Vol. 67, No. 3 MARCH 1962 Sixpence

Editorial

Is Progress Inevitable? Dr. John Lewis, M.A.

Voluntary Euthanasia Lord Chorley

1861 and 1961: A Retrospect and ForecastF. H. A. Micklen right

Writers I have Met William Kent

Kultur

Conway Discussions

Correspondence

Society's Other Activities

Book Reviews

South Place News

SOUTH PLACE 'ETHICAL SOCIETY

SUNDAY MORNING MEETINGS AT ELEVEN O'CLOCK

March 4—PROFESSOR D. G. MACRAE, M.A.Tawney—The Economics of Christian Humanism

Baritone Solos by WILLIAM BOWENMarch 11—PROFFASOR T. H. PEAR

The Social Relations of Speaking TodayPiano Solos by JOYCE LANGLEY

March 18—DR. JOHN LEWIS, MA.Youth Without a Faith

Bass Solos-by G. C. DOWMAN -March 25—C. BRADLAUGH BONNER

- Jesus and Jerusalem"A New Analysis of Christian Origins" by Georges Ory

(translated by Bradlaugh Bonner)Oboe Solos by JOHN COWDY

April I—REGINALD W. SORENSEN, M.P.

SOUTH PLACE SUNDAY EVENING CONCERTS, 71st Season, 1961-62 Concerts at 6.30 p.m. (Doors open 6 p.m.) Admission 2s. 6d.

March 4—VIRTUOSO ENSEMBLEBeethoven Septet; Schubert Octet

March II—AEOLIAN STRUNG QUARTET. PETER WALLFISCHMozart in G, K 387; Beethoven in F minor, op. 95,string quartets. Shostakovich No. 1; Mozart in D, K 575

March 18—IN AID OF THE MUSICIANS' BENEVOLENT FUNDMARTIN STRING QUARTET. WILFRID PARRY

Haydn in C, op. 33 No. 3; Brahms in B flat, op. 67,String quartets. Franck Piano Quintet

March 25—MOZART PROGRAMMEMARTIN STRING QUARTET. GWYNNE EDWARDS.ALAN CIVIL

Quartet in D minor, K 421; String quintet in C, K 515;Horn quintet in E flat, K 407

April 1—DARTINGTON STRING QUARTETMendelssohn Capriccio in E minor, op. 81; Schoenberg, No. I;Mozart in D, K 575

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 is 12s. 6d.), or Associate (minimum annual subscription7s. 6d.). Life membership £13 2s. 6d. Associates are not eligible to vote or hold office.Enquiries should be made to the Registrar to whom subscriptions should be paid.

The Monthly Record is posted free to members and Associates. The Annualcharge to subscribers is 8s. Matter for publication in the April issue shouldreach the Editor, G. C. Dowman, Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, W.C.1, byMafch 6.

OfficersSecretary: J. HUTFON HrrooHon. Treasurer:: A. FENTON

Hon. Registrar: Mrs. T. C. LINDSAY }Con ay Hall, Red Lion Square, W.C.I .•Asst. Hon. Registrar: Miss W . L. GEORGEExecutive Secretary: Miss E. PALMER.

TheMONTHLYRECORD

Vol. 67, No. 3 MARCH 1962 Sixpence

CONTENTS

EDITORIAL .. 3

Is PROGRESS INEVITABLE? By Dr. John Lewis .. 4

VOLUNTARY EUTHANASIA, by Lord Chorley, M.A. 61861 AND 196I—A RETROSPECT AND A FORECAST, by F. H. A.

Micklewright, M.A., F.R.Hist.S.WRITERS I HAVE MET. by William Kent. F.S.A. 10KULTUR I

CONWAY DISCUSSIONS 13"SMOKING IS ANTI-SOCIAC—FACT OR SHEER FANCY .. 15BOOK REVIEWS

CORRESPONDENCE 17SOUTH PLACE NEWS . . 18SOCIETY'S OTHER ACTIVITIES 19

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

FLATS IN THEOBALDS ROAD Preliminary Notice

THE SOUTH PLACE ETHICAL SOCIETY arc converting thc top floors of their property at 51 Theobalds Road into three self-contained flatlets, comprising a bed-sitting room,. kitchen and bathroom, suitable for one or two persons. It is hoped these will be available in March. The rents are not yet fixed but will be in keeping with present rents in the area. Any members or friends who might be interested in renting one of these should make early enquiry to the Executive Secrctary, Conway Hall, W.C.I.

EDITORIALWHEN INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES interfere with the convenience of the public, asrecently occurred in London, the resulting traffic chaos engenders a great dealof indignation. This indignation is not evident when the discomfort is notshared by the general public. When these stoppages to essential services areever-recurring, it becomes increasingly evident that the employers and the

3

trade unions should meet in an atmosphere of "give and take" so thcy mayarrive at harmonious and permanent solutions of the difficulties which arebeing revealed as a canker in the community. When unofficial strikes occur itis surely evident the trade unions must set about putting their own house in •order. Generally speaking, the British are a fair-minded nation and harmoniousagreement between conflicting parties is not beyond the range of possibility.We were struck by a passage in the Observer Weekend Review: ". . . there isin Britain a stream of unity and continuity that not even high prosperity athome and creeping diminishment abroad has quite broken."

Man's responsib ility -Also from the Weekend Review: ". . . a hunger for God and the extremes of

religious experience are notably lacking in our history when compared withothers; yet in the Coronation there is that extraordinary occasion in which anation, once in a generation, rededicates itself to something that is neithercommercial, nor military, nor doctrinaire. It is a dedication to more than theidea of England that supersedes all these things. It is an act that man is notmerely an animal. It is perhaps even an assertion that man cannot cope onhis own."

We can agree with much of this, although some of the terms may soundunnecessarily grandiloquent. Man may not be able "to cope on his own", yetisn't he compelled to do so?

Is Progress Inevitable?BY

DR. JOHN LEWIS

THE NINETEENTH CENTURY was One of optimism. But today we have lost theconfidence in the future that characterised our fathers. We live in an age ofpessimism.

For many centuries men found reason to believe that behind the evils ofife there was something to give us confidence in existence. For the mystic thiswas the belief that in spite of appearances Reality was ultimately good andrational; for the Hebrew it was the faith in the coming of the Kingdom ofGod on earth; for the Christian, his own citizenship in Heaven. In the eighteenthcentury men believed that by changing the environment they could make menbetter and that by education they could show men how to remove the defectsfrom society. Enlightenment was the answer to corruption, instead of thedoctrine of original sin.

When religious hopes faded their place was taken by scientific and philo-sophic faith: Hegel taught that there was an inevitable process of developmentfrom the irrational to the rational and that all history was the gradual approxi-mation to rationality, order, connectedness and freedom. Spencer believed thatthere was a necessary movement from separateness to unity, a return to equi-librium. Finally Darwin produced a theory of evolution which was quicklyapplied to society to demonstrate that through competition and struggle highertypes were constantly emerging, a theory which the economists transferred toindustry and commerce to show that laissez faire was calculated to produceautomatically the best possible state of society.

