensation is guaranteed only if the infant wasbaptised in the One True Church; otherwise it would for ever remain inthe metaphysical half-way house of "Limbo".) Later the tract declares,"There is no greater scandal in England today than that anyone should beallowed to advocate birth control or sell appliances for that purpose".(Eire, being a holier nation, has by law no such scandal.) The tract alsostates, "The use of contraceptives is against natural law and therefore issinful for men and women of any religion or none".

Now let us turn to the following extracts from an essay by the RomanCatholic Archbishop T. D. Roberts, Si., "The Catholic position is difficultto maintain, precisely because it is based on natural law . . the reasonsthus preferred in condemnation of contraception do not convince me . . .it is not impossible that the classic concept of 'nature' and of what is trueof the 'laws of nature' will be radically revised in the future .... What Iam urging is that the Vatican Council re-examine this topic with a view •toclarifying the relation of natural law to contraception ...".

Archbishop Roberts, formerly of Bombay, is by no means a solitaryvoice, for the issue of birth control (family planning, or any other synonym)has now become a matter of serious concern among the hundreds ofcelibates attending the Vatican Council. It may appear to have been placedtemporarily in cold storage, but that at any rate is better than the diabolicalhot •storage into which heretofore this subject and its advocates have beenrelegated. We must also remember the recent proclamations by the CatholicChurch that the whole Jewish race need no longer be held culpable ofdeicide (although this has brought fierce reactions from Arab Christianecclesiastics), that religious liberty is a virtuous necessity (despite apoplecticresistance from venerable stalwarts), and that nuns may modify their medi-eval garments (providing, I 'assume, their skirts still discreetly screen theirpotentially sinful ankles).

I have focused attention on this particular subject because it is illustrativeof the humanist influence over a much wider field. I maintain it is in factthis humanistic influence which has brought about, belatedly, an extremelysignificant reappraisal by Christian apologists. Indeed, from the Renaissanceonward there has been a steady erosion of Christian dogma, this proceedingsometimes tortuously, sometimes with climactic speed, often frustrated byreactionary forces and yet ultimately battling through to victory.

The rejection of exclusive, infallible papal authority during the Reform-ation was itself a liberation of the human mind, for, once an alternativehad been established, then in time the right of free choice was logicallyinevitable. Hence, defiance in this country of the 1662 Act of Uniformity,by which assent and consent must be given to the Articles and Canons ofthe Established Church. registered a further advance. The Bible itself, as anauthority upon which "Nonconformists" based their beliefs, became under-mined by Higher Criticism. It now seems odd to realise that Bishop Colensowas driven from his South African diocese in 1863 because he doubtedwhether Moses himself was the author of the Pentateuch and whethereternal damnation was doctrinally necessary—though his vigorous oppositionto Boer treatment of native peoples may also have had much to do withhis eviction.

Since then a host of critics and scholars have demonstrated that the Bible(Ta Biblia — the Books) is a library of assorted documents of varyingworth and importance, containing history, legend, poetry, biography, eschata-logical musings, folk-lore and moralisms, all affected to a greater or lessdegree by erroneous translations, interpolations and glosses, the crystal-lisation of myths into pseudo-fact and a capricious selectiveness. No honest

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person can state conclusively what is indubitably authentic historically,although much gathered tradition has some substance. Anthropologicallythe Bible is of considerable interest; ethically also, insofar as one canobserve (notwithstanding adulterations and aberrations) a human growthin moral consciousness among Semitic peoples who form one small sectionof the human race.

The dissemination of scientific knowledge on astronomy, physics andanatomy, much of this from Arab sources subsequent to the impact of theCrusades, and later the expanding research that culminated in Darwin andWallace's exposition of evolution, shattered the ancient cosmogony andcosmology within whose framework the Christian doctrines had beenformulated. The Origin of Species, fiercely assailed at the time and there-after, has had a revolutionary effect on religion.

Meanwhile, the ecclesiastical stranglehold on universities had beenweakened; and, on the ground level, the initiation of schools for "promotingthe education of the poor", respectively under Anglican and Nonconformistauspices, and then in 1870 the Act making elementary education compulsoryhad at least provided for the elimination of illiteracy in Britain. This hasbeen followed in recent years by more democratised availability of highereducation, thus opening doors for the extensive absorption of knowledge,aided by the popular circulation of enlightening literature.

First Me publication of Karl Marx's writings and then the repercussionsfrom the work of Sigmund Freud and other psychologists have also hadan explosive effect. So much so, that we have seen the almost stealthyre-interpretation of many hoary doctrines, mainly by the injection of newmeanings quite remote from the minds of their first promulgators. Theso-called Athanasian Creed, for instance, which asserts that those who donot keep the "Catholick Faith . . . whole and undefiled . . . shall perisheverlastingly" is now translated far more urbanely. The Athanasian devilhas had its tail tied up and hidden beneath a modern surplice. Suchprocesses of adaptation have been so carefully contrived over periodsof time as, it is hoped, to be accomplished without conscious detection.