All these fair hopes have been dashed to the ground. Both the religious, thephilosophic and the scientific theories of inevitable progress no longer claim

4

acceptance. To go on hoping is only possible to those whose incurable optimismis the product of incurable folly.There has, however, arisen one creed which continues to present a hope forthe future and that is Marxism. This is neither religious nor philosophical butsociological, and claims to have a scientific and economic basis. The theorysimply states that man creates new and improved methods of production andmust then bring the structure of society into line with his new techniques. Formmust be appropriate to function. Darwin showed how this brought aboutorganic evolution, the form of the organism adapting itself to its mode of life.Marx applies the same principle to society showing that only that form ofsociety which corresponds to changed economic function can, in the long run,survive.Even if this theory were true it would not mean that the followers of Marx

were rightly applying it, any more than the correctness of the Christian ethicmeans that all who profess and call themselves Christians are putting intopractice the Sermon on the Mount.

Marxism can be criticised both as a theory and for the manner in which ithas been applied or misapplied. It is criticised as clamping down on societythe Hegelian system of inevitable development, and thus totally destroyinghuman freedom. It has also been argued that it is utopian, since even if aco-operative economic system were established human nature would not allowit to work any better than capitalism.

Can these objections be avoided ? They can only if it is realised that necessarysocial change will not come about unless that necessity is clearly seen. It dependson knowledge. Not only so. What is seen as necessary must be willed. Effortwithout knowledge is wasted. Knowledge without will is impotent. Whatguarantee is there that man will both know and will what has to be done?Only the fact that his survival and the betterment of his lifc depend upon itand that every other road is hedged with thorns.If a man is seriously ill and takes good medical advice and that advice presentsa true diagnosis and a likely cure there is a strong probability that if he is anormal man he will do what he is told to do and get better. If a party of scientistsexploring the jungle run short of supplies, then botanical, zoological and other

scientific knowledge will guide them to obtain the food necessary for life. Thereis a measure of inevitability here, but it depends on knowledge and action.Nothing happens just by itself.

If nothing is known and nothing is done then another kind of inevitabilitysupervenes. In the above case the inevitability of death and starvation, in thecase of society the inevitability of social catastrophe or stagnation.

What of the obstacle presented by human nature to such social change ?There is no scientific support for the view that man is selfish and aggressive.He is selfish and aggressive in a society in which he must behave thus in orderto survive. When, however, such a society itself threatens his survival and he iscompelled to change over to common ownership and planning for the commongood he brings into existence a new social structure which requires him to adapthis conduct to its effective working. He made himself competitive under capital-ism; he can make himself co-operative under socialism.

Man is infinitely malleable. That does not at all mean that he can hoisthimself by his own bootstraps or change himself or society by sheer effort. Itmeans that when society itself in the course of its development makes bothpossible and necessary certain kinds of reorganisation and behaviour, he isintelligent enough to do what must be done and to behave as he must behavein order to survive.

Is this decision on his part absolutely certain? By no means, but it is as highlyprobable as it would be for any man not contemplating suicide to make hisway down the fire-escape if his house were on fire. It is that or nothing.5

Voluntary Euthanasiaay

LORD CHORLEY, M.A.

LORD CHORLEY SAID that the word euthanasia had come into general use quite

recently, though it was given in early English dictionaries and had been used

by Francis Bacon in one of his essays (1623). It was compounded of two Greek

words signifying good and death. The expression "a good death- was not

uncommon, and meant the same as euthanasia, though the latter word was

now often used with the meaning to put to death without pain.

To most people death was a terrible and evil thing, and it had been the object

of many religions to ease the passing by holding out the prospect of an idyllic

after-life, though for the wicked the torments of hell were also threatened!

Humanists were not influenced by these ideas, but most of them disliked the

prospect of dying, especially as for many it was accompanied by suffering. At

the end of a long life, death could be accepted with resignation provided this

suffering could be eliminated, or at any rate reduced to reasonable proportions,

and this was the essential objective of the euthanasia movement.

Until quite recently, however, it had not been very practicable to obtain a

painless death, except by suicide. It was interesting that the Roman philosopher

Seneca had advocated suicide to prevent the torments of disease. It was a method

of escape which had always required courage and resolution though in modern

times pain-deadening drugs made it easier, and suicide had, in fact, increased

of recent years.There had, in earlier ages, been a strong feeling aeainst suicide, and this had

been built up by thc Church which regarded it as a mortal sin. The result had

been that suicide had been made a felony by the law. It was interesting to note

how often the Churches had taught that measures to prevent or relieve suffering

were sinful: he could himself remember when the use of anaesthetics in child-

birth had been denounced from the pulpit. The reason was bound up with the

difficulty of explaining the existence of suffering with an au-powerful and

benevolent deity; for suffering was the lot of the good just as much as of the

wicked. The religious answer to the problem was that suffering was the will of

God, and to interfere with this was wrong. Modern scientific medicine had, of

course, provided a reasonable explanation of suffering, and this had had its

influence on the more liberal clergy.

Again, it was a Christian dogma that only God could properly take the life

which he gave: though, again, there were exceptions in the case of war and

capital punishment! Thus on two grounds it was difficult, if not impossible, for

the Church to reconcile itself to suicide. Nevertheless there had been a note-

worthy change in the public attitude towards it during the present century,

and Dean Inge had indeed denied the validity of the orthodox religious view.

In the end Parliament had declared that suicide should no longer be a crime,

so that attempted suicide would not, in future, be prosecuted. It was interesting

to notice that this legislation had gone through Parliament in 1961 without

much opposition from the Churches, even from the Roman Church.

However, the Act laid it down that to aid or abet a suicide was still a very

serious crime, and this prevented its being more than a small step towards

voluntary euthanasia, for by the time a very ill person had decided that death

would be best for him he was often too weak to commit suicide without assist-

ance.There remained the possibility of legalising mercy killings which was, in

effect, the modern meaning of euthanasia. The first proposal of this kind

appeared in a remarkable passage in More's Utopia, which Lord Chorley read.

In modern times the suggestion had been worked out in detail by a Mr. Williams

of Birmingham, in 1870. Later the matter had been taken up by Dr. Killick

6

Millard, a leading officer of health who had founded the Voluntary EuthanasiaSociety in 1936. In the same year Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede had introduced aBill into the House of Lords to enable adult persons suffering from an apparentlyincurable disease which caused great pain, to apply for euthanasia. The objectof the Bill was described as "the termination of life by painless means for thepurpose of avoiding unnecessary suffering". The Bill contained a rather elaborateseries of safeguards, which Lord Chorley read out, for the purpose of securingthat the application by the sufferer was indeed voluntary, and of establishingthe incurable nature of the disease. The Bill had for a first attempt receivedmore sympathy than might have been expected but it was, of course, notaccepted.

Since 1936 these proposals had been criticised as laying down altogether toostringent and complicated safeguards, and the Voluntary Euthanasia LegislationSociety had itself modified its proposals in the way of requiring rather less inthe way of doctor's certificates, •and rcd tape generally. Other reformers hadsuggested even more liberal procedures. There were obviously very manymatters for discussion, on which Lord Chorley said he would like to hear theviews of his audience.

Lord Chorley concluded this part of his address by referring to the fact thatthe law made it a crime not to put a suffering domestic animal out of its painwhile making it a still more serious crime, murder in fact, to do exactly the sameservice for a suffering human being even at his insistent request.

He then referred to the most important arguments which had been broughtup against voluntary euthanasia in the House of Lords. These came from themedical profession and from the religious leaders.

Some medical peers had stated that doctors would refuse to administereuthanasia. Lord Chorley said this was very unrealistic. Many doctors alreadydid it and the main drive for legalising euthanasia had come from the medicalprofession which had provided in Lord Moynihan the first president of theVoluntary Euthanasia Society and provided more than half the sponsors ofthe Society's present Bill, including the President of the Royal College ofSurgeons.

More important was the argument that by modern drugs pain could becompletely alleviated, or very nearly so. But it was well known that after a timepatients developed a tolerance for such drugs as morphia, so that much of thebenefit of the drug is lost, and the patient may suffer agonies for many weekswith little or no relief. After a debate on thc subject in the House of Lords,Lord Chorley said he had received a number of letters from sisters and nursesworking in hospitals mentioning cancer cases in which this had happened, anddenouncing the medical peers who had suggested the contrary. Progress con-,tinned to be made in anaesthesia, but there was still a great deal of pain sufferedin cancer, circulatory diseases, and other illnesses. And this, again, was evidencedby the number of distinguished doctors who supported the Euthanasia Society'sproposals.

The other main argument against the proposal had come from the religiousleaders, and had broadly followed the case against allowing suicide which hasalready been discussed. Humanists upheld the sanctity of human life just asmuch as Christians, but as a guiding principle rather than as an absolute rule—even Christiaris had, as had been shown, recognised a number of exceptionsto it. To Humanists life was sacred because it enabled the human personalityto be developed which was the supreme value to them. When the personalitywith its intelligence and emotional capacity began to disintegrate under theonset of continuous pain, it was surely right to allow the life which maintainedit to come to an end.1 Some distinguished Church leaders such as Dr. Matthews, the Dean of St. Paul's, had accepted this view, but despite the fact that some well-known liberal churchmen such as Dean Inge and Canon Green of Manchester had,

7

in the past, been sympathetic, it was true to say that the work of the EuthanasiaSociety was at present receiving practically no support from religious leaders.This was typical of the narrow dogmatism which, in general, characterisedreligious bodies in matters of this kind.

(Summary of an address delivered on January 28)

1861 & 06i—A Retrospect and a ForecastBY

F. H. AMPHLETT MICKLEWRIGHT, M.A., F.R.Hist.S.

AT THE CLOSE of another year, it is a good thing to look back over a century,even though such dates are artificial and have no final meaning. Yet, 1861 isnot a bad year to recall. It was the watershed between earlier and later Vic-torianism. At home, this was markcd by the fading away of such Regencyfigures as Lord Palmerston and by the death of the Prince Consort. Abroad, itwas the year which saw the outbreak of the American Civil War with its sequelin the cotton famine which was to possess Lancashire during the years imme-diately to come.

When one recalls England in 1861, it is to recall a society whose social legisla-tion was still largely determined in terms of the 1834 Poor Law. Some factorylegislation and sanitary reform had taken place but life was still rough in manyways. Deaths from sheer starvation were not infrequent as can be gleaned fromcontemporary inquest reports. The Prince Consort had managed to avert openrupture with the Northern States in the American Civil War but, at this stage,the Tory element were firmly on the side of the slave-owning South and seekingto interpret the war in narrow terms of the right of state secession from theFederation. It was the radical element which was raising the slave-owning issueand recalling earlier legal judgements declaring slavery as abominable in thesight of English law.

In religion, the period was one of strange contrasts. It was the period of thehigh Anglican revival and of the Catholic Renaissance under Cardinal Wiseman.In the Church of England, broad Church theology was making itself feltthrough the volume, Essays and Reviews, as well as the writings of BishopColenso. The influence of Darwin and T. H. Huxley was spreading to theology.Among Unitarians, Dr. Martineau and J. J. Tayler were directing attentionaway from a narrow biblicism. Victorian unbelief had arisen in such figures asLeslie Stephen, Clifford and Huxley. As yet, they believed that they could rejectChristian theology whilst accepting the details of Christian morality.

The period was one of considerable work upon the codification of law in theinterests of clarification and reform. Great figures deriving their legal philosophyfrom Bentham and Austin such as Lord Chancellor Bowen or Sir James Fitz-james Stephen dominated the scene. The triumph of Utilitarianism was to leadstraight on to the individualistic work of Dicey and his view of the sovereigntyof law as working through coercion. In matters of punishment, they held thatit should deter. Stephen, for example, publicly associated himself with thisBenthamite view and gave it as his grounds for awarding exemplary sentencesfor criminal acts or heavy damages in such torts as the serious crime of libel.The recent Hamlyn Lectures of Fifoot are an excellent illustration of the debtwhich the contemporary jurist owes to these Victorian figures.

Socially, it was a period in the growth of middle-class security. The earlierVictorian pessimism was disappearing and the Great Exhibition of 1851 hadgiven rise to a buoyant optimism. Working-class interests faced a setback withthe fading out of Chartism during the•1850's but secularism was growing andwas providing a new vehicle for anti-religious and republican working-classopinion. It was assisted by the English Positivists, a small band who contributed

8

not a little to contemporary social movements. A new era was arising in politicsand was calling forth new figures. Mass production within industry was provinga means of expressing middle-class opulence.

Turning to 1961, the closing moments of the year were as overshadowed aswere those of a century ago. A decayed government faced with a somewhatineffective opposition was tending to turn more and more to forms of legalcoercion when challenged by C.N.D. or by immigration problems. Africa andAsia both presented threatening situations and the Berlin issue still called forsolution. At home, the pay pause was a symbol of deep social discontent.