Nevertheless, what has happened is that the human mind and reasonhave constantly pressed on obscurantism and effete conceptions until muchof this •has been discarded. In another sphere, more and more among thetoiling masses the conviction grew that only by the exercise of theirhuman will and strength would they be able to secure ease from theirburdens. Beneath the flamboyant and melodramatic lines of Eugene Pottier'sproletarian song, The Internationale, such as

No saviours from on high deliver.No trust have we in prince or peer;Our own right hand the chains must shiver.Chains of hatred, of greed and fear .

lay the truth that it was only by Labour's "right hand" that economicliberation could be won. This has converged with intellectual and rationaladvance to make striking inroads into theological traditions and assumptions.The Labour movement is basically humanist, even if associated here andthere with religious elements. The trade unions and co-operative societieshave been projections of human impulses of protection, prudence andaspiration; so have such organisations as the Fabian Society, which sprangfrom a specifically humanistic source.

Certainly, there were ethical and moral components in the 'British Labourand Socialist movements, and these provided a criterion that intensifieda sense of human outrage. Sometimes scriptural texts have been utilisedas an appealing idiom for moral exhortations, as when the present PrimeMinister, Harold Wilson, quoted in his Guildhall speech after the guests8

had supped the turtle soup at the Lord Mayor's banquet, "For he hath

made of one blood all nations ..., but in doing this he was simply adorning

a biological truth theologically. It must be appreciated that prosperous city

gents are also patrons of piety, and, as good business, like to be heavily

insured both in this world and the next. Similarly, the invocation of

metaphysical sanctions, as when it is affirmed "Thus saith the Lord", is

assumed to gain much weight for moral values.

Here, then, is the challenge of Humanism, a challenge which, in the realms

of both scientific and sociological activity, has already compelled revolu-

tionary changes, and is now doing so even more relentlessly in the world

of religious institutions and theological authority. It is a proud challenge,

for its triumphs are evident in the ethos of our age and in the decline,

compromise and reluctant, yet ingenious, adaptation of the Christian

tradition.This challenge, however, encompasses a dilemma. Granted that the

superstitutions, falsities, perversions and ignorance of past ages have now

been exposed and that this process will continue, how can we be certain

that the human mind, capable of such deception, will now prove an adequate

instrument for the determination of truth and not still generate self-

deception? How can we escape the liability of delusion by reliance on what

has deluded us?Of course, we insist that only that is valid which is verifiable by repeated

evidence and test. But even the test and evidence themselves are determined

by our fallible minds and what may be illusory assumptions of what is

sound and true. Moreover, we operate within our existing limitations, as

does the goldfish in its bowl whose assessment of reality is determined both

by its own innate piscine limitations and by the glass impediment of its

environment. Its futile urge to find an ampler sphere wherein it can use

tail and fins with greater liberty may be analogous to the human urge

towards freedom and truth. This is an old, familiar problem into which

philosophically we need not probe overmuch just now, although it may

induce us to sympathise with the Hindu and Buddhist postulate that all

external phenomena is Maya, the mortal delusion for ever embracing

humankind.What is more pertinent is the question of what are the values we can

and should cherish and towards which we can and should direct our

turbulent, and often conflicting, energies? If there be no absolutes, then

in a universe of relativity what, within our restricted world, can we select

as worthwhile for our continuous service and devotion? Humanism is

suspicious of any teleological trick bv which a deity is smuggled in by a

back -door. That is entirely understanilable, but such necessary intellectualsafeguards leave unaffected the human desire and need for some purpose

to be achieved and some direction along which to press that does not end

in a wilderness. "Where there is no vision the people perish" has a psycho-

logical truth, for its absence causes either neurotic confusion or degenerative

inertia. •

In fact we strive for truth, however elusive this may be and however

scorned by the acolytes of unreason. Non-rational forces preponderate in

our human affairs, but we dutifully nourish every rational element in the

hope that somehow this will ultimately enthrone human thought and reason.

Equally, we strive for fraternity, justice, courage, compassion and integrity,

as imperatives for our lives. Why do we do so? Surely because these have

been born out of our human experience and are thus of the very fabric

of human life.We claim to discern the appropriate fulfilment of a "good" horse, dog

or cat, whatever be their respective variations, because we know something

of equine, canine or feline potentialities. I submit we can likewise discern

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the true fulfilment of honk) sapiens because we know something of itspotentialities. • "good" man is one who has achieved integration by theliberation and reconciliation of his innate capacities. This is an utterlyinadequate definition, I confess, but it may suggest that within ourselves itis not•impossible to discover what are the legacies we have to transmuteand what are the impulses we must encourage that will issue in a sense ofintegration. This cannot mean isolation, for man is gregariously relatedto his species and this involves moral values by which, even when he isimpelled to stand alone, he does so not out of crass egotism but with fullconsciousness of his affinity with all his fellows.• The dilemma persists. Are Communists Humanists? If so, then theirpattern of Humanism in some respects conflicts with my own and withthat of many others. It is not a question of sincerity or of intelligence, foronly a fool would be so self-righteous or dogmatic as to contend thateveryone in the Communist world is insincere or lacks high intelligence.Further, are men such as Nietzche Humanists? If we deny that they are,then by what right do we declare that our own judgment of what is or isnot •true Humanism is alone legitimate? It is as possible for some todeduce that the right criterion is "The strong shall inherit the earth" asit is for others to prefer the qualities of a Socrates, a Gaulama, a Gandhi,or an Einstein, as signposts for our journey through time.

What is left for us by our own choice, amid diversity; of what in thelight of knowledge and reflection we believe 10 be ffie true direction ofhuman fulfilment? Any belief is fallible, but it can be aided both by ourassociated thought and research and by sensitive perception of what con-tributes to human happiness and peace. Personally, I select that whichI have seen exemplified in lives that in some measure release me from myrestrictive egotism and make a profound appeal to ithe depths of my being.I am encouraged in this by finding resemblance of choice in others andby the dire consequences to our race of many alternatives. The final dilemmais precisely that here we make a choice that is essentially an act of faith inman, for I have no objective means of proving that my choice isfundamentally correct.

Yet I do know that, whether it is my own or that of theologians,philosophers, moralists or scientists, each choice emanates from the •humanmind. The most elaborate doctrine about man or the universe remainsstill the elaboration of what human minds have woven on their own looms.I am therefore as entitled as anyone else to weave according to my ownhonest thought and experience; and that is all I can offer to my fellowhuman beings. Confronted with surgery or therapy, with autocracy, aris-tocracy, meritocracy or democracy, with endless iconoclasm or creativeness,with disdain for the stupid and the perverted or with compassion forour stumbling offspring of the evolutionary process, I make a choice thatI believe indicates human fulfilment. The circumstance of our expandingmoral consciousness, I submit, does provide a valid course determined bythe context of human development, as surely as the geography of Englandand the location of the River Thames furnished the nursery of London.

There can be no final resolution of the human and Humanist dilemma,but there is evidence within human nature that what in general we assessas sublime is an intimation of what can be human fulfilment.

(Summary of a lecture given'on November 22)

In the tranquil twenties, the silent seventies or at a hushed hundred, theFiat 2300 gives you the satisfaction that comes only from a truly great car.How satisfying to be married to a man with a Fiat.—From a currentadvertisement in the national press.

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The Role of Humanism TodayB Y

RICHARD CLEMENTS

THE SPIRIT OF HUMANISM broods over and often animates the vital elementsin the modern world. How has this come about? One's natural tendencyis to try to answer this question in abstract terms. More than this is needed.The present day revival of Humanism is a sign of the crises which aretearing the old world to shreds. Ancient beliefs are in decay. In the sea ofchange no escape islands exist for those with nostalgic longings for the past.All nations, all peoples, all creeds, all political beliefs have been suckedinto the vortex of change.

In the wake of the wars, the revolutions and counter-revolutions, and thecollapse of colonialism, new and independent nations have arisen in Asia,Africa and the Middle East. These radical upheavals have led to a spreadof education, the adoption of scientific methods, the introduction of moderntechnology, and the growth of a new social and political order in the Westand in the East.

The new economic and social conditions have been favourable to thepropagation of Humanist thought and feeling. This fact has been made clearto people by means of literature, art, science, social research, journalism,and the literary and social criticism of the last fifty years. Then, too, in thisperiod radio and television, in spite of their exploitation by commercial andobscurantist interests have awakened a new concern about science, philo-sophy, music and the other arts amongst the masses.

Humanism has profited by the fact that it is both an old and a newdoctrine of human liberation. For, in the ancient world as well as in thecivilised nations of today, it has been inalienably bound up with the traditionthat rejected supernaturalism in all its varied forms. Certainly in this centurythe appeal of Humanism has been one of the factors in undermining ancientreligious beliefs —Christianity, Judaism, Mohammedanism, Hinduism,Shintoism and the rest — all of which had their origin in some hoarymythology.

Thus it is necessary to bear in mind, as Mrs. Margaret Knight writes inthe Introduction to her Humanist Anthology:

Humanism derives from a far older tradition than Christianity. The greatclassical civilizations of China Greece and Rome were rooted in Humanistvalues; and though these values were obscured in Europe during the longnight of the Dark Ages they shone forth with renewed brilliance at theRenaissance, and have gathered fresh strength today in alliance with themighty power of science.'

The student must turn to her book and read for himself the passages,',drawn from ancient and modern literature, which she has chosen with rare

knowledge and skill to illustrate this theme.Now let us consider another difficulty which sometimes perplexes the

inquirer — that of securing agreement about a working definition of theterm Humanism. A writer or speaker will sometimes add for the sake ofprecision an adjective before or after the noun —"evolutionary Humanism"or "naturalistic Humanism" — and for some purposes this may be theright thing to do. Whatever definition we adopt, however, must take intoaccount the meaning that history has attached to the word, and also ofcourse the changes that time and circumstances have brought about inits use. "The. meaning of a word", as Wittgenstein has so aptly written,"is the way in which it is used".

I Published for the Rationalist Press Association by Barrie & Rockcliff: price 21s.