In religion, 1961 contrasted against 1861 somewhat vividly. A non-intellectualevangelicalism of the Billy Graham type was revived among the less literateand had been used by "the Establishment" for ends of social and politicalreaction. Both the Church of England and organised nonconformity were in afar weaker state than they were a century ago and had far less social impactsave on the side of "Establishmentarianism". On the other hand, the RomanCatholic Church was increasing in numbers and influence both through immi-gration and also because it was becoming more and more the coherent voiceof the political and social right wing. The general lapse from the Churches hadleft a gap and had caused a lack of general interest in religious discussion.Liberal religious movements, such as Unitarianism, ethical religion, Positivismand the like, had decreased markedly in numbers and social influence. A stagehad been reached where, in progressive intellectual circles, agnostic humanismwas assumed rather than debated.

Since 1861, much improvement has taken place in law and much has beendone in the serious fields of penology and law reform. The strict view of thesovereignty of law has been affected by the movements to collectivism, andthinkers of the calibre of Sir Ivor Jennings have challenged Dicey's attitudeover coercion. Law is increasingly coming to be regarded as administrativerather than coercive. At the same time, a good deal of legal reform is called forin such matters as the private conduct of consenting adults, sedition and blas-phemy, or homicide. There is considerable need for deeper study and furtherenlightened reform.

Society is in a period of transition. Movements have taken place in a collectivistdirection and the great Victorian movement to middle-class individualism hasworked itself out. The professional classes have tended to be weakened economic-ally whilst there is a certain incoherence in working-class circles due to diver-gencies of theory. Movements towards collectivism have tended to lose surenessof touch and a social evolution from the smaller to the greater unit has createdwidespread problems which could indicate a movement of the right wing intosocial and political totalitarianism. Power is becoming concentrated into fewerand fewer hands whilst advertising is supporting Establishmentarianism increating a uniform and standardised society.

The man of 1861 lived in the atmosphere of J. S. Mill On Liberty with itsenthronement of bourgeois conceptions of individualism. By 1961, this hadbroken down but a constructive and satisfactory answer has yet to be found.The needs are for active reform. Organised religion has clearly become acoercive force in the hands of the Establishment. There is need for a vigorousand clear-headed anti-clericalism which may prevent the organisation of religionor applied morality in such a manner that it makes socially for reaction andintolerance. Law reform is a necessary interest for the achievement of socialbetterment. Socially, the contribution of the field sociologists is probably ofparamount importance through the provision of fresh data. The opening out of1962 presents far-reaching problems which promise an anxious and testingperiod. But they are problems which present a challenge to the human spiritand their solution suggests the way of further human development into theunforeseeable future.

(Summary of a lecture delivered on December 31)

Writers I Have Met — IBY

WILLIAM KENT, F.S.A.

IT WAS; I think, in 1928 that for the only time I met J. M. Robertson. He wasthe most erudite man I have ever encountered. A great admirer, I had been gladat his request, to type some copies of a list of his books. He invited me to meethim after his next lecture to the S.P.E.S. So I waited upon him in an ante-room of the Hall of the School of Oriental Studies, used by the Society afterthe closure of the South Place Chapel, pending the erection of Conway Hall.

It was a brief interview. In view of the recent decision of the S.P.E.S., readerswill be interested to know that the one thing I recall was his strong animadversionupon hymn-singing. I was able to tell him that I could recollect, as a teen-ager,leaving a copy of The Daily Chronicle at his house in Lansdowne Gardens,South Lambeth. He was pleased to recall that he started work as a telegraphboy.

In 1935, I made the acquaintance of Thomas Wright. He was .the curator ofthe Cowper Museum at Olney, and author of aibiography of the poet, as alsobiographies of William Blake, Daniel Defoe, Edward Fitzgerald and CharlesDickens. The last book had caused consternatiOn amongst devout Dickensians.He supplemented an article in the Daily Express by giving further and betterparticulars (to use legal phraseology) of Dickens's intimacy, after separationfrom his wife, with a young actress, Ellen Ternan.

The article in the Daily Express was a bit of a Slurk-Pott battle. The editorwanted to dish the Daily Mail. Its editor had acquired the right to publish awork of Dickens never hitherto revealed, A Life of Our Lord. This appeared indaily instalments—not reverently treated but surrounded by advertisements ofLifebuoy Soap-and Pontefract Cakes! Never was an article so boosted before.It was the most remarkable MS. of the century! It was eagerly awaited bymillions .. . aeroplanes, cables, giant expresses have been commissioned!• -Dickens, in the pronouns of Our Lord uses a capital and a small 'I' indis-criminately. It is natural, too, that as this message came from the heart, Dickensshould occasionally stumble- over biblical names and either alter or mis-spellthem. Strange errors arc further witnesses to the zeal with which he penned thisnoble work. The frequently misplaced apostrophe suggests that the manuscriptflowed quickly and, indeed, the whole sequence of the narrative confirmsthis. The simple leaves might have been torn from a penny exercise book!

Now Mr. Slurk had his chance. He would sho* the readers of the Dail Mail,with the aid of Thomas Wright, that their posthumous and pious contributor wasnot so good as he ought to have been.

"This noble work" could have done nothing to enhance Dickens's reputation.Readers were twice told by Lady Dickens, in an introduction, that Dickens didnot want publication. His descendants had elastic consciences. They declined toattend the opening of the Doughty Street house on the ground of Dickens'sban on a public monument. In the view of all the leading Dickensians this wasa misrepresentation. He was probably thinking of structures like the AlbertMemorial in London or the Scott Monument in Edinburgh. In Philadelphiatoday there is a seated statue of Dickens who is being looked at by Little Nell.But for Dickens's ban we should probably have something like it in London.

Monuments cost money, manuscripts bring it. "There's the rub." The Life ofOur Lord was syndicated and brought Dickens's descendants £40,000! Piousreaders certainly got their value in miracles. Dickens's credulity was amazing.He accepts all the supernatural with one exception, the Virgin Birth. This, I amsure, was not excluded through lack of credulity but because The Life of OurLord was written for children and a Podsnap would have taken objection toso indelicate a subject being introduced. In 1934 I wrote an article which was

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featured in the Literary Guide under the title of "Ile Miracle Play of Dickens".I said that if The Life of Our Lord came to light we should find a St. Francis ofAssisi with unlimited traumaturgical powers. I was proved to be right.

I defended Thomas Wright against the slings and arrows of outraged Dicken-

sians in the pages of John o' London's Weekly. He gave me an inscribed copy ofhis biography of Dickens and with his wife, came to tea..He then told me astory not generally known. About 1894 Canon Benham (a name well known inliterary and ecclesiastical circles) was about to write on Cowper. He was ableto assist the Canon and the latter, knowing Wright was contemplating a lifeof Dickens, told him something he did not know. He related how Ellen Ternanhad come to him and told of how she had been Dickens's mistress. She wasreceiving overtures of marriage from a clergyman. Should she tell him of theDickens affair? The Canon advised her to keep it dark as the child had died.The situation was similar to that of Tess and Angel Clare. Had her story comeout no doubt the sequel would have been the same as it was for Tess. Wrightfound that Ellen and her husband were still aiive so he postponed publicationfor forty years. This was a noble silence. In his autobiography, Wright offeredfurther evidence for his story which was subsequently confirmed by Miss Gladys

Storey in Dickens and Daughter, written at the instigation of Dickens's last

surviving child—Mrs. Penigini.In 1938 I met Dr. James Moffatt. Amongst his thirty-odd volumes the best

seller was a modern translation of the New Testament. This sold about 1 millioncopies. He also wrote a book on George Meredith and a detective novel: ATangled Web. At the time we met, he was Professor of Church History in NewYork.