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So that when a man in our day says he is a Humanist we expect to find,generally speaking, that he rejects any form of supernatural or revealedreligion, the idea of a life beyond the grave, and the right of church orstate to suppress free thought on political, religious, social, ethical orcultural matters; while he accepts the idea of "man being the measure ofthings", and from that standpoint affirms his faith in man's power andability to grapple with life's major evils, such as ignorance, poverty, disease,the spectres of insecurity and unending change, the population nightmare,and the dread of a world war waged with nuclear weapons. This sort ofdescription of the characteristics of Humanism is perhaps better than anymerely abstract definition.

Such a working faith for living in this universe of time and space impliesparticipation in community life and work. The position is a challenge toa man or woman to become a dedicated public servant. This may meanpolitical action in and through one of the existing political parties, andinvolve service as a member of a local authority, on a bench of magistrates,and even in Parliament. Many Humanists do now serve their fellow-citizensin the ways mentioned. Then, again, in cities, towns and villages themultiplicity of voluntary organisations afford many opportunities to takepart in modern social work. The secret of success in public or voluntarywork lies in reaching a unity between one's Theory and practice: becausetheory without practical work is apt to be sterile, but on the other handwork without sound theory is too often a blind routine.

There has been in our own country a conspicuous failure to produce thesensitive and socially-minded leadership needed in this age. This is perhapsnot surprising.

The material sources of the world have been expanded, economic andsocial conditions have been transformed, and in little more than a centurythe whole world of thought and speculation has been re-made, Yet howdifficult it has been to think out and apply a new and workable system ofgovernment, administration and law in line with man's scientific andtechnological achievements! What failures there have been to realize therights and liberties of nations, races and individuals! How difficult it remainsto secure individual and mass participation in the contemporary battles forsocial progress!

In-all these matters, but especially in that of showing in practical wayshow group leadership can enrich life in a democratic community, Humanistlocal societies and groups have an important role to play. For, in almostevery phase of life in Britain today, an injection of vitamins into the sluggishblood stream of democracy is needed.

In the book Objections to Ifionanisin', its editor, Mr. H. J. Blackharn,writes in a thoughtful introductory essay on this very problem of securingco-operation in the life and work of a free society. "Without some responseto this call," he writes, "without voluntary enlistment in the humanenterprise, without something of a Promethean spirit, there is no humanismworth speaking about, for humanism is more a passion than an intellectualposition. People who call themselves humanists, or don't. respond accordingto their sense of the task and its urgency, according to their capacitiesand opportunities, according to their willingness to serve, according to theirhopes or fears for mankind; some with little more than goodwill, some few,a Diderot, a Condorcet, magnificently, generously, at full stretch, withenthusiasm . . . Matthew Arnold's choice spirits drawn from all classes,generous and humane souls, lovers of man's perfection, who devote them-selves to education and the public service are humanists in this profoundsense" (pp. 27/28). This is a masterly statement by Mr. Blackham of the

I Published by Constable; price I6s.

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humanist approach to public and social work in the context of present-dayneeds and opportunities.

If we Humanists could achieve such a standard of personal and socialaction in community life, as did our precursors the Owenites andUtilitarians in the nineteenth century, not only should we free ourselvesfrom the reproaches sometimes made against us of being self-centred orlacking in public spirit, we should add to the social dynamism needed tocreate •new enterprises truly characteristic of this century.

(Summary of a lecture given on November 8)

Religious Instruction in SchoolsB Y

A. F. DAWN

THE NEWSOM REPORT, entitled Half Our Future, will have to be consideredby the present Government. That part of it (Ch. 7) dealing with religiousinstruction ought to be rejected, because it is fundamentally opposed to theeducational interests of the child. It is also in spirit contrary to the advicetendered by the two earlier Central Advisory Councils for Education,England.1

The main contention of the Newsom Council is that children want toknow the truth about God and man. Only those who know their Biblehave thought about life: only those who move on the Christian frontiersof the future know the truth about God and man. They are the specialists,the only specialists qualified to deal with the personal, moral and religiousproblems of the child. To remedy the shortage of these specialists, moreshould be enlisted from ministers of religion. The Newsom Council alsothinks that the corporate worship in schools is an instrument of educationand that Christian belief reinforces chastity outside marriage and fidelitywithin.

The intensity of the conviction of this Christian Council is emphasisedby the sweeping generalisation — all the more surprising for distinguishededucationalists to make: "No Christian could for a moment rest contentwith an education which brought men face to face with a crucifixion butnot with Christ". Despite the influence in the home, the Sunday school,the boy scouts and girl guides movement and the churches, despite theindoctrination in the infant, primary and secondary schools, despite thereligious monopoly in wireless and television, the Newsom Council wantsstill more time for religious instruction in schools — and of a more subtlekind. The Newsom Council is afraid that there may be children who havenot heard what Christians believe. What a commentary on the Christianreligion!