I was introduced by my friend Arthur Porrit. He was editor of The Christian

World for sixteen years. He was the "ghost" of W. G. Grace when he publishedhis "W. G." Cricketing Reminiscences and Personal Recollections (1899). Healso wrote books on two celebrated nonconformist divines—Dr. J. H. Jowett(of Birmingham) and Dr. J. D. Jones (of Bournemouth). Porritt once relatedhow Chesterton sat in a chair and wrote an article for The Christian World.He asked if he could have cash at once as the cabman was waiting for his fare!

We three had lunch at the National Liberal Club and then went off to theOval to see Surrey v. Middlesex. We had a delightful afternoon and I waspleased to be able to entertain these two literary gents to tea and a bun in aconvenient room in the pavilion. Moffatt was interested in most sports, particu-larly football and golf. He thought the fastest game of all was ice hockey. He

told us a good story of Lewis Carroll. He was once asked if he had playedcricket. "Yes," was the reply. "Did you bat or did you bowl?" "I bowled.""With what success?" "Well, they said that if the ball had gone far enough itwould have been a wide!" A perfect expression of cricket ineptitude.

Porrit and Moffatt parted at the Oval tube station never to meet again.Moffatt died in 1944.

N.B.—Dickens entitled his book The History of Our Saviour Jesus Christ. Itis now a paper-back (Albatross Library, 2/6.).

Since writing the above, my friend Herbert Cutner (a regular contributor toThe Freethinker) has drawn my attention to a book of which I knew nothing—

Dickens Incognito by Felix Aylmer. He declares that one of Dickens's illegitimatechildren—there may have been two—lived to be thirty-one. It is regrettable thatAylmer did not reveal the source of his information—quite unknown to Wright.

Ellen lived to be seventy-five and died in 1914.

KulturIN FRANKFURT (GERMANY) the fire brigade worked hard for eight hours to rescue a little boy who had slipped into a deep hole. Afterwards the boy's parents went to church to offer their thanks to—not the brave men of the fire brigade—

I I

but the Lord who in the first place had allowed the child to come to grief.In German papers you can frequently come across a notice of death of a

child in these terms: "It has pleased the Lord to summon our only child," etc.When Hitler occupied Austria, Cardinal Innitzer sent the Austrian Gauleiter

a Solemn Declaration, dated March 18, 1938, and signed by himself and allthe Austrian Bishops, stating that "we bishops take upon us voluntarily andwithout any duress the national obligation to support the Führer". His workis joyously "watched by the bishops" and accompanied by "their best wishcsand benedictions-. It ends with the promise that "in this sense we shall influenceour flock".

It did not do any damage to the Roman Catholic Church; even today, ofnearly 7 million Austrians only 500,000 are Protestants.

Every other year, they have a "Week of the Religious Film" in Vienna;such a Festival occurred in December last. One film theatre in Bremen (W.Germany) emulated it, but even the hierarchy had to admit that in neitherlocality was there much demand for religious films. A Swedish film by AlfSjöberg, shown first in 1949 at the Vienna Biennale of Religious Films, has stillnot been booked and was exhibited again. According to the film critic of theWeser Kurier, the American entry Question Seven (dealing with the danger toreligion in East Germany) was acclaimed as the .best feature film, whilst TheRobe was declined as "sugary spectacle"; St. Francis of Assisi, too, was notmuch liked. From France, an entry on Bernadette of Lourdes (II suffit d'ainter)and a documentary on S. Theresa of Lisieux got the dictum: "Boredom isdeadly, even in religious films."

Dr. Baptist Walz, a former professor at the Theological Seminary of Bam-berg, wrote a three-volume treatise on certain apparitions of the Holy Virgin.The Holy See was not pleased and put the book in the index of prohibitedpublications. The author has not only to recant, but to do penance also.

At their conference in Stuttgart-Hohenheim, the Catholic Commission onCriminal Law, set up by the German bishops, requested stricter legislationfor the protection of religion and the Church. Blasphemy—they declared— hasin effect ceased to be punishable and this practice must cease.

Their first victim was Dr. Sczesny, Comptroller of Special Programmes ofthe Bavarian Radio, who had been bold enough to set up an Ethical Union.When a new "Intendant" was appointed (probably not without strings beingpulled), things were made uneasy for Dr. S. Whenever he planned a programmewhich the Curie didn't like, they gave all the details to their lobby and theRoman Catholic henchmen were not slow in acting. In this way, for instance,a talk on "Catholicism in a Communist Country" was prohibited by the Intendantto be broadcast and when Dr. S. fought back by appealing to the "RadioCouncil", the majority of the members cowardly backed the Intendant; uponwhich Dr. S. had no choice but to resign.

But this is not all. The chairman of the Broadcast Advisory Committee, atthc instigation of a C.S.O. Member of Parliament, accused Dr. S. of blasphemyby broadcasting an essay by Hermann Kesten, which previously had beenprinted several times. The Deutsche Zeitung, Cologne, asked Kersten to treatan "historical" event where he would have liked to participate; Kersten chosethe discussions between Moses and Jahve on Mount Sinai and of Jesus withthe Devil. However respectfully Kersten approached the Sacred Cows, the BlackGentlemen-at-Arms took offence.

In an article in Vorwaerts of November 29, 1961, Kersten asks: "What isBlasphemy?" If there is a God (he writes), and this has been a moot questionever since there have been human beings, then He must be so supreme that ourinsults could not reach Him, let alone do any harm. If there is such a thing asblasphemy, then the very idea of the necessity of human succour for God'shonour is blasphemy; and if there is a court action because of blasphemy, thenGod has been degraded on the same footing as His Human adversary.

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How is it possible that this sort of "Kultur" can still thrive amongst thehighly-cultured German people?

The population of the Federal German Republic, without West Berlin, is51.7 per cent Protestant and 481 per cent Roman Catholic. Of Adenauer's247 C.D.U./C.S.U. candidates at the last election to the Bundestag, however,137 were Roman Catholics and only 110 Protestants. And, despite all shadow-boxing, the ruling clique is not too keen to reunite the two Germanys as thiswould even more upset the precarious balance in favour of non-Catholics.

(Culled frwn the German Press by 0. W.)