Under the U.S.A. constitution, no Christian is allowed to give religiousinstruction or even to recite the Lord's Prayer in assembly in any of theState schools, yet it is estimated that there are about 65 million Christianswho attend services. In 1944 the T.U.C. was committed to secular education,and there were even many Christians among them who did not want thecrucifixion and Christ brought into the schools. The Newsom Council alsosays "There is a straightforward teaching job to be done •here. Just whatdo Christians believe about God and man, life and death?" There is,however, not one Christian view — some believe in the God "out there",

1 The first, under a Labour Government. Chairman Sir Fred Clarke: reportSchool and Life. 1947 (see ch. 7). The second, under a Conservative Government.Chairman Sir Geoffrey Crowther: report 15 to 18, 1959.

the immaculate conception, the bodily resurrection; there is a pick andchoose even within each sect. Then, the agreed syllabus does not includeRoman Catholics, and certainly excludes Humanists, many of whom knowexactly what Christians believe and all that can be said against such beliefs.

In contrast, the Crowther Council thinks that young people can learnfrom Christian Humanists and Scientific Humanists, so long as they arescrupulously honest and patently knowledgeable. The teacher should bedetermined that his pupils "must not accept his authority for any otherreason than a genuine conviction of its worth after considering all that canbe said against it". And the Crowther Council warns that nothing couldbe more fatal to the influence of such teachers "than the reserve whichprudence dictates or legislators decree".

The Clarke Council, also, thought •that the child ought to know aboutall •three traditions: the classical, the Christian and the scientific, the lasthaving, for a large number of men and women, "eclipsed both the Christianand the classical lights". With its emphasis on integrity of thought, exactreasoning, and devotion to new truth, for these people science hasdisplaced God: "Science has been enthroned as the authority and hopeof man's future". The report emphasised the need for clear and honestthinking:

There are those that criticize the old standards because they want to see abetter type of conduct, more freely chosen, and for the right reasons. To many,the Christian beliefs which in the past supported our moral teaching nolonger make sense . . to insist upon the beliefs appears an affront to theintellectual integrity of such men and women. On the other hand, we arefaced with an equally sincere assertion that if our moral standards are tobe maintained it is essential to preserve Christian belief.

The Clarke Council stated that the central concern of education is forthe quality of the individual life, and since this depends on positive freedomit is necessary for education to fortify and not stultify freedom, It quotedfrom Whitehead "Mankind is now in one of its rare moods of shiftingits outlook", and it pointed out that to preserve freedom might entail"the painful surrender, both in school and out, of some carefully cherishedtraditions".

In the light of these earlier reports, it is educationally outrageous thatpublic funds should be used in the state-aided Roman Catholic schoolswhere the purpose of religious education by Roman Catholic teachers isprematurely to close the enquiring mind of immature children to the fermentof ideas that should play so important a part in their later life. The factthat Roman Catholics pay rates and taxes is no more relevant than theirright to control a private police force from national funds.

Religious assembly in the county schools is indoctrination of a particularlyinvidious form. The prestige and position of the head master or mistresscannot but be to impose Christian beliefs on the child. A prayer presupposesthat a God exists and hears the prayer. There is no generally acceptedevidence for the belief in the existence of God: only subjective belief —mostly conditioned in infancy and early childhood. The specious distinctionbetween "knowledge about" and "knowledge of" could equally well beused about a Moslem or Communist youth. Furthermore, the older childhas no right to withdraw, however offensive he feels the religious assemblyor instruction to be — only his parent can withdraw the child. Althoughteachers in county schools have an escape clause and need not attend theservice or give RI. lessons, prudence often dictates compliance. No lawcan be formulated against the prejudice of councils or head teachers ingiving or withholding recommendations for promotion. A teacher's happinessin his work can be marred by unsympathetic Christians in authority who

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unconsciously equate morality with Christianity. The apparent religiousconformity is good neither for teacher nor child. It breeds hypocrisy ineducation.

The Crowther Council says of the -teenager — whose good earnings havegiven him a new-found freedom from parental control just at a time whenhis sexual urges are most potent and when he is most open to commercialexploitation through the new mass media of communication — "There isno period of life when people more need what the Education Act meanswhen it refers, perhaps rather unhappily, to 'religious instruction', and noperiod when it is more difficult to give". When a child asks for rue TRUTH

about life, death and ultimate reality, to tell the child what Christiansbelieve, as Newsom urges, is not answering the question. It is "putting upa smoke screen and retiring behind it". Far better the Crowther advicefor Christians, Humanists and others who fulfil the necessary qualificationsto deal with the personal, social, philosophic and even political questionsthat children may -raise. This would also be in line with the ClarkeCouncil's approach. I would suggest that -the Act be modified so that sucha body of responsible teachers could discuss an agreed syllabus where a-higher type of conduct, for the right reasons, could be made available forall children and not just for Christians by Christians.(Summary of a talk given in the Conway Discussions series, November 10)

To the EditorPsychical Statistics

Dr. J. A. C. Brown commences his lecture "Developments in Para-psychology" (January. Ethical Record) with a reasonable statement that heregards it as a perfectly legitimate field of scientific study. Yet, from theconglomeration of partial facts, carefully selected it would seem with aview to disparagement, he fails completely to give a fair assessment ofthe work done by the Society for Psychical Research.

He endeavours to cause confusion by frequent references to spiritualism.Spiritualism and psychical research are quite distinct from one another ;the former being a sentimental religion, no doubt bringing easy comfortto many, the latter being scientific and utterly objective. Moreover,research, having cleared the air of much superstitious nonsense, shouldappeal to those Humanists whose mental outlook is not completely hide-bound and rigid.

Telepathy, for example, is not supernatural, supernormal, paranormal orabnormal, but a normal faculty of the mind ; though perhaps -somewhatlatent in our present stage of conscious development. It only seemed super-normal in the ages when knowledge of the mind was almost non-existent.It has been demonstrated to exist statistically. Statistical evidence is thecriterion by which events are judged today.

Telepathy is a signpost to the vast, unexplored area of the mind and,if followed diligently, as is being done in many quarters, will in duecourse lead to the next signpost. To those who realise that knowledge isnot static, this pursuit is of the greatest fascination.

(Miss) DOROTHY PETERSCroydon, Surrey

[We would all agree on the value of statistical evidence, if this is definitelyestablished ; what Dr. Brown did was to show up the doubtful nature ofmuch of the alleged statistical evidence in this field—Editor.]

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Humanism Inadequate?In an article in The Observer of January 3, Dr. James Parkes writes:

. . . Humanism has not yet shown that it has an effective substitute forthe link between goodness and God. It has still to make a worthwhilesociety attractive to the young by bringing in the Greek ideal also, andoffering goodness and beauty as the dual objective really worth striving forin place of the meretricious prizes of today.

What have members of S.P.E.S. to say to that? It seems to me thatthe world wants moral rearmament, and the Ethical societies, instead ofproviding it, have turned vaguely humanist.

(Miss) FLORENCE BARKERHove, Sussex

[The main purport of the article by Dr. Parkes, who is a Christian clergyman,was that the present system of religious instruction in schools in this countryfalls miserably in its intention of fitting men and women for life and goodcitizenship and should be replaced by a curriculum equally acceptable toChristians and Humanists—Editor.]

ImprisonmentAs Humanists, we must be glad that capital punishment has been abolished

in Britain. But what about the whole question of all legalised punishment?I am concerned about the long-term prison sentences, publicly denouncedas "savage," imposed on the mail-train robbers. In fact, I am opposed toall imprisonment, and want to see the abolition of the whole prison system.

A friend of mine who was recently called for jury service wrote to thecourt to inform them that he had a conscientious objection to being ajudge of his fellow human beings. Should this be the attitude of Humanistsgenerally? My friend acted according to his own beliefs and feelings,without the support of any organization ; he was alone in his own respon-sible attitude, and I wonder whether there is any organization that concernsitself with reform of the penal system on the lines I have indicated? If so,could it be arranged for a speaker to give a talk at Conway Hall? Oneorganization (Amnesty International) is active on behalf of politicalprisoners throughout the world ; that is praiseworthy, and should be sup-ported—but what about prisoners in general in our own country? Couldthe Editor perhaps produce a list of the organizations already existing thatbase their activities upon the freedom of the individual and the eliminationof prison sentences? The more I think about this rotten incarcerationsystem, the more strongly I feel that we Humanists should be doingsomething about it.

J. W. LESLIELondon, W.I1

[There is no organization overtly dedicated to the abolition or –the wholeprison system. The most radical of the prison reform organizations (becauseit has the least official backing) is the Prison Reform Council (25 MarvynAvenue, S.E.9), whose publication Inside Story exposed some shocking facts,particularly about the Prison Medical Service. It has been arranged for aspeaker from the Prison Reform Council to give a talk in the Conway Discus-sions series on April 6 on "Prison Conditions in Modern Britain." A moreofficial organization is the Howard League for Penal Reform (6EndsleighStreet, W.C.1). Organizations for helping ex-prisoners to get used to life outsideinclude the Blackfriars Settlement (44 Nelson Square, S.E.I), Norman House(15 Aberdeen Park, N.5), and the "Homeless in Britain Fund" organized byChristian Action (2 Amen Court, E.C.4). The official bodies for giving immediateaid to discharged prisoners are federated in the National Association of Dis-charged Prisoners' Aid Societies (289 Borough High Street. S.E.I); the National

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Association of Probation Officers (6 Endsleigh Street, W.C.1) is concerned tokeep men out of prisons; while cases of wrongful arrest, police frame-ups, andso on. are dealt with by the National Council for Civil Liberties (4 CamdenHigh Street. N.W.1). As for criminological research, publicity, and education,this is the province of the Institute for the Study and Treatment of Delinquency(8 Bourdon Street, W.1). Most of these bodies are voluntary ones, desperatelyshort of funds—Editor.]

Off the RecordMacabre Devotion

There is a real taste for the macabre in many religious practices, but itwould be difficult to find anything more fascinatingly macabre than theveneration in Goa of Saint Francis Xavier, "the Lord of Goa", describedby Patrick O'Donovan (himself a Catholic) in a recent article in TheObserver as follows:-

The body has been subjected to many holy indignities. Xavier died offthe coast of China. He was buried in Malacca in quick-lime and his neckbroken in the process. He was dug up and carried like a trophy of warto Goa.