Conway DiscussionsON TUESDAY, DECEMBER 19, Mr. Hector Hawton spoke on "The Uses andAbuses of Religion". He considered that much of the recent controversy onwhether HumaniSm is a religion engendered more heat than light because thedisputants employed different definitions. On a narrow definition, religioninvolved a belief in supernatural beings. On other equally legitimate definitions,religion was solely concerned with ethical conduct. Comte advocated "thereligion of humanity", which was entirely anthropocentric. The Ethical Move-ment belonged to the same genre. Since the aim of S.P.E.S. was "the cultivationof a rational religious sentiment" it clearly shared Sir Julian Huxley's view thatone task of Humanism was to reinterpret rather than to eliminate religiousconcepts.

It was important to clear up these semantic confusions. The label itself didnot matter provided it clearly described the content. There is no such thing asreligion: but there were a number of varying attitudes and institutions which,for convenience, could be regarded as members of a common class. Since manyso-called "religions" had more striking differences than points of resemblanceit was less muddling to adopt a different method of classification. The term"ideology" had the advantage of being free from supernatural associationsthough it could include them in its scope; one could speak of a religious (i.e.,supernatural) ideology and a secular ideology.

Every human society possessed an ideological superstructure. This satisfiedcertain permanent human needs and operated, whether religious or secular,through permanent psychological mechanisms. The permanent social needswere: to give the group cohesion; to establish an acceptable source of authority;to maintain the food supply; and to control the blind urges of instinct. Themain psychological mechanisms were symbolical thinking and projection.

In primitive societies the king was a symbolical representation of the com-munity. Its well-being was believed to depend upon his health. He was projectedon an imaginary being, the tribal or ancestral god, the ultimate source ofauthority. When there were many states there were many gods, but with thegrowth of federations into empires, the concept was formed of a supremeGod, the Father of all mankind.

Concurrently, primitive peoples devised elaborate initiation rites to educateyouths in loyalty and obedience. They became fused with magical rites tosecure fertility, vestiges of which survive today. These primitive belief-systemsand rituals were socially motivated. They were public religion, as distinct fromthe private religion which developed later. At this early stage of cultural evolu-tion they performed a valuable social purpose. They also reflected man's help-lessness before natural forces, because man really was helpless.

With the growing control over nature the need for magic and supernaturalaids diminished. Ideology became progressively secularised. Religion becamemore concerned with salvation in the hereafter than with prosperity on earth.The emphasis on ethical conduct by the forerunners of modern Humanism wasa logical consequence of the secularising of thought.

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Man's permanent needs are no longer satisfied by supernatural religion withthe possible exception of his desire for emotional security. The emotionalmainspring of religion is the insecurity of feeling alienated from the universe.Julian Huxley's concept of Man as the agent of his own evolution is an attemptto end this feeling of estrangement bY placing control of human destiny inhuman hands instead of in a transcendent God. But although the supernaturalrealm has lost its old functions, the permanent mechanisms of symbolic thinkingand projection remain. Humanism has not yet discovered how to use them ade-quately and that may be one reason why it is accused of being emotionallyunsatisfying. The problem is how to express our non-rational nature whcn thebelief-systems which have been discarded are no longer an available channel.We must avoid a too "cerebral" solution by holding to the Humanist conceptof "the whole man" in whom reason and imagination are integrated.

H. G. WELLS AND WORLD CITIZENSHIPON TUESDAY, JANUARY 9, at a joint meeting of South Place Ethical Society andthe London H. G. Wells Society, an address was given by Dr. Hugh J. Schonfieldon the subject of EL G. Wells and World Citizenship. Dr. Schontield is chairmanof the H. G. Wells Society and president of the Commonwealth of WorldCitizens.

He opened by saying that H. G. Wells had been one of the major inspirationsin his life. He had always been an admirer of Wells and had got to know himpersonally when Wells was clarifying his essential message on world citizenship.

Dr. Schonfield considered that this message was that the general organisa-tion of our planetary affairs would .be initiated by the arising of a small eliteof world citizens. In the words of Wells: "A revolutionary movement mustbegin, and can only begin, as the work of a small and devoted elite. Such anelite has always .been at hand throughout the whole historical period at everyphase of mental excitement, and in the present crisis, more universally stirringthan any that has preceded it, there is no reason whatever for doubting that itwill be forthcoming." Wells saw two developments as essential if a unified worldis to be achieved, the emergence from the people everywhere of a minority ofdedicated World Citizens with a sane and impartial outlook as a pioneer body.and a gradual transference of authority by governments to a number of co-operating World Functional -Agencies responsible for the common needs ofhumanity and the safeguarding of basic human rights. He totally rejected astate pattern for world affairs as dangerous and antiquated. •

Dr. Schonfield went on to describe the appearance of the Commonwealth ofWorld Citizens as a new factor in world affairs. Through the war years a worldconsciousness was taking shape, and the coming of nuclear weapons and intensi-fication of ideological conflict has forced it into the open almost simultaneouslyround the globe. It was clearly seen by a minority of thinking people that theymust now begin to live and act as planetary beings. After some years of prepara-tion a nucleus came together from far and widc in 1956 in the Temple of Peaceat Cardiff and proclaimed themselves in being as a world people for the serviceof all peoples.

At the end of his address .Dr. Schonfield was closely questioned on thisconcept and then the mceting was thrown open to general discussion. Amongthe points that were dealt with were: the difference between a nation and a state;whether the fact that Wells's last book was in a pessimistic vein negatived anyof his previous optimistic writings; and whether Wells's lack of contact withindustrial workers prejudiced the effectiveness of his message. During the courseof the discussion, Dr. Schonfield outlined the plans that were being made forreconvening the Hague Peace Conferences as a possible means of reducingworld tension.

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• "SMOKING IS ANTI-SOCIAL"— FACE OR SHEER FANCY ?

Summary of a lecture given at Conway Hall on Tuesday, January 30,

1962. Speaker: Dr. D. Stark Murray, President, Socialist Medical Association

SMOKING IS PRACTISED in nearly all countries and might even be included asone of the features defining a "civilised" community. It is now a habit in bothsexes and the strong Victorian woman who madc the men smoke in the gardenhas given place to the weaker woman of the new Elizabeth era who is persuadedby social pressures and unscrupulous advertising to take up the habit.

There are many reasons why tobacco smoking might be considered anti-social. First there was the cost, more than we spend on the whole nationalhealth service. To spend £1,000 million on a non-productive commodity such astobacco was something we could not afford. Secondly, and most important,are the effects on health. While lung cancer is the most important, the effects ofsmoking on the heart, blood vessels and digestive organs are all well established.But the lungs are directly attacked by smoke and although able to resist a greatdeal, as seen in the lungs of city dwellers black with soot, the chronic bronchiticis made much worse by smoking, and this is a killing disease. No one said thatcancer of the lung was caused solely by smoking, but the statistical evidenceshows beyond doubt that smokers are ten times more likely to die from cancerof the lung than non-smokers. A third reason is that smoking is a form ofaddiction and, like all addictions, leads to selfishness and disregard for others.Lastly, there was the association of smoking with intensive advertising which,especially on television, had developed lying and deceitful methods.