His right arm was cut off and sent to an altar in Rome, where it sportsa diamond ring. A pious lady, Donna Isabel de Carom, bit off one of histoes in 1544. His shoulder-bone, his intestines, his heart have all beenremoved and sent away as relics. But from time to time he is taken out ofhis silver casket and exposed. He lies now at the centre of the cathedral. Andthe queues in this nowhere place are unceasing.

He is minute and terrible in his glass case. He is a mummy now,the image of the horror of death. His single hand rests like a claw on hismass vestments. His face is a terrible ruin. And yet, whenever they takehim out, the Christians and the Hindus make impossible journeys to mistthe glass with their kisses and to look on the Lord of Goa.

Still "A Ass"It would be difficult to find anyone more anti-motorist than I —

particularly when the motorist has been drinking or is otherwise negligent,impatient, aggressive, or irresponsible in the use of his lethal weapon.But the harsh sentence (a heavy fine and two years' disqualification) metedout to the van-driver who, on Chrstmas Eve, realising -that he was somewhatthe worse for drink, walked into the nearest police station rather thanchance driving the last mile home, was, in my opinion, official bungling,not to mention injustice, at its worst. The publicity •the case received wasenough to ensure that other drivers, particularly those who likewise dependon driving for their livelihood, will in similar circumstances be far morelikely to take a chance than to give themselves up. and more maimingand killing on the roads will result. The plea of the authorities that they"had no option" is sheer bunkum. If laws are made for the benefit ofsociety, how can they be more important than society itself? There wasnothing to prevent the police from taking the ignition-key and letting theman walk home. If he were too drunk to walk home, then surely apoliceman could have been spared to take him home. If not, and therereally was no option but to keep him in custody overnight, then perhapsthey had no option within the regulations but to take him to court nextmorning: even then, however, there was nothing to prevent the magistratefrom giving him, say, a conditional discharge. If the law was "a ass" in thetime of Dickens, it has hardly acquired any human characteristics in theintervening century.

B.S.

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South Place NewsNew Members

We are pleased to welcome the following new members in the Society:Members: Mr. A. C. Bartlett (S.W.6), Mr. W. D. Bell (Barnet), Mrs. D. H.Forsyth (Walton-on-Thames), Mr. T. NC Graham (St. Albans), Mr. R. E.Rawles (S.E.6), Miss L. F. Scotson (N.I.). Associate: Mr H. A. Burton(N.2). Life Member: Mrs. H. M. Greig (Folkestone).

Obituary -Mrs. Florence E. Barralet, a South Place member of very long standing,

died in December. She had a Humanist cremation, conducted by Mr.H. J. Blackham, at which South Place was represented by Mrs. HonorGamble and Miss P. Snelling. The marriage of Florence Metcalf to T.Eustace Barralet (who was Conductor of the South Place Orchestra formany years and died in 1930) linked two of the leading free-thoughtfamilies actively associated with Charles Bradlaugh and other pioneersof the movement. At one time it was said that S.P.E.S. was divided aboutequally into Barralets and non-Barralets! Some of our older members willrecall Mrs. Barralet's keen participation in the social activities of theSociety between the wars. Our sympathy goes to her son, Mr. ColinBarralet, who, as a Trustee of S.P.E.S. and a member of several of ourcommittees, happily continues the family tradition of service to the Society.

SocialsThursday, February 18—Whist Drive in the Library at 7 p.m.; light

refreshments will be served.Saturday, February 20— Country Dancing in the Library, 3 p.m. - 6 p.m.

jointly with the Progressive League, for all those over the age of 14. (Noupper age limit, and beginners welcome.) Plimsolls or light pumps to beworn, please. Instructress: Eda Collins. Admission charge 2s.; teaobtainable.

Sunday, February 21—Sunday Social in the Library, 3 p.m., with talkby Mrs. Rose Warwick on A Holiday in Rumania and Turkey, illustratedby colour slides. Tea will be served at 3.45 p.m. All members and friendswelcome.

VisitSunday, February I4—Visit to Planetarium and Madame Tussaud's. Meet

at 2.30 p.m. in vestibule of the London Planetarium, Marylebone Road,N.WI (near Baker Street Station). Illustrated lecture, "Beyond the MilkyWay," at 3 p.m. Then to adjacent Madame Tussaud's. Combined ticket7s. 6d. including Chamber of Horrors ; or 4s. for the Planetarium only.Refreshments afterwards. Leader: Miss W. L. George.

On the PostersIt is gratifying to see Conway Hall publicised in the latest London

Transport poster — the one dealing with Music in London. This depictsBrahms seated at the piano, and names several London concert halls,with a description of the type of music for which each is particularly noted.After the Festival Hall, the Albert Hall and Wigmore Hall, comes ConwayHall: "The Conway offers the most intimate of Sunday evening music-making". And finally, the pay-off line: "Get to them all prestissinio viaLondon Transport". Altogether a delightful poster, and an uncovenantedpublic recognition of the standing of South Place Sunday Concerts.