But one must not overlook that smoking is part of a wider subject, the generalcontamination of the air, which health demands should be pure, by mon-madeproducts. To live in towns was also to increase the danger of cancer of the lung.It was not only smoke and diesel fumes we had to consider but also the radio-active products of atom-bomb testing.

If so anti-social, the problem of smoking must be vigorously tackled. If theChancellor of the Exchequer could not tax it out of existence then the Ministerof Health and the medical profession must convince the public that this was adirty and dangerous practice which must be ended.

Book ReviewsThe Elusive Monster, by Maurice Burton, D.Sc. Rupert Hart-Davis, 21s.

THERE IS EVIDENCE of facile thinking, when we attempt to equate the Loch Nessmonster with those annual visitors to Fleet Street—the sea-serpents which usedto appear with sickening regularity during the "silly season". When the news-rooms experience a paucity of exciting news the void must be filled! But themonster, although not revealing any acceptable evidence, has aroused theinterest of a variety of people from the late Sir Edward Mountain, a Commanderof the Royal Navy, and a group of university students to a posse of about fiftyboys and girls of Fort Augustus Junior Secondary School. In response to Dr.Burton's request the "headmaster most obligingly obtained for me forty-sevenseparate accounts from the pupils of what they had seen, and these told memore than I had hoped for". The other individuals also supplied informationwhich if not "out of this world" was something that, at the moment, is inex-plicable.

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Was it a floating mass of vegetable matter; a motor-boat in progress, or anupturned dinghy that was seen? Well, Dr. Burton has collected all the availableevidence and written a most fascinating volume, and it seems possible that heinclines to the theory of the vegetable matter. We cannot disregard the finalparagraph in the book: "There seems to be no evidence at all for the existencein Loch Ness of plesiosaurs or any other prehistoric monsters. That does notmean there is not still good hunting for the photographcr-naturalist, in, onor around the loch."

Dr. Burton presents his evidence in the sane manner which we at ConwayHall may recognise as being characteristic of a good scientist. Maybe, themonster, if such there be, will follow the pattern of all living creatures andone day die, and should its body float to the surface of the loch, there may beample opportunity for careful investigation. And if one, why not several, forneither man nor presumably monster, likes to live alone?

The problem has all the aspects of spiritualist phenomena and it is to thefuture that we must look for more convincing evidence in both cases.

G. C D.

Pope John and the Cold War, by F. A. Ridley. (London. Frank Maitland,22 Hamilton Park, L ondon, N.5. 5s.)

Tins SHORT PAPERBACK is a book which should be read and pondered by allwho care for personal freedom in the modern state. For some years, the authorhas been writing upon the questions arising out of the political ramifications ofthe Vatican. He now applies his conclusions to the nuclear age which haslatterly emerged. The Russian Revolution of October 1917 has provided themost potent modern rival to the Papacy in a struggle for world domination.Out of the ashes of the Second World War arose a contest of ideologies. One isthat of Marxist communism, the influence of which has extended vastly both inthought and in its geographical ramifications since the close of hostilities in1945. On the other hand, the Papacy represents the ideology of the right wing.It is not without relevance that there were Papal concordats with both Hitlerand Mussolini whilst thc so-called "Catholic sociology", which has been cham-pioned in several Papal encyclicals, leads directly on to the corporate state.Previous battles with heresy have been crusades against various alternative formsof supernatural belief, but Rome is now challenged by a creed which is atheisticin its presuppositions. Mr. Ridley sees the stage set for the greatest, and possiblythe last struggle in the battle for Papal domination. Protestantism is very largelyin a state of decay whilst the various oecumenical movements can only bringthe non-Roman bodies nearer in sympathy to the Vatican. For Mr. Ridley,the struggle is a naked one between some form of dictatorship resting upon asupernaturalistic ideology and a creed seeking social and economic equali-tarianism but defined in terms of a Marxist atheism.

The picture is one which can find a great deal of supporting evidence in thecontemporary world. There can be no doubt that much sociology has come tobe defined in quasi-Marxist terms. Criticisms of both Parliamentary governmentand of its legal formulations have been framed in terms of a penetrating attitudefrom this standpoint as may be seen in much of the later writing of HaroldLaski. A merely idealistic position lacking any analytical criticism of capitalisticeconomic civilisation has become increasingly irrelevant. On the other hand,the retreat of T. S. Eliot into high Anglicanism or of Edith Sitwell into RomanCatholicism is a sharp reminder that the intellectual right cannot afford to rideupon a loose opportunism, but is seeking and formulating an ideology. Indeed,their position is not without reflections of the "altar, hearth and throne" ofDisraeli. The classic alliance of Pope and Emperor, the doctrine of "the twoswords" which possessed Europe in the Middle Ages, is without meaning todaysimply because the last Emperor abdicated in 1806. But it is aptly replaced bythe concordat between Pope and dictator. Even if Hitler and Mussolini have16

departed, their niches are filled, not inadequately, by Franco or Salazar. Acrossthe Atlantic, McCarthy, Cardinal Spelman of the John Birch Societ} indicatein cruder and less sensitive terms the natural ideological alliances sought outby the politically reactionary. Nor is the picture without meaning here. It isinteresting to turn from Mr. Ridley to Cohn Cross's recent book, Fascists inBritain, and to the sharp reminder of who actually supported Mosley in thehalcyon days of his early fascist leadership.

This short book on the Roman question should cause all freethinkers andradicals to ponder the present situations. Libertarians, in the social sense, arefaced by supernaturalistic creeds which, both in theology and in this-worldlyformations, evoke a background of dictatorial belief. They are also faced withreactionary political and economic structures which make use of these religiousbeliefs. Perhaps Mr. Ridley concentrates just a trifle too exclusively upon PopeJohn. In this country exists Lord Fisher who once, as Archbishop of Canterbury,paid a social call upon the Bishop of Rome and whose own sociological pro-nouncements could scarcely be commended for their progressiveness! TheHumanist of today needs to formulate his position upon both fronts verycarefully. He needs a sharply analytical approach towards anything claiming tobe a religion and he, likewise, needs to set his more negative analysis into thewider framework of a progressive social and political outlook. In this way, hecan represent in contemporary terms the radical secularism of a century ago.Indeed, in this book, Mr. Ridley, the president of the National Secular Societ),reflects well in present-day terms the outlook and standpoint of Charles Brad-laugh who added a high lustre of analytical enlightenments to this office almosta century ago.

F. H. AM PHLETT MICKLEWRIGHT

CorrespondenceTo the Editor of the Monthly Record

Humanist Group ActionDear Sir,

Humanists have yet to prove that they are prepared to live in the communityas Humanists; they have yet to show the social responsibility involved in settingstandards. It may well be that the established Humanist organisations areunwilling to face the challenges of our era and that new groups need to becreated to by-pass them. All this implies that Humanists must come out oftheir ivory castles for a campaign among plain people, that this will be resentedby the schizoid tendencies in some quarters, that we must plan to make pro-nouncements practice.I. Humanist Group Action expresses the thesis that groups are the necessary

co-operative media to secure social, and individual freedom, tolerance,economic fair shares and cultural endeavour; where there are dangers ofmonolithic establishments and centralised states there must be polycentriccountervailing power, teams and organisations dedicated to increase themargin of choice for individual creativity, as well as joint effort.

While there is a great lack in the arca of social responsibility, the need toraise personal standards still remains. Consumer demand, for example, isan aggregate of personal choices, and is made according to the level ofmoral priorities (however unconscious).

Some specific attitudes and programmes that Humanists should and canwork for are:

(a) Youth clubs giving social education in ethical relationships, withoutreligious tests.

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(b) Humanist "pioneer" schools as an alternative to an authoritarian•

state system and the class-conscious public schools. Waiting lists ofthe present independent schools are the initial recruiting ground.Also, educational aid to underdeveloped countries without sectarianstrings.

Publicity campaigns to bring home the world population problem, andto make available information and contraceptives: pressure on governmentaland U.N. agencies.

The War on Want campaign—and for effective support by governments.

(a) Penal reforms.

(b) Equality for women.

A campaign for tolerance:Research groups, publicity agency, brains trusts, liaison bodiesbetween varying groups.

A disarmament pressure group which includes unilateralists and tran-scends them, in so far as British foreign policy can by definition not beindependent of that of other powers. This, as in other spheres, cannotsucceed by a one-sided development in England—but must be a balancedinitiative in an international overall, global policy, though initiated at keypoints, such as geographically, London and Oslo, and in the social structure,in universities and agencies. Humanists must stress that we cannot rely onan act of God to arrest nuclear suicide—nor be complacent because oursouls may survive.

Humanists can press for cultural exchanges on a massive, and therebysignificant enough scale, to transcend censorships; in London, for a start.an active international centre, forum for world opinion, cannot be createdif we will.

Yours faithfully,

VIVIENNE L. BENN (Miss),

for GORDON ENGLAND. Secretary of H.G.A.

South Place NewsSubscriptions

The Registrar would be grateful if members and associates would send theirsubscriptions without further notification, in order to save the cost of postage.

TUE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Of this SOCiety will be held in theLibrary at Conway Hall on Wednesday, May 30, at 7 p.m. It shouldbe noted that members are not entitled to vote unless they are twenty-one years of age or upwards, their names have been twelve monthsupon the register, and their subscriptions for the previous year havebeen paid.

Any motion which members wish to have placed on the agendafor consideration by the General Committee should be sent to theSecretary by March 31.

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ObituaryMany members will be grieved to learn of the passing of Miss Amy Simons

who, with her sisters, had been long-standing members of the South PlaceEthical Society. Her pleasant personality at social functions and at the SundayEvening concerts will remain an agreeable memory for a long time.

Weekend ConferenceThe Progressive League are holding a Weekend Conference, March 23-25,

at Cliftonville, Margate, on ”Modern Social Philosophies". Programme andbooking details from Mrs. M. Fried, 17 Estelle Road, N.W.3.

Society's Other ActivitiesConway Discussions

Tuesdays, in the Library, at 7.30 p.m.March 6—Ian Leslie, M.A.: "The Ethical Basis of Anarchism".

13—Dr. Geoffrey Parrinder: "The Crisis of Religion in AfricaToday".

20—Dr. Douglas Gibson, D.Sc.: "Nature—Doormat', 'MysticalMothee•or 'What'?"

27—Mis. Rose Warwick : "Why Hunger in the Midst of Plenty?"(At this meeting there will be a social interval with light refresh-ments.)

RambleA visit to Burlington House to view the Primitive to Picasso exhibition.

Meet 2.30 p.m. outside Conway Hall. Leader: Mrs. L. L. Booker.

Country DancingSaturday, March 17, in the Library, 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., in conjunction with the

Progressive League. Instructress: Eda Collins. Admission 2s. Everyone welcome.

The Library, Conway HallThe Librarian will be in attendance on Sunday mornings and Tuesday

evenings.

Sunday SocialMarch 18, in the Library, ai 3 p.m. Mr. V. W. Garratt : My Debt to Poetry".

Members and friends cordially invited. Tea at 3.45 p.m.

Thursday Evening SocialMarch 8, in the Library, at 7 p.m. Whist Drive. Light refreshments.

Ethical Union Annual Congress, 1962Members are invited to attend the Annual Congress of the Ethical Union, to

be held in the Library, Conway Hall, at 2.30 p.m., on Saturday, March 31.The agenda will include a discussion on a Humanist policy on religious educationin the schools, •

As a new venture this year, the meeting will be followed in the evening by aDance/Social in the Large Hall. Tickets, 4s. 6d., obtainable from the EthicalUnion, 13 Prince of Wales Terrace, W.8, or at the door.

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SOUTH PLACE

Ttm South Place Ethical Society is a progressive movement dating from 1793 which

today advocates an ethical humanism, the study and dissemination of ethical principlesand the cultivation of a rational religious sentiment, and believes that the moral life

may stand independently in its own right.

We invite to membership all those who have abandoned supernatural creeds and

6nd themselves 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. A

Library is available and all members receive the Society's journal, The Monthly Record,.

free. The Sunday Evening Chamber Music Concerts founded in 1887 have achievedinternational renown.

The minimum subscriptions are: Members, 12s. 6d. p.a.; Associate Members

(ineligible to vote or hold office), 7s. 6d. p.a.; Life Members, £13 2s. 6d.

services available to Members and Associates.include: The Naming Ceremony of

Welcome to Children, the Solemnisation of Marriage, Memorial and Funeral Services.

The Story of South Place, by S. K. Ratcliffe (Ss. from Conway Hall). is a history of

the Society and its interesting development within liberal thought.

Omcmts:

Secretary: J. Hutton Hynd Hon. Registrar: Mrs. T. C. Lindsay

Hon. Treasurer: A. Fenton Hon. Asst. Registrar: Miss W. L George

Executive Secretary: Miss E. Palmer Editor, "The Monthly Record": 0. C. Dowrnan

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

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION FORM

To THE HON. REGISTRAR,CONWAYHALL, RED LION SQUARE, LONDON, W.C. I.

I desire to become a *Member/Associate Member 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 LEITERS PLEASE)

ADDRESS

DATE SIGNAnIRE

*Cross out svhere inapplicable.

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