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Library

Members are reminded that the Conway Hall Library has a uniquecollection of books on subjects of particular interest to Humanists. Thelibrarian is in attendance Tuesday evenings and Sunday mornings.

Lift WantedOne of our older members, Mrs. A. Jones, of 43 Lancaster Grove,

N.W.3, would like to come to Sunday morning or other meetings at•Conway Hall, but now finds the journey too much for her. If there isanyone who comes by car from that area to S.P.E.S. meetings, perhapsarrangements could be made to call for her.

Prize Essay Contest

Those intending to submit entries for the essay contest announced inour January issue are reminded that entries should reach the Editor ofthis journal by March 1. The theme is THE FUTURE OF SOUTH PLACEETHICAL SOCIETY, and the length should not exceed 1,000 words. Theprize money of £10 may be divided at the discretion of the panel of threeadjudicators appointed by the General Committee. Both style and contentwill be taken into consideration, and the best essay will be published inthis journal. It is hoped that this contest will also provide some brightideas for consideration by the General Committee.

Kindred OrganisationsThe Agnostics Adoption Society held its first Annual General Meeting

on November 14, and the national Press gave it good coverage andsympathetic comment. Even Christians are beginning to question theadvisability of allowing a mother who is giving up all other rights in herchild to stipulate the religion in which the child shall be brought up, letalone having pressure put upon her to name the religion of which sheherself may be but a nominal member. This practice results in the non-adoptability of many babies labelled Roman Catholic, particularly, sincethese far outnumber the would-be adopters of that faith, while otherwould-be adopters outnumber the babies available. The Agnostics AdoptionSociety has an encouraging list of applications, but before it can beregistered it needs more capital, and is appealing for donations. The Secre-tary is Mrs. G. Holroyde, 23 Baalbec Road. N.5—who, incidentally, willbe giving a talk on Sunday, February 28, at the Carpenter's Arms, SeymourPlace, W.1, 7.30 p.m., in the series of weekly public meetings arranged bythe Marble Arch Branch of the National Secular Society.

The proposed Humanist Holiday Centre at Brighton, April 10-24, men-tioned in our last issue, depends on more bookings being received ; butbookings have been coming in well for the holiday in Holland with DutchHumanists, August 14-28. Both these projects, and also a Children's Camp(probably in Staffordshire). August 14-30, are being arranged by theHumanist Holiday Fellowship, the Secretary of which is Mrs. Mepham,29 Fairview Road, Sutton, Surrey.

Humanist holidays with a more intellectual basis are the various week-endcourses arranged by the British Humanist Association. The next one,entitled "Some Characteristics of the Humanist," is to be held at NetleyHouse, Gomshall, Surrey, February 27-28. Bookings (£2 for the week-end)should be sent as soon as possible to 13 Prince of Wales Terrace, W.8.Another week-end course is to be held at Pendrell Hall College ofResidential Adult Education, Codsall Wood, near Wolverhampton, Staffs.,May 1-2, the theme being "Religion and Morals •in the 20th Century."

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South Place Ethical SocietyFOUNDED in 1793, the Society is a progressive movement which today advocates anethical humanism, the study and dissemination of ethical principles based on humanism,and the cultivation of a rational religious sentiment free from all theological dogma.

We invite to membership all those who have abandoned supernatural creeds and findthemselves in sympathy with our views.

At Conway Hall there are opportunities for participation in many kinds of culturalactivities, including discussions, lectures, concerts, dances, rambles and socials. Acomprehensive reference and lending library is available, and all Members and Asso-ciates receive the Society's journal, The Ethical Record, free. The Sunday EveningChamber Music Concerts founded in 1887 have achieved international renown.

Services available to Members and Associates include the Naming Ceremony ofWelcome to Children, the Solemnisation of Marriage, and Memorial and FuneralServices.

The Story of South Place, by S. K. Ratcliffe (2s. from Conway Hall), is a history ofthe Society and its interesting development within liberal thought.

The minimum subscriptions are: Members, 12s. 6d. p.a.; Associates (ineligible tovote or hold office), 7s. 6d. p.a.; Life Members, £13 2s. 6d. It helps the Society's officersif members pay their subscriptions by Bankers' Order, and it is of further financialbenefit to the Society if Deeds of Covenant are entered into. Members and Associatesare urged to pay more than the minimum subscription whenever possible, as the presentamount is not sufficient to cover the cost of this journal.

A suitable form of bequest for those wishing to benefit the Society by their wills is tobe found in the Annual Report.

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION FORM

To THE HON. REGISTRAR, SOUTH PLACE ETHICAL SOCIETY,

CONWAY HALL HUMANIST CENTRE, RED LION SQUARE, LONDON, W.C.I

I desire to become a *Member/Associate of South Place Ethical Society and

enclose entitling me (according to the Rules of the Society) to

membership for one year from the date of enrolment.

NAME

(BLOCK LEI I HIS PLEASE)

ADDRESS

DATE SIGNATURE

• Cross out where inapplicable.

David Neil & Company, Dorking, Surrey